Summiting Mt Kilimanjaro

I did it!!  I made it to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro, the highest point on the continent of Africa. 

Top of Africa - March 13, 2012

The trip and experience was well worth it.  The group of guys I went with were a blast and the Aussie that joined our group fit in well.  Climb Kili's guides and the team did an amazing job for us.  It's amazing the work the porters did for us and they still welcomed us to camp with a song and dance.

The surprising part to me was that with all the training I did, the actual trekking was easier than I expected.  The pace was slow and steady with the perfect amount of time to acclimate to the climate.  The toughest part for me was the summit day.  And I don't think it was the toughest because of the 4,000 foot climb to the top, but rather the diamox I was taking to help with breathing in higher elevations wore off about 2 1/2 hours before we summited.  Instead of taking a break to dig another pill out of my bag, I continued on hiking.  I ended up slowing down and working harder to breathe, but still made it to the top.  Lesson learned - next time take the break and take the pill. 

Would I do it again?
Yes, I would do it all over again.  If I ever do go up Kilimanjaro again, the next trip would include a night in the crater.  The crater was amazing looking.  We only got to see it from the top, I think it would be cool to trek down there and spend some time there.

Glaciers of Kilimanjaro

Overall the trip was amazing and I can't recommend enough taking the time to visit Tanzania and taking a trek up Kilimanjaro.  And then don't forget to reward yourself afterwards with a safari trip.  I would recommend the Ngoro Crater - it had all types of wildlife to see.  And considering I really wanted to see some lions, I got my wish.  This group passed in front of my truck and eventually met up with another group of lions.  Total, I saw 12 lions.  Too bad the zebras smelled them and took off, these lions were definitely looking like they wanted to hunt.

Lions in the Ngoro Crater

Next up?  Taking another summer of "mini vacations" and taking my dogs camping.  Maybe a fall trip to Northern Michigan / Canada to do some backpacking with the dogs.  And then out to Washington State to close out 2012. 

Next Adventure
Realistically it will have to wait until 2013.  And will probably include something more technical than climbing Kili.  I would like to try

• Climbing Mt Rainier (Disappointment Clever approach)
• Take on Summit #2 - Aconcagua (South America's highest point - ~3,400 feet higher than Kili)
• Hiking / Camping / Climbing on Antartica

Yes, I may be crazy - but you only live life once.  And why not experience what other's only dream about. 

Biking Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a very interesting city. Coming from Milwaukee and wishing we had a better system for biking around than the half hearted attempts that have been made to make it a bike friendly city, Milwaukee could take a lesson from Amsterdam. This city is a walking and biking city. People are fit and seem to be more energetic than those in the states. Bikes outnumber cars here and that's pretty cool. Milwaukee gov't come on over and see Amsterdam'a ability to add bike lanes, bike traffic lights and inspire people to ride their bikes.