First Time Guide to Climbing Kilimanjaro

Posted on November 25, 2018 by thirdeyemom

Have you ever had a dream for so long that it never stopped bugging you until you decided to just do it? For me, it has always been Kilimanjaro. I had wanted to climb this epic mountain ever since my father did it in October 1999. There really had not been any dream or travel goal that I have had for that long.

Like most dreams, there have been many obstacles and road blocks along the way. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my decades-long dream became a reality. I had wanted to make this climb special and have it be somewhat similar to my life-changing trip to Nepal. Serendipitously I was connected with the U.S.-based non-profit Solar Sister, an organization that provides solar electricity in Sub-Saharan Africa. For their fifth year anniversary, an international team was planning to climb Kilimanjaro in June of 2015. Each climber was required to raise $4,000 to support the hiring and training for 8 new solar sister employees in Africa and to celebrate the success of Solar Sisters, we would climb Kilimanjaro together as a multigenerational, international team. It was a perfect opportunity and I seized it. Looking back today, it was even better than I ever dreamed it would be. It was truly epic. Figuring out what on earth to do next after such an incredible climb will be the challenge.

Why go?

Kilimanjaro, the fourth highest peak among the seven summits, soaring at 19,340 feet (5,895 m) and one of the world’s highest freestanding mountains, has long been one of the most popular climbs given its relative ease of climbing (no technical climbing ability is necessary) and beauty. Located 200 miles (330 km) south of the equator in Northern Tanzania, the snow-capped volcanic dome of Kilimanjaro dominates the skyline like no other mountain on earth.

Kilimanjaro is actually not a single peak but a vast complex of cones and cores spreading over 38 miles (61 km) long by 25 miles (40 km) wide. There are three distinct volcanic cones: Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira. Uhuru Peak is the highest summit on Kibo’s crater rim and is the hopeful destination of thousands of climbers every year.

For me personally, I had grown up hiking, and climbing Kilimanjaro had been a long-term goal of mine after seeing my dad’s photos of his own climb back in 1999. I also desperately wanted to get there soon before the snow that caps the top of this mighty beast and makes it so stunning, is gone forever. Some scientists predict that the glaciers atop Kilimanjaro will be gone as early as 2030. What a tragedy!

What Route to choose?

There are six main climbing routes on Kilimanjaro with the Marangu Route (also known as the “Coca-Cola Route”) being the easiest and most popular. Our group chose the longer, more scenic Machame route that can take anywhere from 6-7 days and is known as one of the most beautiful routes on the mountain, passing through five distinct ecological zones and affording dramatic views every single day of the climb. The Machame Route also has one of the highest success rates for reaching the summit since it allows proper acclimatization before the final summit push.

Total Length of Hike: 62 miles (100 km) up and 24 miles (38 km) down.

Image of Mount Kilimanjaro Climbing Routes (Wikipedia). Our route was the Machame colored in brown.

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How Feeding America is Helping to Feed America

Posted on November 22, 2018 by thirdeyemom

On one of the largest holidays of the year in America, Thanksgiving, when most Americans are so full after eating such an enormous meal and a lot of the leftovers go to waste, it is hard to image that millions of people in this country go hungry.

In fact, 1 in 8 people struggle with hunger in the U.S.

As I enter the kitchen and begin to start preparing the Thanksgiving meal for our family of four, I reflect on this tragic fact. That despite the grocery stores filled with more food than you can ever imagine possible and the tables around the country awash with food, that so many Americans simply don’t have enough to eat nor have enough healthy food to eat. Ironically enough, our nation struggles too with some of the highest obesity rates in the world: Per the CDC, the prevalence of obesity was 39.8% and affected about 93.3 million of US adults in 2015~2016.

It is so ironic in a nation of plenty that so many have so little and so little healthy to eat. In fact, billions of pounds of food is wasted every single year. Yet the problem of hunger is complex.

So, Who Goes Hungry?

While researching on Feeding America, a leading non-profit in America fighting to combat hunger, I found these somewhat surprising statistics that delve into the often hidden facts of who in America is going hungry.

Child:

It’s a simple fact: A child’s chance for a bright tomorrow starts with getting enough food to eat today. But in America, 1 in 6 children may not know where they will get their next meal. For the more than 12 million kids in the U.S. facing hunger, getting the energy they need to learn and grow can be a daily challenge.

Senior

Nearly 5 million senior citizens currently face hunger in our country. After a lifetime of hard work, 63% of the households with older adults (50+) that Feeding America serves find themselves facing an impossible choice — to buy groceries or medical care. And as the baby-boom generation ages, the number of seniors facing hunger is only expected to increase.

Rural

Many rural and farm communities — the very places where crops are grown to feed the world — face hunger. It seems impossible, but in lands of plenty, hunger pains can be the sharpest.

African American

African American households face hunger at a rate more than twice that of white, non-Hispanic households. And getting enough to eat is a consistent struggle for 1 in 4 African American children.

Latino

Latino families face hunger at staggering rates in America. One in six Latino households in the United States struggles with hunger. For Latino children, the disparity is even more severe. Nearly 1 in 4 Latino children is at risk of hunger, compared to 12% of White, non-Hispanic children.

Poverty

40 million Americans struggle with hunger, the same as the number of people officially living in poverty. Based on annual income, 72% of the households the Feeding America network served in 2014 lived at or below the federal poverty level with a median annual household income of $9,175.

Source: Feeding America

However daunting it may seem there is a is a silver lining. There are many amazing organizations out there trying to fight hunger and make a difference.

How Feeding America is Making a Difference

Feeding America is a hunger relief organization with the mission to feed America’s hungry through a nationwide network of member food banks and engage our country in the fight to end hunger. With over 35 years of experience in fighting hunger, Feeding America is making an enormous impact with a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs strong throughout the United States.

Through Feeding America’s Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs, they are reaching over 46 million people each year. Along with the food banks and pantries, Feeding America provides the following programs: Mobile Pantry Program, Disaster Food Assistance, Summer Child Nutrition Programs, Backpack Program, School Pantry Program, Kids Cafe, Senior Grocery Program and SNAP Outreach.

You can help too by donating to Feeding America’s many programs, volunteering or becoming an advocate. To learn more, visit www.feeedingamerica.org.

A Hike on the Feuerkogel in Ebensee Austria

Posted on November 6, 2018 by thirdeyemom

Located a short distance off the shores of Lake Traunsee in the lovely Austrian town of Ebensee is the hiking region of the Feuerkogel. Accessed either on foot or via cable car, the Feurerkogel is one of Austria’s sunniest high altitude plateaus with astounding panoramic views of the Salzkammergut lake region and the Austrian Alps. For those hiking enthusiasts, the Feurerkogel has a variety of traditional Austrian lodges where you can grab a delightful bit to eat or spend the night hiking hut to hut along the many high alpine trails. For us, it was yet another fabulous area for us to hike that was not far from our farm stay at the Landgut Wagnerfeld in Altmünster.

We left for Ebensee shortly after breakfast, following Hauptstraße/B145 south for about thirteen kilometers as it swerved around the edge of Lake Traunsee and finally turned inland towards the mountains. We passed through a lovely residential area that was built around the Traun river as we headed towards the cable car station. As I looked around at our surroundings, it was hard to fathom that such a beautiful town was once home to one of the most horrific Nazi concentration camps of all time. Today a memorial is all that remains of the Ebensee Concentration Camp. The barracks and camp were destroyed after the Liberation in 1945.