Firstly I want to thank everyone who supported me over the last 2 year of fundraising and trekking to raise money for the HDA. I could never have raised over £15,000 without your support - not only in sponsorship, ticket sales etc. but in moral support as well. Your enthusiasm fuelled my enthusiasm and having you all to back me up has enabled me to achieve my fundraising goals and challenges.
The Great Wall of China trek last year was very special. The walking was difficult and extremely challenging, but the whole experience was amazing!
Kilimanjaro however was something entirely different. All the training I did stood me in good stead and I didn't have any problems with the walking or the endurance. Even 13 hours of continuous walking on the summit night/day didn't bother me - I'm used to walking for hours on my own. It was the altitude sickness and the camping that was my biggest challenge. I found it very difficult, feeling sick most of the time, with a bad tummy as well - having to share a small tent with a stranger, sorting out my bags every night (not being able to find what I needed time and time again), using the portaloos at camp, and having to go to the loo on the mountain.
We were a group of 24 plus a doctor and an expidition leader. We had plenty of porters, guides, assistant guides, cooks, camp organisers etc to support us. The youngest in the group was just 16 years old and I shared a tent with 22 year old Cathy, who came on her own! I was pretty impressed with both of them. On Day 4 we lost one of our group, who was sent back down with HAPE - High Altitude Pulmanary Edema, which can be extremely dangerous if you continue to ascend. Everyone else made it to the summit!
I was the first to be affected with sickness. On day 2 I was sick twice and had a bad tummy. But I recovered quite quickly and had a couple of really good days after that, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Then the bad tummy came back and the nausea and I found each day quite a challenge to get through. I'm not used to feeling ill, and I don't do 'ill' very well I've discovered!
Saying that, the scenery was spectacular in places and the landscape changed on a daily basis. The first day we walked through the rainforest, the second day through heather that was taller than us, the third day reminded me of the Arizona desert (not that I've been there!), then there was huge rocks and boulders and the summit camp was completely covered with broken shards of rock which has been blasted out of the volcano. At the top of Kilimanjaro there's a fabulous glacier and a desert. It's amazing!
On summit night/day, we left camp at midnight. We walked for 5 and a half hours in the pitch dark with our head-torches on. At 5.30 the most spectacular and beautiful sunrise I will probably ever see took my breath away. We were completely above the clouds, as if in an aeroplane, with the clear blue sky above and the sun coming up lifted everyone's spirits. It was an totally amazing experience. Getting to the summit didn't even touch it as far as I'm concerned! As they say, it's not the breaths you take that count, but the moments that take your breath away.
Coming down from the summit, we had to 'ski' quickly down dust and stones, using our walking sticks to steady us. We got back to camp after walking for 13 hours, had lunch and then had another few hours to the next camp. That was a long, long day.
The day before summit day was my birthday. I took my cards with me and opened them in the morning. I had 2 surprise cards from Andy, which he'd posted to Charity Challenge and asked them to give them to me on the day, which was lovely.In the evening, the cooks made me a cake. It's amazing what they can do at the top of Africa's highest mountain!
I was really impressed with the quality of the food at camp each evening. We had stews, chips, spagbol, and even roast potatoes one day! We had porridge every morning with bacon and eggs!
I lost my appetite a bit because of the altitude, but Rhiannon, our expedition leader, ensured that we all ate enough each day. We had an absolutely lovely doctor with us, Heather, who, along with Rhiannon, had quite a few pep talks with me, when I was feeling low, which encouraged me to smile again and get on with the day ahead.
Once I started to descend, I began to feel better. We walked back down on the final day through a beautiful rainforest which I thoroughly enjoyed.
My thighs were killing me at the end of it though as it was a quick, steep walk, for about 5-6 hours. Hard going on the legs! I was relieved to get back to the hotel after a 2 hour drive and had a lovely relaxing day before coming home.
I got home on Saturday morning, absolutely exhausted and slept most of the day. I'm coming around now, and my body is starting to sort itself out and I'm getting back to normality again. I can't tell you how good it feels to sleep in my own bed, have a long soak in the bath and go to the toilet in my own bathroom!
Phew, next year I'm gonna rest :-)))
