104 miles in 5.5 days may have been a bit ambitious...

Day 1: 16.6 miles from Waterton Canyon to South Platte River Trailhead

The long awaited Colorado Trail finally happened today.  After spending a bit of time organizing gear, one last supermarket run, and a quick breakfast, we were on trail hiking through the beautiful (but exposed) Waterton Canyon by 9:15 am.  Our first 6.5 miles were basically a very sunny dirt road walk along the South Platte River, which happens to also be Denver's main water supply.  We took frequent breaks to get out of the sun, hydrate, and of course read the interpretive signs! We saw our first bighorn sheep sighting pretty early in the day, and then we saw several other ones looking down on us from the rocks above. 

The worst part of the day for me was the climb from the road up to the first ridge, it was super hot, sunny, and exposed (and I'm pretty out of shape!).  However, once I cooled my feet and face off in teh creek at lunch, I was good to go the rest of the afternoon.  I'm definitely struggling on the uphill, ut cruising pretty good on the downhill. Even with our many breaks today, we were in camp by 5 pm.  We had plenty of time to set-up camp, filter water, and cook dinner before the rain settled in. Elevation: 6,240. 

Day 2: 19.7 miles from the South Platte River to Buffalo Creek

Whew - what a day!  We were up at the crack of dawn to get as many miles in as possible before it gets too hot. overall, we did great! The terrain was uphill most of the morning, bu the scenery was spectacular and we stopped for lots of breaks.  The best break was when we made some tea and dried out our tents from the rainy/dewy night before.  We passed one hiker on the trail right before lunch that seemed to be carrying way too much stuff and was almost out of water.  Unfortunately, we didn't have any to spare because we had budgeted just enough to get us to the next water source.  We were thrilled when we saw him make it to the next source, just as we were topping off.  The sun was pretty brutal today. That in combination with the sandy trail/road beds and the high mileage have created several painful blisters on my feet - two right on the balls of my feet - ouch!  So I did some creek soaking and doctoring and was able to make it all the way to camp.  We met two other Colorado Trail thru-hiker hopefuls just before making camp. Didn't catch their names, but hope to see them tomorrow. It started to rain just as we were setting up camp so I quickly rinsed off in the creek and then dove for the tent before it really camp down. Another day in paradise here! 

Day 3: 18.7 miles from Buffalo Creek to alpine meadow saddle

The best part of today was the beautiful alpine meadow we walked through all afternoon after taking a quick skinny dip in Lost Creek. :) It was so cold, but so refreshing! The meadow went on for miles, with wildflowers as far as the eye could see. I know Dinosaur would have loved it!  We definitely earned our picturesque afternoon after a bit of a hard morning.  I think the altitude was affecting me as I puked twice, once at 8,000 feet and again during a long hard climb at 10,000 feet.  But it was all worth it and I was feeling much better when we got to a really beautiful campsite.  We had company tonight, a 69 year old hiker named Tally-mama. She is also thru-hiking and she inspired us all with her traveling stories.  I hope I'm as cool as her one day! Guthook treated us to dessert tonight - backpackers apple pie!

--- Right before I went to sleep, I started getting really sick. I got some really bad shakes and threw up about 5 times.  Guthook and Squirrel were super sweet to me and helped me feel better. After about two hours of that, I was able to sort of fall asleep.  

Day 4: 6 miles from alpine meadow campsite into town

I woke up feeling really bad and not able to really keep much down. We were trying to hike 16 miles to Kenosha Pass and then head to town, but I just wasn't feeling it. We were able to get to a forest service road and hitch with a very nice trail angel all the way to the town of Fairplay, CO. She was already driving two other hikers (one who also had really bad altitude sickness) to town and happily gave us a ride. From Fairplay, we got another hitch to Breckenridge, where a friend of a friend of ours was staying near by. Now we're recovering in town with our new friend Grasshopper who is so kindly letting us stay at her rented condo (she's at a conference here). 

Total Mileage on Colorado Trail: ~60 miles

Headed out west!

Hi all,

For the last few weeks, I've been preparing for a thru-hike of the 485-mile Colorado Trail. I'll be hiking with my good buddy Squirrel (you can follow her blog at squirrelhikes.wordpress.com) for the entire hike and my other good buddy Guthook for the first week from Waterton Canyon to Breckenridge, a distance of about 104 miles. We better come ready to hike as we've got to average about 16.5 miles each day to make it in the 5.5 days we have allotted, go team! Guthook is trail famous, as he is the mastermind behind Guthook's Guides, which provides hiking map apps for smartphones. Check him out at guthookhikes.com. 

Before arriving in Colorado, we all had a pretty massive road trip across the states. Guthook and Cough Drop (our official trail angel who came along for awesome support and chauffeuring services) drove all the way from Maine to my folks place in Union, KY, where they picked Squirrel and I. Then we drove to Columbia, MO the first night where we celebrated Cough Drop's birthday in style by going to a local brewery and watching the movie Spy with Melissa McCarthy. It was hysterical and I highly recommend it.

 The next day we drove all the way to Denver (about 12 hours) and are camping out at 9,000 feet to help us acclimate.  Below is the amazing sunset we were treated to:

Today, we decided to spend part of our day visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and went on a short 5-miler to Cub Lake to stretch our legs out after all the driving and to further acclimate. 

If you're curious about the Colorado Trail, check out the below map! We're about to finish packing and head to be Lowdown Brewery for our last dinner before hiking tomorrow. Oh man, can't wait! Stay tuned.

Puerto Viejo - The Caribbean Coast

Day 10: 5/28/15

We woke up to beautiful sunshine today, the whole area is happy since it has been an extremely rainy few weeks. Perfect for the activities we have planned for today.  Early breakfast at 6:30 and then off to the tiny village of Manzanillo, a few miles down the coast.  We see glimpses of the Caribbean Sea on our way there and finally get our view when we start off on our jungle hike right from the beach in Manzanillo. Manzanillo is actually a very poisonous tree that emits toxic gases (in small doses) and has poison fruit and bark.  There is only one of these trees in the town, but it’s pretty interesting that the town name actually means “Tree of Death.”  As soon as we start walking, we see wildlife: something called the Jesus Christ lizard (it walks on water), a green iguana, whip tailed lizard, vine snake, howler monkey, two and three-toed sloths, tree frogs, toad, and the owl-eyed butterfly. So many cool species, as well as cool plants – coconuts (yep, we tried some delicious coconut water and I even liked the coconut meat which tastes like almonds), mushrooms, quinine plant, strangler fig, almond tree, and something called a Caribbean snowball.  I definitely nerded out and was that tourist taking a gazillion photographs.  Most of the hike was in the jungle (with one unusual encounter with a mentally disturbed local with a machete, yikes!), but we ended the hike along the coast line with a quick peep at a secret sea cave. I got soaked by a large wave as I was entering the cave, but it was totally worth it! There was some bats and a large hole looking up at the sky.  We ate lunch right along the beach and then we had a few hours to swim, play Frisbee, and just enjoy our tropical locale. We all really enjoyed our chill time, especially after such a long drive yesterday.  In the evening, we got to do some shopping (and haggling) along the streets of Puerto Viejo and then enjoyed cooking lessons with Miss Veronica and her seven year-old daughter Maybelle. We all helped make Caribbean chicken, coconut rice and beans, and salad.  It was definitely the best rice I have had since I have been here, probably because she makes it with 7 shredded coconuts! Good thing she shared the recipe with us, because I am going to definitely have to make that at home. 

Day 11: 5/29/15
When your day starts with two hours of Caribbean dance lessons, you know it's going to be a good
 day! And Wanda our instructor (who has danced in all sorts of famous dance companies abroad) did not disappoint. She had us moving and grooving and trying not to feel too unsure of ourselves. She said as long as we were smiling, we were going to be alright (and she was right). We learned four different types of dances (I can only remember one of the names - salsa) and all were sweating profusely in the first five minutes. I got some great footage of the students I hope to use as blackmail one day :). After dance class, there was no time to rest, we had all kinds of cute animals to look at at the Jaguar Rescue Center. We started at the baby monkey enclosure (and didn't want to leave) where we saw a white-faced capuchin and so many baby howler monkeys. Most of these were confiscated from people trying to have them as pets. Although it is illegal to have native animals as pets here in Costa Rica, we all certainly understood why people have them as pets. They are super cute and cuddly.  We also saw several different types of wild cats, orange parakeets, a brown pelican, two kinds of sloths up close, these really cool looking owls, several hawks and frogs, and an American crocodile. What a tour! After a not so quick lunch, we did a little shopping around town and then changed for what was to be a trip highlight: learning to surf! The guides promise everyone will stand up. that's a pretty tall order when you figure we have 16 group members and 95% have never surfed before and they only had two hours with us. But, I would say we were pretty successful overall. I think everyone at least

partially stood up on the boards, and there is no doubt our blooper reel was hysterical.  It was a pretty perfect evening with the sun setting over the Caribbean Sea and us soaking up the last few rays of sun and surf. 



Day 12: 5/30/15
Our last full day in Puerto Viejo took us to Cahuita National Park where we snorkeled along the coral reef a few hundred yards out from shore.  The first spot we snorkeled at was pretty wavy and it was hard to see many fish. Several of the students got a little sea sick due to the waves so we dropped them on shore before heading to a second spot. The second location was definitely the sweet spot! We saw so many different type of fish plus eels, crazy looking coral and seaweed, and one group even saw a 3 foot shark.  The people on land were not disappointed because they were hanging out in an area flush with capuchin monkeys. We have been waiting the whole trip to see a white-faced capuchin monkey in the wild and we finally did! When we came back by to pick up the students now feeling a lot better, we had a snack of fresh pineapple and apples from our tour guides farm and the monkey was very interested in our snacks. We learned that monkeys only learned to eat bananas from people feeding them, they typically have a diet of other fruits (among other things).  Lunch was right next to the national park at Miss Edith's and was fantastic - grilled fish, fried plantains, rice, and curry vegetables.  We spend the afternoon getting caught up on classwork (we are here to learn after all!), and then had dinner at a fusion restaurant in town. Onwards to Guayabo National Monument and rafting the Pacuare River on Monday and Tuesday! I sure will miss our guides and the rastafarian vibe of this place. 

Rancho Margot and Arenal Volcano

Day 7: 5/25/15

 

After 6 nights at the UGA campus in San Luis, it’s time to move on to other places around the country.  We arise early to pack and eat breakfast, then a van comes to take us on the first leg of our 5 hour journey today.  We travel up over the mountain again toward the Caribbean side and are dropped off on the shores of Lake Arenal. Here, we take a boat taxi across the lake for about 40  minutes to the Lake Arenal Dam, which produces about 45% of all the electricity in Costa Rica.  It was a beautiful ride, and much faster than if we drove all the way around the lake.  It started to rain just when we got there, so we were glad to see our second bus awaiting our arrival.   We loaded all our luggage and then had a 45 minute drive to Rancho Margot, which I’d just like to call paradise.  It’s minutes from the shores of Lake Arenal and Arenal Volcano National Park. We couldn’t see the volcano today due to the rain and fog, but hopefully we’ll get a glimpse tomorrow or the next day.  This place is a sustainable farm and ecotourism spot. They are 85% sustainable, which is almost unheard of.  For example, they produce almost all of their own food from the garden, the cows (milk), pigs and chicken (meat), as well as their own soap for laundry, kitchen, and bath. They also have a crazy compost system not only fertilizes the garden and creates methane gas (similar to the biodigester at UGA), but also heats water from the heat coming off the compost for the natural pool.  Whoa! We went on a two hour farm tour that showed us everything they do to be sustainable.  I would love to create some of the same systems at my own place one day. Several of the students, some locals, and I played a game of soccer in the pouring down rain (brought back some memories from my younger days) and then hopped in the natural pool to relax before dinner. After eating solely rice and beans for a week, we were all thrilled to see pizza, pasta, and just a varied buffet here at Rancho Margot. There were smiles all around tonight!

 

Day 8: 5/26/15

Woke up to pouring down rain again, but that didn’t stop us from participating in a morning yoga class offered free of charge to all guests here at the ranch.  It was lovely getting to start the day listening to the rain and getting stretched out and ready for the day.  We then ate breakfast and prepared for our kayaking excursion on Lake Arenal.   It stopped raining and cleared up just as we were putting our kayaks on the water.  About half of the students hadn’t paddled a kayak before so we paired them up on the tandem kayaks with the more experienced students. After a quick lesson on how to paddle and basic water precautions (safety first!), we were on our way to learn more about the volcano in the distance. Our guides filled us in on the last time that Arenal erupted (back in 1968) when almost a hundred people died.  Living in Georgia, I really don’t think about active volcanos all that often, but some areas of the world, active volcanos are a way of life.  In the forty years since the last eruption, the vegetation has almost all come back in full force. Nature sure is neat.  We jumped in for a quick dip and then raced back to shore (it was almost lunch time and this group loves to eat!).  The rain moved in after lunch, but that did not stop us from taking a muddy hike up the view from Mirador point.  It was straight up a muddy hill but the students were troopers about it, especially considering the rain really picked up when we were at the top and all the way back down to Rancho Margot. I call these character-building sessions.  After dinner, we were treated to a lecture by a guest volcanologist who monitors the volcanoes here in Costa Rica. There are five active volcanoes, one that they are watching pretty closely. Let’s hope nothing happens while we’re here!  

Day 9: 5/27/15

Yoga two mornings in a row is something I could get used to! What a great way to start the day, especially one that involves 8 hours of travel.  The morning had us checking out of Rancho Margot (I certainly will miss this place) and then heading a quick 20 minutes down to the way to Arenal Volcanic National Park where our guest volcanologist would lead a hike and talk for us in the park.  We had only been able to catch very limited glimpses of Arenal, but she finally showed her good side when we got to the lava flow overlook.  This flow was from 1992 and it was crazy to see how it looks 20+ years later.  I would have liked to spend more time exploring, but we had to get on the road. Although we only had around 200 miles to drive, it would take a looonnnggg time. I was happy to see that we had mostly paved roads for this leg of the journey, whereas most of our previous legs were gravel.  We stopped several times along the way for snacks and stretching, and finally made it to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast around 8:15 pm (we left at 11:30 am!).  I cannot wait to see what it looks like in the morning, we are basically right on the beach!

UGA Costa Rica Campus

Day 1: 5/19/15

After months of preparing, the day has finally come for Costa Rica! I set my alarm for 4:15 pm as Marta (the other faculty member on this trip) and her husband Alberto were picking me up at 5 am to drive to the airport.  Many of our students arrived at the airport at the same time, and we all made our way pretty seamlessly through security and to our international gate.  All but one of our students would be joining us on the direct flight to San Jose, Costa Rica.  It was a pretty short flight (about 4 hours) and I passed the time watching a free inflight movie and reading my Costa Rica travel book.  We arrived at 11:50 am Costa Rica time (about two hours ahead of EST - think Mountain Standard Time) and spent a long time in the immigration, custom, and baggage lines. Finally, we have all our luggage and our people, and we begin the long trip to San Luis, where the UGA Costa Rica campus is located.  It took us about four and a half hours to make the 130 km trip, mainly because the last 30 or 40 kilometers were some very bumpy, steep, and gravelly roads.  We did a short break to grab a snack  right along the Pacific Coast. Our first taste of the local grub - rice, beans, and fried plantains! We arrived on campus with just enough time to put our bags in our rooms and head to a dinner of, you guessed it, rice and beans. I am sensing a trend here. After a short orientation about the campus here, we all retired pretty early after a long day of travel. As one of the instructors, I get a room to myself. It's pretty nice - there is a double bed, a twin, and a set of bunkbed. So many choices! 

Day 2: 5/20/15

With the time difference, I awoke at 4:15 am and couldn't go back to sleep. That's alright, because there is much to explore. I went for an early morning walk (yes, it's already light here by 4:30 am) to try and find some of the capuchin monkeys that Costa Rica is famous for. Didn't find any of those, but did see a ton of neat birds, including the blue mot mot, a bird that looks like it has a tennis racket for a tail.  Our first scheduled activity was a tour of the stable which including milking the resident milk cows and learning about the biodigester.  The milk that we harvest is used to make cheese and for probably the most delicious hot chocolate I have ever had. We have it nightly and there is almost a fight every time over who gets it first (there are several other student groups here on campus with us).  They flash pasteurize the milk to make it safe for consumption.  The biodigester is a system designed to convert human and livestock waste into methane gas to use for cooking. Pretty neat! There are similar systems used in the U.S., but only in places that have a pretty tropical climate to keep the bacteria/microorganisms happy.  The Costa Rica campus produces 15% of it's food right here on campus, and get another 20% from the immediate vicinity.  The remaining percentage all comes from within Costa Rica. We Americans have a lot to learn.  After breakfast, we headed down the road to Cafe San Luis, a working coffee farm that also grows fruit trees. We learned all kinds of interesting facts about coffee plants and how coffee is made, but I'll spare you all the details. Ask me when I get back if you really want to know.  After sampling and buying up almost all the coffee in the place

(amongst us all),  we had a nice long walk back uphill back to campus. Good thing these students are getting their PE credit for this adventure! Other highlights of the day: watching a short film on the history of the area (can you believe this area was developed by Quakers from the U.S.?) and seeing the biggest spider (a tarantula at that!) I've ever seen. 

Day 3: 5/21/15

Today is Monteverde Cloud Forest day, yay! This is one of the places you just cannot miss when you visit Costa Rica. This forest is way up in the clouds (imagine that) and almost 6,000 feet in elevation (The UGA campus is around 3,800 feet).  It houses 2.5% of the world's biodiversity. That is crazy when you consider that the entire country of Costa Rica is about 1/3 of the size of the state of Georgia. You can also step on the continental divide, where one foot will be on the Pacific side and the other on the Caribbean side.  Also pretty neat! We drove up to Monteverde and went on a morning guided hike with two awesome guides - Manuel and Oscar. They were super knowledgeable about everything and we saw all kinds of plants, lizards, one snake, several birds (including the illustrious quetzal), one aguti (looks like a giant hamster), and one coati (looks like a raccoon with a long skinny tail).  We learned why the cloud forest holds clouds on the mountain (has to do with the northern tradewinds and the position and altitude of the mountain) and how/when the Monteverde area was settled (same Quakers mentioned above that were looking for a different life).  After a quick visit to the hummingbird garden, we were on our way back to campus. Then it was an afternoon of earthquakes.  I took a few minutes to explore on of the longer trails here on campus where I discovered a view and some really neat trees.  After dinner, we went on a hike with a resident naturalist and some a tiny venomous snake, a large green lizard, and these crazy leaf cutter ants that made the forest floor look like it was alive.  Whoa! 

Day 4: 5/22/15

This was the best day yet! Up early per the usual and off to Santa Elena for a zipline canopy tour with SkyAdventures.  As someone that knows a little something about the zip line industry, I wanted to make sure this place was well above board.  They did not disappoint! The equipment was all in great shape and the guides were professional and super fun.j  They ended up showing off a lot towards the end of the tour.  We had a practice zip line at the start, then a tram ride high up in the cloud forest.  We were up at around 5,200 feet and went on 7 zip lines down (varying in lengths and heights). The longest was 

2500 feet long and the highest was 328 feet above the forest.  We even rode on some of them with a parent.  The last part of the tour presented a choice. Ride one last zip line back to the base or take a vertical drop/bungee down to the ground. We guesstimated about 100 feet down. Every single student chose to drop, even the ones who were afraid.  It was pretty scary, but super fun too. An initial free fall and then it quickly lowers you to the ground.  So proud of all the students! These moments and these study abroad experiences make such a difference in their lives, even if they don't notice it just  yet. After we got back, we had a quick lesson on ground water, and then headed to Rancho de Lelo, a tilapia farm just down the road.  They also have a soccer field and neat restaurant space.  We played a pretty rowdy game of soccer, then ate a delicious whole tilapia dinner caught right there. After dinner, Lelo's wife Elvira gave us some Costa Rican dance lessons. What a workout! I think everyone else will sleep well tonight. 

Day 5: 5/23/15

Another field trip today, this time to the Cabure chocolate factory in Monteverde.  We met Bob, the owner (a former Massachusetts resident) and he walked us through the history of chocolate in the area and the steps in which you make chocolate from the cacoa beans.  It was really neat, especially since there was a lot of sampling along the way.  He uses the most basic process and it tastes so good. After the chocolate lesson, we were treated to lunch at the restaurant on site.  Probably our best meal yet. I had a grilled wrap made of curried vegetables, salad with an Asian dressing, and a chocolate brownie (made on site) with ice cream for dessert. OMG.  It was a good thing that we were dropped off with the understanding we would walk back down to campus, we had some food to walk off. It  was a beautiful day out for a (mostly) downhill walk.  There were views all the way to the Pacific Ocean and lots of interesting rocks along the way (we are here to study geology after all).  The students spend the afternoon studying for their second exam (and then taking it).  I spent the afternoon catching up on a few things and enjoying the beautiful weather.  

Day 6: 5/24/15

Today, we are spending most the day on campus getting ready for the next phase of our journey. But, of course we did some learning with the Costa Rica faculty and naturalists on water quality and macro invertebrates. At lunch, several other programs came back to campus, including the Advanced Spanish group, in which another Outdoor Rec trip leader (Kim) was on that trip. What a nice reunion (Katelyn is a UGA trip leader that happens to be on my trip).  Tomorrow we head to Arenal Volcano, more adventure stories later!! Pure Vida!

On top of the world - climbing Mt. Kiliminjaro

What an epic week! Our group of 12 climbers headed down the road from Moshi towards the village of Marangu, where we would enter Mt. Kiliminjaro  National Park. We were originally supposed to have two additional climbers, but they both fell ill to ecoli and giardia respectively. Africa is no joke folks. There are many different routes up the mountain, but only  one where you can stay in huts along the way, and that is the route that has been chosen for the past 15 years of UGA Study  Abroad in Tanzania. I’m not sure our students would have enjoyed camping up about 15,000 feet in a freezing rain and sleet storm, so it was the Marangu route for us.

After all signing in at the park gate and getting our guides and porters squared away, we said goodbye to Mama Whitney, Mama Moshi, Mama Chris, and Julia who all rode along to send us off. Our group consisted of 12 climbers, 5 guides, and roughly 20 porters and wait staff. We would be joined by two more guides for assistance on summit day. I say roughly 20 porters because you never saw them all in one bunch.  We just knew that our stuff got from Point A to Point B each day and all we had to carry was a day pack. Not a bad deal. Did I mention that they cooked, cleaned up after us, and made sure we had safe drinking water the entire trip. We owed these guys everything. They work so hard, and for very meager pay.

We took  our obligatory photos at the gate, and we were off up the mountain. We started the climb around 6,000 feet and ended the climb at our first stop, Mandara Hut, around 9,000 feet. The students were in for a rude awakening. We have been living (and exercising) at around 2500 feet above sea level in Moshi for the past 3 weeks, so the first day proved challenging with a 3000 foot, 4.5 mile hike up to Mandara. But we all were in good spirits as we settled in to trail life. We stopped for lunch along the way, and even saw our first blue monkeys. Pretty large creatures that didn't seem to notice us at all. As we were walking through a rain forest, there were lots of interesting plants to look at, including the Kilimanjaro impatien (found only here!) and some neat waterfalls. Before we knew it, we arrived at Mandara hut and were treated to hot water to wash and fresh popcorn and hot tea to warm us up. After a short afternoon hike to Maundi Crater, we ate a tasty dinner and then called it a night. I shared with the group that hiker midnight is actually 9:00 pm, and there were no complaints.

We awoke to clear skies and chilly temperatures. We officially introduced ourselves to the two other groups that happened to be travling with us. One group were a four Brits (originally of Indian descent) consisting of two brothers (probably in their 50s), and two of their daughters. The other was a honeymooning couple from Holland. The fact that the Kili hike was the first leg of their honeymoon says a lot about the couple. The fact that they had to sleep next to the four men in our group talking about God knows what late into the night makes me feel  sorry  for the new bride on the first night of her honeymoon! They turned out to be great sports and became fond of our group. We eventually summited together, and yes, they are still married about that intense experience. But I digress, back to the story.

We quickly warmed up as we climbed another 3000 feet or so up to 12,300 feet and Horombo Hut. This would turn out to be our favorite camp.  The views were spectacular, and our bodies could still function at this elevation.  Along the way, we saw the red hot poker plant, which I had been wanting to see, and the mountain looming in the distance. Even though we keep getting closer, it still seems pretty far away.  There were shouts of joy when we finally spotted Horombo Hut.  Since we were all pretty poopedJ. But not before checking out the stars. The stars up here are AMAZING.  We learned a few of the southern hemisphere constellations and have all enjoyed spotting them nightly, gazing at the sky in awe.

after a long day of hiking, we just ate some dinner and retired to our cabins. This time around, I was with the men and one other female student volunteer. Rooming with the 4 guys definitely took me back to my thru-hiking days. The smell alone would  have killed even the hardiest soul, but throw in the vulgar conversation, and I was ready to put my ear plugs in and quickly  fall asleep.

Day 3 was our acclimatization day so our bodies could get used  to the higher altitude. We went for a morning hike up to  Zebra Rocks. Most of the students were still feeling okay at this point, just some mild stomach and headaches. We all enjoyed  playing around on the black and white colored rocks and having a mini-photo shoot. When we arrived at the high point  (around 13,500 feet), we had to put on a few layers while we let our bodies recover. Back down to Horombo for a hot lunch of veggie crisps and fried potatoes. We spent the rest of the day quizzing folks that had already climbed the mountain and having a euchre tournament. I am now ready to play some serious euchre back in Athens. Corey, I hope you are ready!

The next day would prove to be our toughest yet. It started out sunny enough, all of us in shorts and t-shirts. But around 11 am, as we were ascending up to Mawenzi Ridge, it grew cloudy  all of sudden, and started snowing. Talk about extremes! As we got  further up the mountain, it got colder and the snowflakes turned to sleet and freezing rain – yikes! Most of us were not too happy about the turn of events, but we layered up  and hunkered down to finish the climb up to the 15,200 foot Kebo Hut. At last, it came into view, and we hurriedly checked in. We were all in one room, but I asked them to spare modesty for the time being and quickly change into dry warm clothes. Several of the students were close to hypothermia. Luckily, we all had dry layers to put on and after some hot cocoa, and sleeping bag snuggling, everyone warmed up. The guides were kind enough to dry a few things over their cooking stoves so that the students would have dry gloves for the summit. Many of us were not hungry  when dinner time arrived, but we knew we needed to be strong for our summit attempt in just a few short hours, so we chowed  down as best we could. Then, it was off to catch a few winks before our midnight departure.

I did actually fall asleep for about 2.5 hours before the guides came to wake us up. We hurriedly put on all our warmest layers and nervously drank some hot tea and down a few cookies. My stomach was in knots! They lined us all up outside and we began our climb up to 19,300 feet. Pole pole (pronounced pole-lay, pole-lay) was the phrase of the day. The guides kept telling us to go slowly. Right, like we could physically go any faster! We took breaks every 1.5 hours or so. One of the students started feeling the altitude right away and vomited a few times. She turned back around Williams Point around 16,000 feet. Pretty respectable if you ask me! The rest of us trudged our way towards the top.  Several other students became physically sick, but we all kept going. Vomiting is just part of the experience, according to our guides. Luckily, I was able to keep everything down the whole trip! Around 6 am (yep, we had walked for 6 hours straight in the dark), we were so close to Gilman’s Point. It’s not the top, but once you’re there, the actual summit is not too far way. The bright rays of sun’s first light started peeking out behind Mawenzi Peak. We were in awe. That was actually my favorite part of the whole experience – seeing that sunrise at Gilman’s. It was magical and it gave us all the energy and hope we needed to continue on.

From Gilman’s, we have an up and down hike to the actual summit – Uruhu Peak at elevation 19,300 feet above  sea level.  Step by step, we make our way over there. At this point, everyone is in their own world. I was no longer the trip leader; I was just one of the group, with my own struggle for air and the summit. At last, the sign telling us we had made it to the highest point in Africa, and we now stood on the tallest free standing mountain in the world.  I felt so lucky to be there, gasping for breath, icicles forming on my eyelashes and clothes. It doesn’t get any better than this. Well, watching nine students and one father make it to the top after struggling for so long, actually was better than me summiting. I couldn’t help but tear up a bit. What an amazing accomplishment for these students who weren’t sure they would make it to the top. I’m so damn proud of every single one of them.

After the excitement of the summit, we now were in a race to get back down to Kebo, before we all became giant icicles! Going down was actually a lot scarier than coming up, because when  we were coming up, we couldn’t see what was around us.  But slowly at first, we navigated the rocky, snowy terrain. Then, the guides taught us how to “ski/run” down the mountain carefully and that definitely sped up the process. We finally made it back down to Kebo, and the exhaustion started to creep in. We were allowed about an hour to rest up before we ate a light lunch and had to descend down to Horombo. At this point, we had been going for 13 hours straight, but we had to push on a bit more. The students were in pain, but they persevered and we all made it down to Horombo. I said a silent prayer that we had all made it safely. We ate what we could for dinner and then collapsed in bed.  I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

On day 6, we hiked 11 miles back down to the gate.  There was a pep in everyone’s step, or maybe it was a limp. Either way, we were all pumped when we made it safely down the mountain, with Mama Whitney welcoming us. We had all made it back down, on our own two feet, and I couldn’t be happier. I spoke a lot about mental toughness on this trip and I really believe the students now understand what that means. If they can make it to the top of the Mt.Kiliminjaro, they can do anything they put their minds to. They will be able to reflect up on this experience the rest of their lives, and draw strength from it. That is the power of the natural world, and that is the power of outdoor education.