Harney Peak, South Dakota
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Beneath your Feet: The Hike to Harney Peak

“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious”. – Stephen Hawking

I have always been an explorer and grew up doing most of my adventuring on my feet. Every fall, my parents packed up the diesel station wagon with the three of us kids, our Irish Setter Tasha, and enough stuff for a long weekend to spend up north. We drove five hours north of Minneapolis to stay in the beautiful town of Lutsen, located right on Lake Superior and not far from the famous Boundary Waters and Canoe Area. Every Saturday we would pack our backpacks, jump in the car again and drive to Eagle Mountain, the tallest peak in Minnesota and do a family four-to-five-hour hike. It was a tradition we did every single year of my childhood, just as the leaves turned their magnificent display of color.

Eagle Mountain, Minnesota

My Dad and Max on top of Eagle Mountain. June 2015.

It is funny how those special memories of childhood stay with you for the rest of your life. Hiking Eagle Mountain each year developed a lifelong love of the outdoors and trekking. It has led me most recently to the peak of Kilimanjaro to the beauty of Patagonia, Bolivia, France, Nepal and many times of hikes in Arizona.

My love of hiking and exploring what is beneath my feet is so strong that as a mother I have wanted to instill my passion on my children. We started out small with hikes around different state parks in Minnesota and even walks around my beloved Lake Harriet. Then on our last visit to Arizona where my parents live and there are endless opportunities to hike, we brought the kids to Sabino Canyon and my son Max did a longer, five hour hike with my husband and dad. Finally, just this past June my son Max (who is ten now) did his second climb of Eagle Mountain and did it all along with Papa. It was a special trip!

My next task was to get my daughter Sophia engaged and inspired to hike. She is only 8 but fairly athletic if she puts her mind to it. Our opportunity for our first real family hike was this past June during our trip to the Black Hills of South Dakota. There rises Harney Peak, the tallest mountain in the state at an elevation of 7242 feet (2207 m).

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Mount Kilimanaro Moshi Tanzania
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A Hike through the Rice Paddies of Moshi

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. 

I rose Saturday morning feeling surprisingly refreshed despite the weary night sleep. Our hotel room was on the first floor next to some loud female cats in heat and finally around three am I had to shut the window to get rid of the noise and awful stink. I fell in and out of a fitful, jet lagged sleep for the next several hours lying like a princess under my white canopy bed net.

The sounds of Africa woke me up as the neighboring community outside our hotel compound walls arose. Cars honking, kids playing, birds singing and motorbikes buzzing. All the sounds of life told me that it was time to get out of bed.

Springlands hotel Moshi

Workers unloading the daily supplies of fresh produce for the Springlands hotel.

We had nothing planned that day except our gear check and meeting on the details of our hike. I knew I couldn’t spend another entire day behind the walls of our hotel. I needed to get out and explore. I spoke with the friendly hotel staff and planned two outings for the day. A visit to a nearby orphanage supported by the charity of the hotel and a tour of the rice paddy fields outside the hotel.

For the rice paddies, I hired a local guide named Kebello and set off on a land tour through the rice paddies behind the hotel and into the rich, thicket forest harboring three different kinds of monkeys. Before I laced up my shoes, I knew it was going to be an adventure.

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Mount Kilimanjaro
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The first day: Arrival in Moshi

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. 

I began my long journey to Africa on a special day – July 8th, 2015 – my 15-year wedding anniversary. No wise wife purposely chooses to plan a two-week trip sans kids and husband on their wedding anniversary. But I had no choice. It would take me almost 24 hours to get to Tanzania and I needed to arrive in time to get over jet lag and prepare for the big climb of Mount Kilimanjaro.

Tearfully I said goodbye to my children and husband, feeling that bittersweet emotion mixed between excitement and guilt that I always feel when leaving my family to fly half way around the world. No matter how many times I’ve done it, it never is easy and I’m always a nervous, anxiety-ridden wreck before I leave on a big trip. Perhaps it is the micro-manager in me that always feels a sense of deep anxiety with leaving my organized, scheduled family life behind. Yet my bags were packed albeit five minutes before the taxi showed up outside my door, the meals were prepared and awaiting frozen inside the depths of the freezer and the endless pages of typed out notes with schedules, idiosyncrasies and miscellaneous tidbits on the daily care of the kids were left out in two copies for each one of my babysitters. I took deep breath, let out a sigh of relief and boarded the plane. A glass of wine was in order followed by another one as I settled into my seat.

There is something grand about traveling overseas, across continents and oceans. A deep, grateful wisp of anticipation, excitement and adventure always sets deep within my veins. Fortunately I have traveled all of my life and instead of diminishing, my love of wanderlust never seems to fade. Instead, it grows stronger like a huge oak tree firmly rooted into the ground and expanding upon each bit of sunlight and drop of rain.

Sunset over Africa

Sunset over Africa

Every time I get in the air, I turn on the flight tracker and watch in amazement the places we pass, soaring through the sky to the next adventure. This time it would be Tanzania, not a new continent for me but a new place. The first stop was in Amsterdam where I would had a couple of hours layover before boarding my next nine-hour flight directly to Kilimanjaro International Airport, located about an hour’s drive from Moshi where I’d be staying for the next couple of days.

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Base Camp 2, Machete Route, Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania
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Close Up in the Clouds of Kilimanjaro

It is better to have your head in the clouds, and know where you are… than to breathe the clearer atmosphere below them, and think that you are in paradise. – Henry David Thoreau

The one thing I will always remember about living on Mount Kilimanjaro for seven days and nights is the clouds. Every night at sunset I took my mug of hot cocoa out to a suitable rock and watched the changing clouds up close. I felt they were calling me in some strange way. Connecting me to nature and to myself.

Base Camp 2, Machete Route, Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Although I’ve done a lot of hiking over the years, I have never spent an entire week living on one single mountain. It was a rather surreal experience. Every camp site we stayed at was at an angle reminding me of what we had climbed up thus far and what remained. Every night sleeping in the tent, I’d put my boots at the end of my sleeping bag to keep my body from sliding down.

Base Camp 2, Machete Route, Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania

Base Camp 2, Machete Route, Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania

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On top of Uhuru Peak Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania
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On top of Mount Kilimanjaro

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.

On top of Uhuru Peak Mount Kilimanjaro Tanzania

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. 

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On the Way to the #SolarSisterSummit

It always amazes me how incredibly fast time goes. It felt like just yesterday when I signed up to join Solar Sister in a quest to climb Mount Kilimanjaro this July in honor of their five-year anniversary of providing light, hope, and opportunity to over 1,000+ Solar Sister Entrepreneurs across Sub-Saharan Africa. Now there are only six weeks left until I am on the way to Tanzania and I have much training and fundraising left to do.

I must admit that I am already tired out with all the training and it is only the tip of the iceberg. The hike will be 50 miles and almost 20,000 feet so I have much work to do. I have been trying to exercise every day and increase my miles on foot. I’ve walked three lakes, hiked regional and state parks, run up hills and have also been biking. I’m tired but whenever I get drained I realize that I am on my way to achieving my goal both physically and financially.

Lake Harriet, Minneapolis MN

On my way around one of many urban lakes in Minneapolis.

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Cerro Austria Bolivia
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The Descent from Cerro Austria in the Condoriri Valley of Boliva

Cerro Austria is stunning peak located in the spectacular Condoriri Valley a few hours outside of La Paz, Bolivia. At 17,698 feet it can be easily done in a day however you need to spend the night at the base camp to properly acclimatize before the hike.  It took only three hours to climb up from our base camp at 15,500 to the summit of Cerro Austria at 17,698 feet (5,396 meters). Thankfully we had left early because a storm was moving in. If we didn’t get down soon we would be trapped.

The view atop Austria Peak were outstanding but the darkness in the clouds is what made us want to move fast.

Cerro Austria BoliviaI had never heard the eerie sound of thunder in the high mountains before. It is a sound you don’t want to hear. Every rumble and boom bounces off the mountains, echoing in a loud, frightening way. It wasn’t too close yet but it was moving in.

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Cerro Austria Bolivia
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The Grand Finale: Climbing Austria Peak

After a hard night’s sleep at base camp, we rose early for our second and last hike in Condoriri Valley. I was relieved that physical exhaustion had finally gotten the best of me and I was finally able to sleep in my iceberg tent at the foot of the glacier. It wasn’t as bitterly cold as the night before and I had finally acclimatized to our base camp elevation of 15,500 feet.

Cerro Austria, Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

The sun was rising and the only sounds we heard were of the wind and of our cook Eugenia, preparing our morning meal. Today’s hike was going to be a big one. We would climb about three to four hours up to the top of Cerro Austria also known as “Cerro Negro” to an altitude of 17,698 feet/5,396 meters. It would take us another 3 hours or so to descend depending on our speed.

I was a little bit weary of the hike because once again our guide Javier called it an “easy trekking peak that can be reached via moraines and rock slopes with no technical difficulty” in our itinerary. After a day of trekking with Javier, a serious mountaineer, I realized that “easy” for him meant something entirely different for my dad and me. But of course I was determined to make it.

The only concern for the day was the weather. A storm was coming in so we had to leave as soon as possible so we wouldn’t get caught in it. The thought of being caught in an electrical storm made me uneasy but I trusted Javier’s experience and knowledge of the high Andes. He had been climbing for over 30 years. If he didn’t know these mountains, no one did.

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Condoriri Valley, Bolivia
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Morning has broken in Condoriri Valley

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”. – Winston Churchill

Sleeping in a tent at 15,500 feet is not for everyone. In fact, after the first night I had the unfortunate realization that it was not for me. After a restless, freezing cold, tossing and turning night of sleep I rose to the sound of a barking farm dog feeling completely exhausted. How on earth was I going to make the first big hike? I felt like hell.

It quickly dawned on me why we were the only ones stupid enough to be at the campsite. Instead of the usual 100 tents or so during high season, there were only three and they all belonged to us.  Sleeping with rough winds, thunder and a deep burning freeze of 15 degrees farenheit on frozen solid ground was not my ideal way of spending my vacation. Apparently the others who were not there figured that out way before us.

But again, every negative has its positive. We had the entire, beautifully serene place to ourselves. And perhaps it was worth the temperamental weather. Obviously camping and hiking with hordes of people was no where near as special and amazing as being completely, utterly alone.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

The first night, I did learn a few important things about sleeping so suddenly at altitude. First of all, you simply don’t sleep on the first night. It is impossible. Your body tosses and turns and you wake up a million times throughout the night while you struggle to acclimatize to the lower amounts of oxygen. At one point, my heart was beating so fast I was scared. But then I remembered the test for altitude sickness. Nausea, severe headache, dizziness and an inability to sleep. I had only one symptom but my worry about getting altitude sickness when I was hours on foot away from civilization unfortunately kept me up more.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

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Condoriri Valley, Bolivia
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Sleeping at the Foot of a Bolivian Glacier

Author’s note: This is a continuation of my post series The Drive to Condoriri Valley. To read post click on link. 

“I think it’s my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may”. – Leonard Nimoy

Within an hour our entire campsite was set up and our home for the next few days was ready. It had been awhile since I had camped outdoors, and I had never camped at 15,500 feet before. Although it was nearing summer, I knew that it would get cold once the sun went down and the winds picked up speed, sweeping cold air off the ice of the glacier.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

A view from the dining tent. My tent is the small white one in the background with the glacial tongue shortly behind it.

Since we had an hour or two before dinner, we decided to explore our surroundings by taking a short hike to the mouth of the glacier. The rain had stopped but the wind was fierce. We had heard that this time of year can be rather temperamental in the Andes which explained why we were the only ones there at the camp site. In another month or two, it would be filled with tents and trekkers. Yet despite the questionable weather I felt lucky to have the entire view to ourselves.

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Condoriri Valley, Bolivia
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Base Camp: Condoriri Valley

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open”. – Jawaharlal Nehru

Author’s note: This is a continuation of my post The Drive to Condoriri Valley. To read post click on link. 

We had reached our first test of adventure getting to the base camp at Condoriri Valley when we arrived at a collapsed bridge. Heavy rains that are common during the early summer season of November had washed it away and Javier, our guide, informed us that in rural Bolivia, infrastructure like roads and bridges are the responsibility of the village. Therefore, everyone in the neighboring community was required to spend the day repairing the bridge.  No one in the community was excluded from helping out, even the women and children had a role.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

Thankfully we had a land rover that enabled us to drive off road otherwise we would have been stuck. The bridge is essential for the community as is the gravel road that is a five-hour walk from the base of Condoriri Valley to the main highway. For those without cars, it is a long commute to civilization either on foot or bicycle. I learned that rural Bolivians are hardy people.

As we drove further and further away from the main road, the dramatic scenery became even more breathtaking. We passed traditional rural homes made of mud bricks layered tightly one on top of the other, covered with thatched roofs, and the brownish-green rolling hills of the glacier moraine that rest below the mighty Andes.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

Back on the gravel road headed toward Base Camp

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Condoriri Valley, Bolivia
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The Drive to Condoriri Valley, the foot of the Bolivan Andes

“Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” – Anatoli Boukreev

There is something about leaving a big city and heading out to the countryside that truly shows the meaning of a place. Whenever I travel, I try my best to see both urban and rural parts of a country. While I enjoy the adventure and activity of a big urban city, for me getting out of it is the best part of all. I love the mountains, hills, and countryside. For it is within nature that I often feel the most alive.

Condoriri Valley, Bolivia

Clouds thicken with rain at the foot of the Condoriri Valley in Bolivia.

Back in November, my father and I spent three days in La Paz, Bolivia acclimatizing to the high altitude and gearing up for our base camp at the foot of the Bolivian Andes in the Condoriri Valley at 15,500 feet. Landing in El Alto, the highest international airport in the world at a dizzying altitude of 13,323 feet (4,061 m), is not for the lighthearted nor is spending three days exploring the hilly, high altitude urban jungle of La Paz (which happens to be only slightly lower in elevation than her neighbor El Alto).

By the third morning, I was ready to leave the craziness of La Paz behind for a few days and go find myself in the beloved mountains. I’ve always loved the mountains as it is the one place in the world that I can truly find peace and reflection. Furthermore, I truly enjoy a good physical and mental challenge and that was just was I was about to get over the next few days hiking in Condoriri Valley.

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