The Kili summiters we spoke to before our climb told amazing tales of their porters. The theme was that they would not have made the summit without them. Our porters more than lived up to those expectations.
We had about 100 porters for our group of 32 clients. Porters fall into different groups starting with the younger ones who carry our food, tents, duffel bags, porta-johns, etc. Much of this gear is carried on their heads as they weave their way up steep trails! Assistant guides are next, followed by the cook (very imp.!) and the chief guide (Mickie--who climbed Kili over 200 times!)
Assistant guides have worked their way up from porters, have climbed Kili anywhere from 20-100 times. They are invaluable to us clients. As you climb, assistant guides walk beside you and start up very interesting conversations. They love to tell you the names of birds and plants, tell you to walk Pole Pole (slowly, slowly) and learn about your country. Baraka (think Barack Obama), a tall, elegant Maasi Warrior and Alpha (brother is named Omega!) usually walked with me. They patiently taught me Swahili words. They asked questions about the US and George Bush (they didn't like him).
The kindness of the guides and porters moved me to tears many times, especially as the rain made our climb so difficult. When the rain first began, Alpha opened my back pack, took out my rainpants, helped me put them on and zip up properly. He double-checked things, such as making sure my camera stayed dry. Tuesday night we arrived late in camp and I was trying to figure out how to sleep on a wet mat. A porter offered to take off his jacket and put it down on the mat for the night! He even offered to switch his dry mat for my wet one! He was willing to be wet, while I stayed dry. In the end, I used Dave's space blanket between my mat and sleeping bag--but what amazing generosity!
It gets better. On the 2nd day, I started out with Martina, where we had a fascinating chat as we climbed. After an hour or so, I was winded at her pace and dropped to the back. Alpha was suddenly there to encourage me, checked the weight of my pack and took out about 1/2 of what I was carrying, plus my 2 water bottles. This happened day after day, until finally on the last day, my guide carried my entire pack, while another carried Dave's pack. The guides helped you up/down the steep scrambles and for the summiters, they literally kept you standing as you stumbled from the altitude. They loved to sing to you as we climbed--Swhahili songs, but even more, Bob Marley songs.
They had a positive attitude and reminded you that would would make it to the summit. Friday was my hardest day. Martina had been rescued during the night and Denise had to descent with altitude sickness. We climbed to 15,300 ft from Horombu Camp to Barrafu. The snowstorm was especially bad. The walk was meant to be 5 hours, but it took Dave and me 7 hours, climbing two steep, high ridges. We were all getting pretty cold and soaked. A porter ran ahead to the cook and returned with cups and a thermos of soup! The warmth of that soup kept us going another 2-3 hours! Baraka kept telling me he knew I was climbing strong and would summit. He emphasized that I had no symptoms of altitude sickness and would definitely make it that night.
So--the porters and guides are special. It's easy to give them gear when you are done. Dave and I dropped our down jackets into the gear bag, plus my gaiters, my MP3player and my watch.
Dave and I were in our tent at midnight on summit night when our group left for the top. We could hear the guides singing loudly and happily as a way to encourage the summit team all the way to the top! These guys are the ultimate positive psychologists!
still exhausted,
Linda
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
FELLOW CLIMBERS
Top athletes:
Martina: she did not act like a world-class star, asking for special treatment; she was one of the climbers from the start--eating, camping, getting cold and wet, even using the loo (as all the Brits called them). Kevin Bacon tried to climb Kili a few years ago and ordered in a heliocopter to take him off the mountain! We had lots of time to bond with Martina on the trails and in the mess tent. Martina plans to install solar on her Aspen home--so we will be in touch about that idea--cool!. She planned to play tennis at Uhuru Peak on the summit. Only 1 racket came through customs, so Dave suggested she hit it against the sign at the top--an idea she liked.
Michael Teuber: German Gold Medalist paraOlympiian, paralyzed from waist, but using special technology to move his feet: very sweet and encouraging to all of us; German film crew climbed with us to make a doucmentary which you will all see in a few weeks.
Gail H: British Olympic Gold Medalist, badmiton: sweet, unassuming and very encouraging;
Nicholas: Greek Olympian, shooting: (Nick is pretty famous in Greece, where his wife won the Gold Medal-javilin during the 2000 Olympics in Athens!) we hit it off at Heathrow where we all met ages ago; Nick googled me before the climb and loved our two TV interviews on our blog. He thought we were very organized because he saw our clothes spread out in our living room (we were the least organized!). I organized a prayer circle every day befpre we left camp, which Nick really appreciated. Martina also bonded with Nick, especially when Nick gave her a quick back massage during a break on the trail and she said "how do I say I love you in Greek!"
South Africans: great and fun; very connected to Dave and me: Bibi and Babu, which means grandmother/grandfather in Swahili.
English: Karen and I connected over the Law of Attraction and she gave me a healing for my eyes (flashes, etc.from the altitude) at Mawenzi Tarn (14,000 ft) in the snow; Denise, a very fit 40-something had to descend as we headed to our highest camp due to altitude. Porters helped her 4-5 hour climb down, where she was met by an ambulance. We met her on our last day at KIA lodge.
Allana: gave me her fleece sleeping bag blanket, when mine got wet!
This is just a partial list: everyone was wonderful and the bonding of our group was special and supportive of all;
Martina: she did not act like a world-class star, asking for special treatment; she was one of the climbers from the start--eating, camping, getting cold and wet, even using the loo (as all the Brits called them). Kevin Bacon tried to climb Kili a few years ago and ordered in a heliocopter to take him off the mountain! We had lots of time to bond with Martina on the trails and in the mess tent. Martina plans to install solar on her Aspen home--so we will be in touch about that idea--cool!. She planned to play tennis at Uhuru Peak on the summit. Only 1 racket came through customs, so Dave suggested she hit it against the sign at the top--an idea she liked.
Michael Teuber: German Gold Medalist paraOlympiian, paralyzed from waist, but using special technology to move his feet: very sweet and encouraging to all of us; German film crew climbed with us to make a doucmentary which you will all see in a few weeks.
Gail H: British Olympic Gold Medalist, badmiton: sweet, unassuming and very encouraging;
Nicholas: Greek Olympian, shooting: (Nick is pretty famous in Greece, where his wife won the Gold Medal-javilin during the 2000 Olympics in Athens!) we hit it off at Heathrow where we all met ages ago; Nick googled me before the climb and loved our two TV interviews on our blog. He thought we were very organized because he saw our clothes spread out in our living room (we were the least organized!). I organized a prayer circle every day befpre we left camp, which Nick really appreciated. Martina also bonded with Nick, especially when Nick gave her a quick back massage during a break on the trail and she said "how do I say I love you in Greek!"
South Africans: great and fun; very connected to Dave and me: Bibi and Babu, which means grandmother/grandfather in Swahili.
English: Karen and I connected over the Law of Attraction and she gave me a healing for my eyes (flashes, etc.from the altitude) at Mawenzi Tarn (14,000 ft) in the snow; Denise, a very fit 40-something had to descend as we headed to our highest camp due to altitude. Porters helped her 4-5 hour climb down, where she was met by an ambulance. We met her on our last day at KIA lodge.
Allana: gave me her fleece sleeping bag blanket, when mine got wet!
This is just a partial list: everyone was wonderful and the bonding of our group was special and supportive of all;
A DAY ON KILI
Spent 6 nights in a 2-person tent, trying to sleep (Dave succeeded and I mostly did not), stay warm and not be too daunted by the pounding rain/thunder and snow. At 6 am, a porter knocks on our tent door to bring us tea. We wake, try to put the tea in a spot where it will not spill, and change to our layers of thermals, wick-away tops, fleece, down jackets and socks. Some of the clothes were inside our sleeping bags, getting them dry with our body heat. We are also drinking a liter of water as we dress to prevent altitude sickness. Inevitably, some clothing cannot be found or has gotten wet during the night--that slows us down.
We have to pee and since it's raining or snowing outside, we got quite skilled at using a pee bottle, just like those Everest guys! By now it's 6:30 am and our porter calls out "washy-washy" and leaves two bowls of hot, clean water jst outside our tent. I missed washy-washy the first few days--too slow. After 4 days, my timing improved and I washed my face and even put on some makeup! All the rain made the entrance muddy--had to watch undoing washy-washy!
Next, we put everything into our duffle bags for the porters to carry on their heads and filled our daypacks with clothing, energy bars for the day. Rain doubled this effort because we had to make sure all our gear and clothing stayed dry inside our bags and packs. We used garbage bags, but by nightfall, sleeping bags and clothing was still wet.
Breakfast was at 7:30, but I don't think I arrived until 8 am most days. Since we started off on the trail at 8:30 am, I charged through breakfast: porridge with honey, eggs and bacon, fruit and toast. It was important to eat as much as possible, for the calories and to counter loss of appetite at higher elevations. We also had to bring our empty 3 liters of water bottles/camelbak for the porters to fill.
Hiked for hours to our lunch spot or, on short days, to our camping spot. Lunch was always amazing: hot soup, followed by rice or potatoes (fries one day!), a stew-like casserole and tea or hot chocolate. The hot soups were different every day: broccoli, zucchini, carrot, leek, etc. I drank 2-3 bowls--very warming and yummy.
Dinner was around 7 pm, preceded by washy-washy and trying to get organized inside the tent, despite the rain and cold. Sundown happened quickly at 7 pm, so we all had to remember to bring out headlamps to the mess tent so we could find our way back to our tent. Once, I almost climbed into the wrong tent!
After dinner our leader Mark gave a talk about what to expect on the trail the next day. As the rain/cold/snow never let up, Mark's talks became both supportive and sobering.
Dave and I squeezed into our tents, took off our soaking/muddy boots and organized clothing and gear for the next day, using our headlamps. Bed around 9 pm or later, depending on how many things could not be found.
We have to pee and since it's raining or snowing outside, we got quite skilled at using a pee bottle, just like those Everest guys! By now it's 6:30 am and our porter calls out "washy-washy" and leaves two bowls of hot, clean water jst outside our tent. I missed washy-washy the first few days--too slow. After 4 days, my timing improved and I washed my face and even put on some makeup! All the rain made the entrance muddy--had to watch undoing washy-washy!
Next, we put everything into our duffle bags for the porters to carry on their heads and filled our daypacks with clothing, energy bars for the day. Rain doubled this effort because we had to make sure all our gear and clothing stayed dry inside our bags and packs. We used garbage bags, but by nightfall, sleeping bags and clothing was still wet.
Breakfast was at 7:30, but I don't think I arrived until 8 am most days. Since we started off on the trail at 8:30 am, I charged through breakfast: porridge with honey, eggs and bacon, fruit and toast. It was important to eat as much as possible, for the calories and to counter loss of appetite at higher elevations. We also had to bring our empty 3 liters of water bottles/camelbak for the porters to fill.
Hiked for hours to our lunch spot or, on short days, to our camping spot. Lunch was always amazing: hot soup, followed by rice or potatoes (fries one day!), a stew-like casserole and tea or hot chocolate. The hot soups were different every day: broccoli, zucchini, carrot, leek, etc. I drank 2-3 bowls--very warming and yummy.
Dinner was around 7 pm, preceded by washy-washy and trying to get organized inside the tent, despite the rain and cold. Sundown happened quickly at 7 pm, so we all had to remember to bring out headlamps to the mess tent so we could find our way back to our tent. Once, I almost climbed into the wrong tent!
After dinner our leader Mark gave a talk about what to expect on the trail the next day. As the rain/cold/snow never let up, Mark's talks became both supportive and sobering.
Dave and I squeezed into our tents, took off our soaking/muddy boots and organized clothing and gear for the next day, using our headlamps. Bed around 9 pm or later, depending on how many things could not be found.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
LONDON RECOVERY
See: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/13/sports/13martina.html
See: http://www.laureus.com/ and click on their blog for full details of this extreme adventure.
Flew from Nairobi last night. Martina came to the airport for a tearful reunion. She is very fortunate that she descended on the 4th night. Six porters brought her down on a stretcher in the dark on a bumpy trail. Our medic went with her. One of our fellow trekkers is a physician, which was good, because Doug split his head open on a rock when he came down from the summit and she had to stitch him up at 16,000 ft. with no pain-killers! This expedition was constantly beset bwith challenges!
Midnight on Friday night was summit night. The leaders considered cancelling the summit attempt. We had just trekked 8 hours over high ridges through cold, rain, snow and wind. We were soaked. Three of us decided to spend the night in our tents in the high camp. Two of the climbers returned from the summit attempt due to severe altitude sickness. The rest made the summit, literally on their hands and knees. These were 20/30 somethings, some Olympians. When they returned to camp the next morning they looked totally beat and told us nightmarish stories.
We all climbed down to 12,000 ft., passed 3 stretchers just like the one Martina used--very sobering. Deo Gratias, my guide, was listening/singing to the African music on my M P3 player, so I gave it to him when we got to camp. On Sunday, we had a 6 hour walk down to the gate. Both descents in the rain. I tried to stick to my promise to not count the time to the end, and listened to the lovely sounds of rain in the rainforest--birds and chattering blue monkeys. My big toe looks ugly and swollen and is so sore, I'm not sure if I can walk the streets of London!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
See: http://www.laureus.com/ and click on their blog for full details of this extreme adventure.
Flew from Nairobi last night. Martina came to the airport for a tearful reunion. She is very fortunate that she descended on the 4th night. Six porters brought her down on a stretcher in the dark on a bumpy trail. Our medic went with her. One of our fellow trekkers is a physician, which was good, because Doug split his head open on a rock when he came down from the summit and she had to stitch him up at 16,000 ft. with no pain-killers! This expedition was constantly beset bwith challenges!
Midnight on Friday night was summit night. The leaders considered cancelling the summit attempt. We had just trekked 8 hours over high ridges through cold, rain, snow and wind. We were soaked. Three of us decided to spend the night in our tents in the high camp. Two of the climbers returned from the summit attempt due to severe altitude sickness. The rest made the summit, literally on their hands and knees. These were 20/30 somethings, some Olympians. When they returned to camp the next morning they looked totally beat and told us nightmarish stories.
We all climbed down to 12,000 ft., passed 3 stretchers just like the one Martina used--very sobering. Deo Gratias, my guide, was listening/singing to the African music on my M P3 player, so I gave it to him when we got to camp. On Sunday, we had a 6 hour walk down to the gate. Both descents in the rain. I tried to stick to my promise to not count the time to the end, and listened to the lovely sounds of rain in the rainforest--birds and chattering blue monkeys. My big toe looks ugly and swollen and is so sore, I'm not sure if I can walk the streets of London!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Monday, December 13, 2010
OFF THE MOUNTAIN SORE AND EXHAUSTED
Short update. We leave Mt. Kilimanjaro airport very soon for Nairobi and an evening flight to London.
For best update: go to laureus.com and click on blog. The photos are fantastic. You will get a good sense of how extrordinary this expedition turned out. My feet were so sore last night, they could hardly touch the lovely bed - first bed sleep in 7 nights!
Dave and I made it to 16,000 ft. We were so soaking wet, as well as our boots and all our gear, that we decided to sleep in our tent, raather than join the final push to the summit. The climbers were all much younger by decades, Olympic champions and they ended up crawling to the summit. Our leader was even thinking of cancelling the summit push due to an entire week of soaking rains and snow and cold.
Linda
For best update: go to laureus.com and click on blog. The photos are fantastic. You will get a good sense of how extrordinary this expedition turned out. My feet were so sore last night, they could hardly touch the lovely bed - first bed sleep in 7 nights!
Dave and I made it to 16,000 ft. We were so soaking wet, as well as our boots and all our gear, that we decided to sleep in our tent, raather than join the final push to the summit. The climbers were all much younger by decades, Olympic champions and they ended up crawling to the summit. Our leader was even thinking of cancelling the summit push due to an entire week of soaking rains and snow and cold.
Linda
Saturday, December 11, 2010
UPDATE #3
Here's the latest text message from Linda: "Rain stopped, stars out. 6 people did not summit. 1 person went down 12,000 feet. 2 porters got sick. All unusual. Route to high camp very hard."
I texted her back to confirm that this means she and Dave reached the summit. Hopefully we'll hear more news soon!
Sarah
I texted her back to confirm that this means she and Dave reached the summit. Hopefully we'll hear more news soon!
Sarah
NEXT UPDATE
Sarah here again. I got another text from my mom about 3 hours ago, at 5am mountain time (7am ET), which would have been 3pm on Saturday for Linda and Dave. She wrote: "At 12,000 ft. Altitude ok for me, but bit problem for dave. Rain hard again. In tent by 3pm. Tomorrow great but grueling."
I think this means they will be returning to the start point by the end of the day Sunday, which is Saturday night/early Sunday am here. Send them positive thoughts!
I think this means they will be returning to the start point by the end of the day Sunday, which is Saturday night/early Sunday am here. Send them positive thoughts!
Friday, December 10, 2010
QUICK UPDATE
This is Linda and David's daughter Sarah with a quick update. I just received a text message from my mom at summit camp which reads: "At summit camp. Cold & wet. Rain and snow day & night! All gear wet. Martina down by stretcher. We will not summit."
Some news articles on the current situation:
LA Times story 1
LA Times story 2
Laureus Foundation story
Some news articles on the current situation:
LA Times story 1
LA Times story 2
Laureus Foundation story
Sunday, December 5, 2010
AT THE BASE OF KILI!
Up at 4 am for an early departure to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. We saw Kili for the first time, as we flew into Tanzania from Nairobi--wonderful feeling after all this pre-climb activity to finally see the snows of Kilimanjaro! Martina joined us and is as psyched as we are to start the climb. She was in Kenya a week ahead of us for her Save the Rhinos campaign.
We had to drive for 2 hours from the airport to the base of the mountain. The roads were very good until the final climb to our hotel. Since it was Sunday morning, we saw many people walking home from church. Sights included: Maasi warriors--tall and elegant, red blankets draping them, often with their spears or long sticks. The woman wore long, hooped earings. Almost every van that was driven by locals, was packed, with people hanging on the sides or riding on the top and somehow hanging on. We saw hugh termite hills in the red clay soil.
Food is great--spicy and delicious. We had an African stew last night, and beef strongoff today for lunch. The hotel is beautiful--has a waterfall, a pool and lots of stone and wood.
We get our kit inspection tonight, go to bed early (we are really low on sleep!) and start out tomorrow. We have a 2 hour drive to the northern side of Kili and a half-day hike ahead of us.
I should be able to text to my blog from the mountain.
Happy Trails,
Linda and Dave
We had to drive for 2 hours from the airport to the base of the mountain. The roads were very good until the final climb to our hotel. Since it was Sunday morning, we saw many people walking home from church. Sights included: Maasi warriors--tall and elegant, red blankets draping them, often with their spears or long sticks. The woman wore long, hooped earings. Almost every van that was driven by locals, was packed, with people hanging on the sides or riding on the top and somehow hanging on. We saw hugh termite hills in the red clay soil.
Food is great--spicy and delicious. We had an African stew last night, and beef strongoff today for lunch. The hotel is beautiful--has a waterfall, a pool and lots of stone and wood.
We get our kit inspection tonight, go to bed early (we are really low on sleep!) and start out tomorrow. We have a 2 hour drive to the northern side of Kili and a half-day hike ahead of us.
I should be able to text to my blog from the mountain.
Happy Trails,
Linda and Dave
Saturday, December 4, 2010
OUR FIRST DAY IN AFRICA!
I will be quick as the internet cost is by the minute. Today has been very full. The pace is set by 20-somethings, but we are keeping up. We landed at 6 am and had a 1 hour break, before being whisked off for the kids programs and the slums. We have seen very bad neighborhoods. Driving and walking in front of cars, vans and buses is insane. We had 3 vans transporting us, with guards, to the MYSA kids program and the 2nd biggest slum in Nairobi. At our hotel a soldier, carrying his rifle in a very visible manner, appeared, but he was not one of our guards. He was for some famous person coming to the hotel.
One of our drivers was clipped by a 4-wheeler, and that driver came out and starting to slap our driver! Dave and I joined a pick up soccer game on some hard dirt surface. I stopped on hit towards the goal with my shin--so much for my soccer skills!
The tennis writer for the London Times was on our flight and in our van, sent to interview Martina bout her climb. He was fun to talk to about some McEnroe bad boy stories.
Deshaun was in our van--she has climbed 5 of the 7 summits, and would be on this climb, except that she is pregnanat. She is from South Africa and very sweet and smart about climbing. She has climbed Denali and was on Everest during the famous Into Thin Air storm that Jon Krakauer wrote about.
We are still learning how to eat without getting traveler's dysentry. The hotel gave us a box lunch and we ate the veggie sandwiches, which were washed in tap water--that's a no-no. But we are ok-no aftereffects.
We get up at 4 am for our flight to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. I should be able to send 1 more email tomorrow from the Marangu Hotel.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
One of our drivers was clipped by a 4-wheeler, and that driver came out and starting to slap our driver! Dave and I joined a pick up soccer game on some hard dirt surface. I stopped on hit towards the goal with my shin--so much for my soccer skills!
The tennis writer for the London Times was on our flight and in our van, sent to interview Martina bout her climb. He was fun to talk to about some McEnroe bad boy stories.
Deshaun was in our van--she has climbed 5 of the 7 summits, and would be on this climb, except that she is pregnanat. She is from South Africa and very sweet and smart about climbing. She has climbed Denali and was on Everest during the famous Into Thin Air storm that Jon Krakauer wrote about.
We are still learning how to eat without getting traveler's dysentry. The hotel gave us a box lunch and we ate the veggie sandwiches, which were washed in tap water--that's a no-no. But we are ok-no aftereffects.
We get up at 4 am for our flight to Mt. Kilimanjaro airport. I should be able to send 1 more email tomorrow from the Marangu Hotel.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Friday, December 3, 2010
ON OUR WAY TO KENYA!
Arrived in London around midnight last night. Our plane was half-empty, so we had the luxury of taking up an entire row for each of us. This was a boon for catching up on lost sleep. We were up till midnight with last minute packing, and woke up at 3 am for our 6 am flight out of Albany.
We are staying at a very nice hotel near Heathrow. The hotel must have thought that Martina was rooming with us. Instead of the room we booked, they gave us the International Suite! We had a fireplace and an incredible bathroom, with a shower that had 6 different spray head things.
A Londoner, upon hearing we were New Yorkers, called us "half a paddy", meaning we were Irish immigrants - which we (sort of) are.
Back to Heathrow for our flight to Nairobi. Blizzard here in England, with lots of flights cancelled--but we are fine.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
We are staying at a very nice hotel near Heathrow. The hotel must have thought that Martina was rooming with us. Instead of the room we booked, they gave us the International Suite! We had a fireplace and an incredible bathroom, with a shower that had 6 different spray head things.
A Londoner, upon hearing we were New Yorkers, called us "half a paddy", meaning we were Irish immigrants - which we (sort of) are.
Back to Heathrow for our flight to Nairobi. Blizzard here in England, with lots of flights cancelled--but we are fine.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
FINAL PREPARATIONS
I would like to give a special shout out to our daughter Sarah. Sarah has become our IT person, helping us spiff up our blog with videos and photos, as well as setting up our international phone to send text and photos to our blog while we climb..
Two special Kili experiences happened today:
WRGB heard about our climb and came to the house this morning for a story. Here's the video that ran on tonight's news, showing how much packing there's still left to do!
We met with Bishop Hubbard who gave us a very moving blessing, with wishes for our safety and transformation! Dave and I were both moved to tears. Right on, Bishop Hubbard! As head of the US Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Hubbard traveled through Africa this summer. See photo below.
Two special Kili experiences happened today:
WRGB heard about our climb and came to the house this morning for a story. Here's the video that ran on tonight's news, showing how much packing there's still left to do!
We met with Bishop Hubbard who gave us a very moving blessing, with wishes for our safety and transformation! Dave and I were both moved to tears. Right on, Bishop Hubbard! As head of the US Bishops Committee on International Justice and Peace, Bishop Hubbard traveled through Africa this summer. See photo below.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Sunday, November 28, 2010
SYNCHRONICITY SURPRISES US IN COLORADO
Dave and I are coming down the homestretch, with our departure only a few days away. We have been in Colorado, spending Thanksgiving with Sarah and Ian in Breckenridge. Breckenridge is 9500 ft. and we climbed today and yesterday to about 11,000 ft. It was great altitude and cold weather practice. We tried out different sock arrangements (need those boots to be warm!)and layered up from balaclavas on our heads to wool liners on our hands and feet. The gear works!
We felt the altitude the first 24 hours-each of us had mild headaches. We drank lots of water and acclimatized pretty quickly--a good sign.
We had a wonderful encounter on our snowshoe hike yesterday. We met a British couple, Phil and Elaine, on our climb up Baldy Peak (the trail is actually called Nightmare on Baldy--those western names are never subtle!) They were very friendly, so we told them about our Kili climb with Martina. Phil was keenly aware of our expedition, having heard Mary Carillo announce Marina's charity climb during Wimbledon, exactly the same time I heard Mary. He had even thought of going himself! Phil amazed us, when he asked if he could make a contribution and took out $20 - right there on a snowy trail in the Rockies--incredible! He and his wife were so excited to just run into us like that. That excitement is an adrenaline high for us--exactly the sort of support that will push our bodies to the top of Kilimanjaro. I promised them a photo on my blog. See below.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Saturday, November 27, 2010
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Wednesday, November 24, 2010
KILIMANJARO SINGS TO US
Our mountain preparations have exposed us to some new and old music that I labeled Kili genre. I am counting on their beautiful melodies and lyrics to help us to climb all the way to the top.
• When Pat Humphries, a singer-songwriter friend of mine, learned last August that we were climbing Kilimanjaro she sent me an inspiring song she wrote about global warming, called Kilimanjaro. As if that wasn’t enough of a coincidence, Pat told us that she will perform at Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady on Saturday, December 11. December 11 happens to be our summit day! I have asked Pat to sing “Kilimanjaro” during her concert and send all those good vibrations across 8 time zones and into our bodies, minds and hearts as we make our final ascent.
I hope to play Pat’s song for the porters, Martina and the others. Who knows—maybe the film crew will include it in their documentary. Here’s Pat’s song, “Kilimanjaro”:
• The Missa Luba came out in the 60’s. It is the Congo version of the Mass and sounds very African. When the choir sings the Creed and gets to the part “and Jesus died”, the singing stops and the Death Chant is beat on drums. I hope to get to Mass in the small village of Marangu, the day before we start climbing and hear this music. Here’s a YouTube version:
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
• When Pat Humphries, a singer-songwriter friend of mine, learned last August that we were climbing Kilimanjaro she sent me an inspiring song she wrote about global warming, called Kilimanjaro. As if that wasn’t enough of a coincidence, Pat told us that she will perform at Proctor’s Theatre in Schenectady on Saturday, December 11. December 11 happens to be our summit day! I have asked Pat to sing “Kilimanjaro” during her concert and send all those good vibrations across 8 time zones and into our bodies, minds and hearts as we make our final ascent.
I hope to play Pat’s song for the porters, Martina and the others. Who knows—maybe the film crew will include it in their documentary. Here’s Pat’s song, “Kilimanjaro”:
• The Missa Luba came out in the 60’s. It is the Congo version of the Mass and sounds very African. When the choir sings the Creed and gets to the part “and Jesus died”, the singing stops and the Death Chant is beat on drums. I hope to get to Mass in the small village of Marangu, the day before we start climbing and hear this music. Here’s a YouTube version:
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Monday, November 15, 2010
BRINGING THREE BUCKETS TO KILIMANJARO
Dave and I just finished reading Kissing Kilimanjaro: Leaving it All on the Top of Africa by Daniel Dorr.
Dorr offers an invaluable tip: everyone who climbs into thin air brings along three buckets at various levels of fullness: Bucket 1 is physical training; Bucket 2 is mental training and Bucket 3 is your physiology and how your body reacts to high altitude. Of course, Buckets 1 and 2 are filled by a climber's personal training regime. Bucket 3 is a throw of the dice. You can help acclimatizing by hiking slowly, drinking tons of water and taking diamox, but ultimately personal physiology rules the day.
We have pulled out all the stops for Buckets 1 and 2.
Bucket 1: Physical Training: We got a glimpse of a full Training Bucket on Wednesday's stair climb with Martina. She is one fit 53-year old woman! Thank goodness Kili can also be climbed by ordinary 60-somethings! This is how we have tried to fill our first bucket in the past twelve weeks: hiking, cycling the hills around the Helderbergs and sometimes in the gym, stretching (never enough on this part!), resting (short here too!), and tweaking our diet. We could train harder but we risk old and new injuries. We look for the balance between strenuous workouts without overdoing it. Lately we have dropped back from 12 mile treks to 6-8 mile treks
Bucket 2-Mental Conditioning: Filling this bucket has been very exciting. I try to replace the old No Pain No Gain style with different approaches. My latest one is based on the Law of Attraction: a completely positive mind, body, spirit attitude will bring a completely successful Kilimanjaro expedition. That means eliminating negative thoughts and feelings and replacing them with joy and gratitude. For example, no trash-talking in my head. When a driver cut me off the other day, and I thought, "Damn it" I switched to "Hey--I'm having a great day!" Not always easy but lots of fun to practice!
Bucket 3: We will see. We will see. We drink lots of water. Diamoxx may be out for me. I tried it and felt drunk for 10 hours. We hike slowly anyway, so we should be last in the pack climbing Kili. That will be a good thing!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Dorr offers an invaluable tip: everyone who climbs into thin air brings along three buckets at various levels of fullness: Bucket 1 is physical training; Bucket 2 is mental training and Bucket 3 is your physiology and how your body reacts to high altitude. Of course, Buckets 1 and 2 are filled by a climber's personal training regime. Bucket 3 is a throw of the dice. You can help acclimatizing by hiking slowly, drinking tons of water and taking diamox, but ultimately personal physiology rules the day.
We have pulled out all the stops for Buckets 1 and 2.
Bucket 1: Physical Training: We got a glimpse of a full Training Bucket on Wednesday's stair climb with Martina. She is one fit 53-year old woman! Thank goodness Kili can also be climbed by ordinary 60-somethings! This is how we have tried to fill our first bucket in the past twelve weeks: hiking, cycling the hills around the Helderbergs and sometimes in the gym, stretching (never enough on this part!), resting (short here too!), and tweaking our diet. We could train harder but we risk old and new injuries. We look for the balance between strenuous workouts without overdoing it. Lately we have dropped back from 12 mile treks to 6-8 mile treks
Bucket 2-Mental Conditioning: Filling this bucket has been very exciting. I try to replace the old No Pain No Gain style with different approaches. My latest one is based on the Law of Attraction: a completely positive mind, body, spirit attitude will bring a completely successful Kilimanjaro expedition. That means eliminating negative thoughts and feelings and replacing them with joy and gratitude. For example, no trash-talking in my head. When a driver cut me off the other day, and I thought, "Damn it" I switched to "Hey--I'm having a great day!" Not always easy but lots of fun to practice!
Bucket 3: We will see. We will see. We drink lots of water. Diamoxx may be out for me. I tried it and felt drunk for 10 hours. We hike slowly anyway, so we should be last in the pack climbing Kili. That will be a good thing!
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
THE CLIMB BECOMES COSMIC
Our Kilimanjaro adventure brought us lots of excitement the past few days. To raise funds for the sports for kids programs, the Laureus Foundation, invited us to join Martina Navratilova on her climb up the 55 flights of stairs at the Bank of America Tower in New York City. We followed Martina up the 1,000 ft. climb to the roof of this eco-friendly skyscraper. Martina sprinted, while we went "Pole, Pole." (Swahili for Slowly, Slowly). But we made it! It was a test of our training--our hiking and cycling must be on the right track, because we weren't sore and our heart rates were fine.
Here's a link to the story of today's stair climb. The reporter includes an excellent description of our trail, the Rongai Route: http://blog.gvtnews.com/2010/11/10/martina-navratilova-scales-bank-of-america-tower-in-preparation-for-mt-kilimanjaro-challenge.aspx?ref=rss
We met the Tanzanian ambassador to the UN today! He told us that Tanzania is very aware of our expedition and wants to do everything to help our climb go smoothly. Here's Dave, our friend Bob Preston who climbed Kili a few years ago and Ambassador Sefue, the permanent representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the UN. When Ambassador Sefue was a boy he could see the snows of Kilimanjaro from his home. He said that the glaciers are visibly decreased. Scientists predict that the snows will be gone by 2025. Since Tanzanians rely on the melting snows to provide water for his country, there is serious concern about the loss of one of their few water sources.
Here's a link to the story of today's stair climb. The reporter includes an excellent description of our trail, the Rongai Route: http://blog.gvtnews.com/2010/11/10/martina-navratilova-scales-bank-of-america-tower-in-preparation-for-mt-kilimanjaro-challenge.aspx?ref=rss
We met the Tanzanian ambassador to the UN today! He told us that Tanzania is very aware of our expedition and wants to do everything to help our climb go smoothly. Here's Dave, our friend Bob Preston who climbed Kili a few years ago and Ambassador Sefue, the permanent representative of the United Republic of Tanzania to the UN. When Ambassador Sefue was a boy he could see the snows of Kilimanjaro from his home. He said that the glaciers are visibly decreased. Scientists predict that the snows will be gone by 2025. Since Tanzanians rely on the melting snows to provide water for his country, there is serious concern about the loss of one of their few water sources.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Monday, November 8, 2010
KILIMANJARO BECOMES JUST A DOT
Hello to our Kili support team! Four weeks from today, Dave and I will be climbing to Mawenzi Tarn at 12,990 ft. I'm starting to get those overwhelming feelings as we plot out all that needs to be accomplished before our December 1 departure.
Here's a peek at what is going on:
Training: Dave's body is doing a bit better than mine. The tendonitis in my shoulder that kicked in when we first started training is calming down This is very good because our day pack weight will be around 20 lbs., since we need to carry 3-4 liters of water to drink as we climb. My left hamstring keeps feeling tight. I am stretching and icing it, plus wearing my knee brace while I hike to be sure it is in good shape for Kili.
Gear: Dave, being a lanky guy with little excess fat, is thinking hard about staying warm. During our training hikes in colder temps, Dave takes much longer to warm up than I do. He slept on the porch last night to test his sleeping bag. At 30 degrees, he was cold! When the sun goes down on Kili it will be around zero degrees, not counting the wind chill. Dave is thinking of stuffing a sleeping bag inside of a sleeping bag. We also need to figure out and buy the right gloves, socks, rain proofing systems, etc. Plus, we must organize how to keep the weight in our duffle bags, which the porters will carry, below 33 lbs. each. Organized Packing is very important so we an find our various layers of clothing easily from inside our tents when it's pitch-dark outside.
Health: We still have a few doctors and dentist appointments for final vaccinations and checkups. Need to prepare our medical kits: in addition to our malaria pills, we will bring pills for travels dysentry and other ailments, such as blisters.
So--it is a bit mind-boggling. I could feel the shift from excitement to anxiety as I thought of all these tasks yesterday as we did another 12 miler up/down Greylock. I read somewhere if you have a big worry, simply visualize it as a dot. Cool! Instead of Mount Kilimanjaro as a 19,340 ft. peak in Africa, it became a dot! That was very calming!
Happy trails,
Linda and David
Here's a peek at what is going on:
Training: Dave's body is doing a bit better than mine. The tendonitis in my shoulder that kicked in when we first started training is calming down This is very good because our day pack weight will be around 20 lbs., since we need to carry 3-4 liters of water to drink as we climb. My left hamstring keeps feeling tight. I am stretching and icing it, plus wearing my knee brace while I hike to be sure it is in good shape for Kili.
Gear: Dave, being a lanky guy with little excess fat, is thinking hard about staying warm. During our training hikes in colder temps, Dave takes much longer to warm up than I do. He slept on the porch last night to test his sleeping bag. At 30 degrees, he was cold! When the sun goes down on Kili it will be around zero degrees, not counting the wind chill. Dave is thinking of stuffing a sleeping bag inside of a sleeping bag. We also need to figure out and buy the right gloves, socks, rain proofing systems, etc. Plus, we must organize how to keep the weight in our duffle bags, which the porters will carry, below 33 lbs. each. Organized Packing is very important so we an find our various layers of clothing easily from inside our tents when it's pitch-dark outside.
Health: We still have a few doctors and dentist appointments for final vaccinations and checkups. Need to prepare our medical kits: in addition to our malaria pills, we will bring pills for travels dysentry and other ailments, such as blisters.
So--it is a bit mind-boggling. I could feel the shift from excitement to anxiety as I thought of all these tasks yesterday as we did another 12 miler up/down Greylock. I read somewhere if you have a big worry, simply visualize it as a dot. Cool! Instead of Mount Kilimanjaro as a 19,340 ft. peak in Africa, it became a dot! That was very calming!
Happy trails,
Linda and David
Monday, November 1, 2010
5th Graders fall in love with Mt. Kilimanjaro
The support team just keeps growing. My sister, Ann Marie, a teacher in New Jersey, told her colleague, Mrs. Puliatte, the 5th grade teacher, about our Kili climb. Mrs. P. is teaching her students about Africa and wanted to personalize her lesson plans. All 21 students wrote letters to us. They are delightful, full of enthusiasm and will certainly give Dave and me some sweet stories to share with our fellow climbers at the end of the day in our dinner tent.
Here are a few excerpts, in their exact words:
Bosung: "When I was in Korea, my father loved to climb mountains. So, I climbed many mountains. If I can climb Kilimanjaro Mountain, I will be so happy. I wanted to climb Baik Du San Mountain because it is the tallest mountain in Korea. But how can I not go to try climbing the Kilimanjaro Mountain? If I get to the age of 23 I want to climb Everest Mountain. If I climb the Kilimanjaro Moutain, it can be a good practice to climb Everest Mountain. You will be the good mountain climber soon. Good luck and bye."
Sue: also from Korea: "I researched Kilimanjaro and learned some facts: Number one: Mount Kilimanjaro is about 19,360 ft. high. Wait, Mt. Kilimanjaro is really high! I was so amazed and fascinated that Mrs. Burtis, you, will try to climb a mountain that my dad won't even do it! (It is a joke!)
Grace: "Why are you climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro if it is difficult?"
Martin: " I think it's great that you are doing this to support charity. If I were homeless or in need, I would have really appreciated it. I have been playing tennis since I was 5 and would have loved to meet a professional tennis player. Meeting the record holder for the most grand slam singles titles would have been something to remember!"
I plan to meet Mrs. P's students soon and show them the Imax movie KILIMANJARO. It includes 2 kids-about 11 years old, trekking to the summit.
Happy trails,
Linda and David
Here are a few excerpts, in their exact words:
Bosung: "When I was in Korea, my father loved to climb mountains. So, I climbed many mountains. If I can climb Kilimanjaro Mountain, I will be so happy. I wanted to climb Baik Du San Mountain because it is the tallest mountain in Korea. But how can I not go to try climbing the Kilimanjaro Mountain? If I get to the age of 23 I want to climb Everest Mountain. If I climb the Kilimanjaro Moutain, it can be a good practice to climb Everest Mountain. You will be the good mountain climber soon. Good luck and bye."
Sue: also from Korea: "I researched Kilimanjaro and learned some facts: Number one: Mount Kilimanjaro is about 19,360 ft. high. Wait, Mt. Kilimanjaro is really high! I was so amazed and fascinated that Mrs. Burtis, you, will try to climb a mountain that my dad won't even do it! (It is a joke!)
Grace: "Why are you climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro if it is difficult?"
Martin: " I think it's great that you are doing this to support charity. If I were homeless or in need, I would have really appreciated it. I have been playing tennis since I was 5 and would have loved to meet a professional tennis player. Meeting the record holder for the most grand slam singles titles would have been something to remember!"
I plan to meet Mrs. P's students soon and show them the Imax movie KILIMANJARO. It includes 2 kids-about 11 years old, trekking to the summit.
Happy trails,
Linda and David
Monday, October 25, 2010
KILIMANJARO: THE MOUNTAIN BECOMES OUR TEACHER
When I first started to play national tennis tournaments, I trained hard. I loved interval training (cardio workouts based on sets of explode/recover/explode/recover) with a jump rope. With two toddlers, life was crazy-busy and often it was midnight when I jumped rope under the street light in front of our house. I gained endurance, but struggled with injuries. I ignored the fatigue. I almost fell into the same trap with our Kilimanjaro training. The early hikes were fine, but once Dave and I built up to 12 mile/9+hr hikes, my body started to protest with sore knees, hamstrings and shoulders. Plus, I added gym and cycling workouts, with no rest days. All those sore muscles just got more sore and very tight.
People who have climbed Kilimanjaro tell us it's really about endurance and the altitude. Except on summit day when the path both up/down is pretty steep, the trail is a slow walk uphill. Twelve mile hikes in the Berkshires and the Adirondacks are hard work--constantly scrambling over rocks and tree roots. These hikes do not replicate the trail in Tanzania.
So--we tried a different training tactic today and it turned into one of our most enjoyable days! Mt. Greylock has become our basecamp. It's easy to reach, the autumn drives have been splendid and we even drive past 6 wind turbines. In addition to lots of trails, Greylock boasts several roads to the summit. Today we hiked 7 miles in only 3 1/2 hours by taking the Mt. Greylock Rd. (off Rt. 7). It's a beautiful unpaved road for about 3 miles, before it runs into Rockwell Road, which goes to the top from the southern flank. The workout on our quads and hamstrings was just as strenuous as a trail hike. However, our eyes were not glued to the ground, and we could enjoy the spectacular orange colors, groves of birch trees and see the ridges we were crossing.
My other training changes include: rest days (still hard to commit to: I'll hope for rainy days at least once a week), more hours of sleep every night and stretches, stretches, stretches. Plan to check out our local Pilates teacher. Kilimanjaro: you are a wonderful teacher!
People who have climbed Kilimanjaro tell us it's really about endurance and the altitude. Except on summit day when the path both up/down is pretty steep, the trail is a slow walk uphill. Twelve mile hikes in the Berkshires and the Adirondacks are hard work--constantly scrambling over rocks and tree roots. These hikes do not replicate the trail in Tanzania.
So--we tried a different training tactic today and it turned into one of our most enjoyable days! Mt. Greylock has become our basecamp. It's easy to reach, the autumn drives have been splendid and we even drive past 6 wind turbines. In addition to lots of trails, Greylock boasts several roads to the summit. Today we hiked 7 miles in only 3 1/2 hours by taking the Mt. Greylock Rd. (off Rt. 7). It's a beautiful unpaved road for about 3 miles, before it runs into Rockwell Road, which goes to the top from the southern flank. The workout on our quads and hamstrings was just as strenuous as a trail hike. However, our eyes were not glued to the ground, and we could enjoy the spectacular orange colors, groves of birch trees and see the ridges we were crossing.
My other training changes include: rest days (still hard to commit to: I'll hope for rainy days at least once a week), more hours of sleep every night and stretches, stretches, stretches. Plan to check out our local Pilates teacher. Kilimanjaro: you are a wonderful teacher!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The Mountain Will Come To You
Dear family and friends,
My plan is to write a Kili update on Sunday nights. So--here's the first one.
Dave and I need to get our knees strong for the two day descent of Kilimanjaro. So, today's hike was an attempt to check out our elder-knees. We hiked a 12 mile loop on Greylock: Hooper Trail (off Rt. 7) to the summit of Greylock, then to the summit of Mt. Fitch and on to the summit of Mt. Williams and a long downhill hike back to our car at Hooper Trail. We started at 10 am and finished at 6:30, which means we hiked about 1.5 miles per hour. The trail was slippery with wet leaves and rain-damp rocks. We both took spills, but survived with no damage.
It was beautiful weather, warm for this late in the season. The crowd today was very internationale: We met French Canadians (they had hiked in the Himalayas), a Parisian, a group from India singing India folk songs, and a few Germans. Thoreau's favorite mountain felt like the Alps.
These hikes provide great opportunities to think about some of the Kili problems, such as how to avoid getting dysentry from all the new bacteria we will be exposed to. To help with altitude sickness we are supposed to drink 3-5 liters of water while hiking.--to keep up with that demand I have to constantly drink. I use a camelbak system, and can easily sip water as I hike. Every time I sipped water today I noticed how my hands touched the bite valve that I sipped on---hmmmmm....or the bite valve touches the ground, rocks, trees and leaves whenever I took my backpack off. Hmmmmmm.....there goes my plan for meditative calmness!
Happy trails,
Linda and David
My plan is to write a Kili update on Sunday nights. So--here's the first one.
Dave and I need to get our knees strong for the two day descent of Kilimanjaro. So, today's hike was an attempt to check out our elder-knees. We hiked a 12 mile loop on Greylock: Hooper Trail (off Rt. 7) to the summit of Greylock, then to the summit of Mt. Fitch and on to the summit of Mt. Williams and a long downhill hike back to our car at Hooper Trail. We started at 10 am and finished at 6:30, which means we hiked about 1.5 miles per hour. The trail was slippery with wet leaves and rain-damp rocks. We both took spills, but survived with no damage.
It was beautiful weather, warm for this late in the season. The crowd today was very internationale: We met French Canadians (they had hiked in the Himalayas), a Parisian, a group from India singing India folk songs, and a few Germans. Thoreau's favorite mountain felt like the Alps.
These hikes provide great opportunities to think about some of the Kili problems, such as how to avoid getting dysentry from all the new bacteria we will be exposed to. To help with altitude sickness we are supposed to drink 3-5 liters of water while hiking.--to keep up with that demand I have to constantly drink. I use a camelbak system, and can easily sip water as I hike. Every time I sipped water today I noticed how my hands touched the bite valve that I sipped on---hmmmmm....or the bite valve touches the ground, rocks, trees and leaves whenever I took my backpack off. Hmmmmmm.....there goes my plan for meditative calmness!
Happy trails,
Linda and David
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Only 7 Weeks to Go!
Hello family and friends,
Since a nor'easter is blowing through all the mountains/hills around Albany today, this is our first Saturday since August 14 that we have not been on a hiking trail. I am using the unexpected time to start the promised blog of our Kilimanjaro adventure. I hope you will enjoy reading it! We look forward to your comments and will certainly use your supportive energy to help us get up the mountain.
Here are a few "Kili" (the name the locals use) facts:
We took 4 of the Burmese refugee kids we help on our Petersburg Pass hike. They happily turned our trekking poles into swords and spears all the way up the trail! Cultural barriers totally dropped away and I kept feeling as if I had my three Alaskan grandsons with me, instead of 4 boys who, until a few months ago, had only lived in a refugee camp!
We started our travel vaccinations last week, with another round this week and a final round next month. The daunting list of shots include: Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hep A/B, Menengitis, and a Polio booster. They are also dauntingly expensive.
This expedition is a charity challenge, so we keep trying to get the word out. On Monday, a channel 10 TV crew will come to the house for an interview.
I hope to write this blog about once weekly. Since a film crew is coming on this expedition, I hope there will be some sort of Internet access and I can blog daily once we start climbing.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
Since a nor'easter is blowing through all the mountains/hills around Albany today, this is our first Saturday since August 14 that we have not been on a hiking trail. I am using the unexpected time to start the promised blog of our Kilimanjaro adventure. I hope you will enjoy reading it! We look forward to your comments and will certainly use your supportive energy to help us get up the mountain.
Here are a few "Kili" (the name the locals use) facts:
- summit is 19,300 ft.
- Kilimanjaro is in Tanzania, near the border with Kenya. The language is Swahili. Tanzania sounds like a beautiful country, with the Serengeti, Maasai tribe and a culture that is very family-oriented. Before we ask our Tanzanian guides and porters how soon we stop for lunch, we are supposed to ask after their families. Children are very respectful of their elders, starting a conversation with "shikamoo" which means "I hold your feet." Of course, since I definitely qualify as an elder, I hope that the porters take "shikamoo" literally!
- Trip itinerary: Dec. 2: Albany to London to Nairobi. Visit the Laureus sports project followed by a possible reception at the US embassy. Dec. 6: Fly to Kilimanjaro airport and start climbing up the Rongai route. Our trek is 6 days up and 2 days down. Summit day is Saturday, Dec. 11.
We took 4 of the Burmese refugee kids we help on our Petersburg Pass hike. They happily turned our trekking poles into swords and spears all the way up the trail! Cultural barriers totally dropped away and I kept feeling as if I had my three Alaskan grandsons with me, instead of 4 boys who, until a few months ago, had only lived in a refugee camp!
We started our travel vaccinations last week, with another round this week and a final round next month. The daunting list of shots include: Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hep A/B, Menengitis, and a Polio booster. They are also dauntingly expensive.
This expedition is a charity challenge, so we keep trying to get the word out. On Monday, a channel 10 TV crew will come to the house for an interview.
I hope to write this blog about once weekly. Since a film crew is coming on this expedition, I hope there will be some sort of Internet access and I can blog daily once we start climbing.
Happy Trails,
Linda and David
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