I did it! I made it all the way up to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro during seven grueling days and nights climbing, sleeping and living on this majestic mountain. The experience was surreal. I have so many stories to share about this amazing journey and the friends I met along the way. But for now I need to get home and rest.
I will leave you with this short video of our second night on Kilimanjaro, a view of sunset from outside my tent. It felt like we were floating high above the earth and clouds. If there is a heaven, I believe I saw it.
Stay tuned….
Author’s note: This post is part of a series on my recent trip and climb of Mount Kilimanjaro, to read all posts click here.
WTG Nicole. Congratulations. It must have been an amazing experience. Looking forward to more posts!
Alison
Thanks so much Alison! It was GREAT!!! Can’t wait to share!
Gorgeous! My view from Casa Debbio looks like that when the clouds and mist come in.
Thanks Debra! It was so amazing. I really loved it. The people were amazing and it was so beautiful. 🙂
Thank you so much for allowing us to fly up there with you.
Thanks so much!
Congratulations! What an accomplishment! Now enjoy your rest.
janet
Thanks Janet! Still jet lag and legs still healing. Can’t wait to share the adventure with everyone!
Wow..!!! This is so cool. Congratulations on your successful attempt. I would love to know more about your experience.
Thanks! I will be writing a lot on the trip soon so stay tuned!
The views from your tent are wonderful…what an experience, above the clouds (almost)
Thanks Sue! it was surreal!
🙂
amazing!!! Congrats 🙂 what an accomplishment!
Thanks so much!!
Wow! Just wow! Rest up and then post your incredible journey. Congratulations.
Thanks Debbie! It was quite an adventure. Still recovering as I hurt my knee a bit before the climb and each day it is getting a little bit better. Can’t wait to get back to blogging!
Looks beautiful, makes me even more excited for my climb in September!! Roars to you for an amazing accomplishment!
What path are you taking? we did the machame 7-day and although I would have liked the 6 day, every one of us made it to the summit and i had no altitude sickness! it was such an amazing trip. I loved it. Let me know if you want any ideas/recs. I had a zero degree sleeping bag but I was still cold so would have preferred a warmer thicker bag.
Same route also 7 days, glad to hear of everyone’s success! I had planned on my lighter sleeping bag but I keep hearing how cold it is. I think I’ll bring my warmer heavier bag as I run cold! Was there anything you forgot or wished you had brought? Also we plan to donate to an orphanage and a village- what seemed to be the most needed? Thanks!!
Good question. Pack light but pack smartly with lots of layering tops and bottoms. We lucked out and it was seasonably warm and for me being from Minnesota, only my feet were cold for about an hour of our ascent. It was probably about 10-15 F with no wind. I heard the guys before that it was crazy cold like -20F! so be prepared with a very warm jacket. I wore shorts the first two days hiking, then two pairs of hiking pants are enough. I didn’t need all I brought as I ended up wearing the same long sleeve t-shirt every day with a short sleeve one underneath. You really don;t sweat much so 3 pairs of socks is enough and only 3 tops. Just remember the layers. Having snacks is good as you get hungry and sometimes food isn’t ready. Camelback 3 L is critical as are nalgene refillable water bottles, headlamp, warm wool hat covering ears, ear plugs, and hiking shoes. We had a great gear list sent to us beforehand and it was great. I have an unlocked cell phone but never got email so best to get a sim card to use for texting only but even texting is hard at times. If you listen to podcasts or music, a solar charger is great. As for the orphanage, I’m not exactly sure so you may want to check with them. Otherwise school pens, crayons, paper are always nice and even simple things like balls, frisbees, etc are often truly appreciated.
I’ll hope for unseasonably warm weather too:) We have a solar charger and a Delorme inReach that can send messages. Thank you for your tips!
You will be all set!
Wow!!!
Thanks! It was pretty amazing! 🙂
Congratulations Nicole, although I had no doubt you could do it! Wish altitude was not an issue for me. I would love to try to tackle this mountain. You must be on a high in so many ways! Looking forward to hearing more. 🙂
Thanks LuAnn! Our entire team made it which was astounding because some had never ever done any hiking at all. We took 7 days and I think it truly helped with acclimatization. Three got sick but were fine once off the summit. I don;t get altitude sickness so far so I felt great. It really was an experience!
Maybe there is hope for me then. I would love to do something like this. Can’t wait to hear more. 🙂
I am sure there is LuAnn. You start out slow and move on up ensuring great acclimatization. 🙂
Fantastic! Congratulations!
Thanks Sue! Can’t wait to share. I think you and your hubbie should do it!!!
We had some
Challenges with altitude in Peru Nicole. How did you find it?
I have no issues with altitude so far, and I attribute this to my dad who does amazing at high altitude whereas my brother can’t do the mountains of Colorado. Three out of Ten of us were sick but the ascent about 15,000 to the summit and back down is normally done in enough time for people who develop severe altitude sickness to get down safely. You can also take Diamox but I never have and I’m not 100% sure it works. The key is going up slow. On the mountain, you go up, go back down, etc and start from the bottom ensuring a very high success rate whereas when you are in Peru and rest of the Andes, you land so high you don’t have much time to acclimatize. 🙂
Amazing! And by that I mean both you and the mountain 🙂
Thanks Sas. I think you should put this on your bucket list!
Congratulations!
Thanks so much! 🙂 It was pretty wild. Knees still hurt but I guess at 43 what should I expect?!
Congratulations Nicole. Just wonderful. The video is sensational. Thanks for sharing. Safe return home. Look forward to reading all about your adventure. Warm wishes 🙂
Thanks Andrew! I have a lot of catching up to do. It was such an amazing experience. Just pushing yourself like that feels so liberating. Looking forward to sharing my adventure and of course catching up on your beautiful blog. 🙂
Congratulations, Nicole. My son-in-law did this trip for his 50th birthday. He said it was an awesome experience. 🙂
Thanks Sylvia! it was quite the experience!
Great job!
Thanks! A week later and my knees are still recovering from the slippery downhill! But it was worth it! 🙂
Wow, amazing! Congratulations on your achievement. I look forward to hearing more about it 🙂
Thanks so much! More soon Emily!
That view is pretty spectacular! Congrats for reaching your goals.
Thanks Jennifer! It was quite a trip. I really enjoyed the visit to the Maasi training camp too. I was the only guest there!
What a courageous feat! You must have some amazing stories to tell.
Thank you! Yes it was quite the trip indeed. Hard to believe I even did it now that I’ve been back three weeks! More stories are coming soon!
You’ve inspired me all the way to the top Nicole.
Thanks Lisa! 🙂
Congrats & well done! I knew you were doing this but haven’t had a lot of time for the blogosphere. Now I finally have a chance to catch up with your adventure.
Yay! Thanks so much for stopping by and all your commenting! I’m slowly catching up on replies and look forward to reading them all from you! Thanks!!!