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.

Getting Ready for Kili

Wow, can't believe it's almost here.  2 weeks from today I'll be landing in Amsterdam to spend a few days sightseeing and then down to Arusha, Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro. 

Almost 3 months ago when I decided to go I wondered how am I going to get ready for this trip.  Well, I hope the hiking, climbing, yoga and treadmill have worked. 

A couple weeks ago I did a test when visiting my brother in eastern Washington state.  We did a one night backpack trip up into the Kettle Range on the Jungle Hill Trail.  Good snowshoe hike up just over 3,000 feet - no problems hiking up that.  Then we did a one day short hike up the Thirteen Mile trail of just over 1200 feet, again no problem.  And based upon the timing it took us to go up those I should be able to at least start out the first day in good shape based upon the altitude I was at.



Jungle Hill Trail to Kettle Crest Trail to Wapaloosie Summit - Kettle Range, WA



Thirteen Mile Trail hike

Now to just kick it into high gear and finish it off to be ready.  Sure hope to make it to the top.  Watch for more posts.  I'll see what I can do to post while there.

2012 Adventures - Here I Come

So 2011 ended up being a good year.  A number of adventures taken, new places visited and a goal met of camping/backpacking and sleeping in a tent 40 nights.  Night 40 came on a backpack trip in the McCormick Wilderness in northern Michigan on December 29th. 

Now for 2012...

A little over a month ago I was asked if I had ever climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and if not had an interest.  And since I hadn't climbed it, of course I was interested.  So it is, I will be going to Tanzania in March and climbing Kili.  Yes, that's two months from now.  It's very exciting and I am looking forward to it.  Wow, Kili!  All I can think is thank goodness I love to hike, backpack and just being outside.  It turns out everything I did in 2011 has helped me to prepare for this trip.  And having already planned a winter backpacking trip in February to the Pacific NW, this should help in preparations. 

As for the rest of 2012 - who knows yet.  More camping with the dogs, snowshoeing with friends, and just continuing the love of the outdoors.  Where that will all happen, who knows yet.  Looking forward to a good 2012 in the great outdoors.

Lessons Learned

Taking time to reflect upon lessons learned from nature and my dogs this year as we spend and have spent a lot of time outdoors.

As I know my dogs are getting older, I really wanted to take this year to spend more time with them while they are able to still go hiking and camping.  I've really learned a lot from not only them this year so far, but also from the places I've taken them.

They've taught me to really relax and take time to enjoy the sights and smells of everything around you.  Though I may not have rolled in disgusting things like they do when they get a good scent, but really learned not only to see fall, but smell fall and all the other seasons.  It makes you appreciate what nature does every day and every year.

Illinois Canyon, Starved Rock State Park

All year I've been taking my time hiking with them, letting them run off lead a little more and really just letting them go and sniff what they want.  I've learned that as I just let the dogs be dogs and not rush everything, I've learned to be calmer myself, laugh a little more and just relax.  

Jasmine and Wailea relaxing after a day of hiking

I've learned to appreciate the little things in life, like watching a butterfly spending time on a flower trying to get the sweet nectar, or watching a bug crawl up my tent poles.  Spending time with them has allowed me to reflect upon what's important in life.  And no, it's not making a million dollars (although winning a million dollars in the lottery would be good), it's more about finding and taking all the time you can to relax and do what you enjoy.  Because we all know, once the weekend or vacation is over - it's back to the hustle of work and office life which is not relaxing for anyone.

Thankfully the year is not over and there is more exploring to do, more weekends to relax and more vacation time yet to be used.  And if I'm lucky - next year the dogs will be in good health and we can continue on doing this for yet another year.

Memorial Day to Labor Day - A Summer of Camping

As Labor Day weekend winds down, I reflect on what I've done this spring and summer and what I'm looking to do this fall. 

Spring kicked off with my first weekend of camping back in late April.  Since that time til Labor Day weekend, I've camped 8 weekends in WI and taken two trips out west to backpack in Canyonlands National Park in Utah and in the Wind River Range in Wyoming.  If I count all the nights sleeping in a tent since April that equals 33 nights.  Wow more than one month sleeping outside.  Good thing my Thermarest and Cat's Meow sleeping bag are comfortable.

So - where did I all go so far this year?  About half of the time I spent in various Wisconsin State Parks.  That $25 annual sticker sure came in handy (as it usually does).  Here's the list and some of my favorite pictures so far.

• Ottawa Lake Campground in Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest (April 2011).  Don't recommend staying here.  There's a dog kennel on the end of the lake.  Didn't realize how loud a dog kennel really was until I stayed here.  So glad I have friends/family who can watch dogs at home versus having to put them in a kennel.

View of Ottawa Lake at night, April 2011

• Newport State Park (Memorial Day Weekend)  This is a backpacker's park on the tip of Door County.  Awesome and private campsites along Lake Michigan. 

Jasmine and Wailea enjoying the trails at Newport State Park (May 2011)

• Long Lake Campground in Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest (June and July 2011).  I like this campground - 800 loop has nice campsites and the walk in sites are far enough from the road and other sites you'll have privacy. 

Butterfly on the Ice Age Trail - Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest (June 2011)

• Governor Dodge State Park - (June 2011) Wow - this is a nice park.  SW Wisconsin is in part of the area known as the Driftless Area of Wisconsin.  Lots of hills, a waterfall and a canyon.  (Also stopped at Tower Hill State Park on this trip - hoping to camp here before year end yet)

View along Lost Canyon Trail at Governor Dodge (June 2011)

• Bluemound State Park - (July 2011)  - Not far from Governor Dodge another nice area.  Small campground.  I do have to admit I did like Governor Dodge State Park better. 

Mist burning off the stream at the bottom of the trail (July 2011)

• Whitewater Lake Campground in Southern Kettle Moraine State Forest.  (August 2011)  Another nice little campground at the southern end of the forest.  Nice place to kick off a hike on the Ice Age Trail.

View of Whitewater / Rice Lakes from the Ice Age Trail (August 2011)

• Devil's Lake State Park - (September 2011).  Nice park, but do not recommend going their during season (probably Memorial Day to Labor Day).  All my other camping trips there have been in early spring or late fall - much quieter and nicer at that time.  This trip also included side trips to 3 other state parks in the region (Natural Bridge State Park, Mirror Lake State Park and Rocky Arbor State Park)

Natural Bridge State Park (September 2011)

And for longer stays in my tent were two vacations which took me out west:

• Moab, UT area.  Camping in Moab for a few nights while mountain biking and climbing.  Then a 3-night backpacking trip into the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  What a beautiful park. 
• This trip also included a visits to a few other National Parks - Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (really cool!  You must hike to the bottom of the canyon) and Arches National Park (went to visit the Klondike's Bluff area of the park since I've only seen it while mountain biking just outside the park.  This was my 3rd trip to Arches)

Black Canyon of the Gunnison.  Yes, I hiked down there. (May 2011)

• Wyoming - Backpacked for 4 nights/5 days into the Wind River Range hitting Backpacker Magazine's "Secret Trail" into the Alpine Lakes Region.  It was secret.  Saw 6 people in 5 days.  Great trip.
• After backpacking here on the way back to Washington State hiked in Teton National Park up to Death Canyon and went to see Yellowstone National Park since we were there (would like to go back to Yellowstone and do a backpacking trip - away from the crowds).

Wind River Range at the pass.  Typical vacation weather for me - rain, snow and cold. 
And wondering if trail falls of a cliff on the other side of the snow field?

And to think it's only the beginning of September.  There's still time to do a lot of camping this year.  Guess I better start planning.

Why I Love Winter

With the extreme temperatures this week in the upper midwest I remember why I love winter.  This "feels like" 100+ degrees in Milwaukee, WI is crazy.  Today (Thursday, July 21, 2011) is day 4 and will still be cranking out the heat.

Reasons to love winter:

• Comfortability -  not feeling miserable in the heat
• Layering - add layers of clothing to warm up
• Hot chocolate
• Sleep - it's much easier to sleep in the winter than in the extreme heat
• Snow - big fluffy snow
• Icicles - and the reflections from the sun
• Fleece
• Going outside without sweating

Just a few of the reasons - but right now I'm wishing it was winter and not a hot / sweaty 84 degrees at 6:30 am.  That only means it's going to get worse as the day goes on.

Heat - go away, let winter come this way!