(Hiking time: 14 hours) Awake at midnight and climb a mountain for 6 hours, then trek back down to camp for an additional 8 hours; that's the torture they put you through if you want to reach Kilimanjaro's summit. Only 50% of the tourists that try to get there actually succeed. Altitude sickness is the main obstacle. We felt out-of-breath and nauseous as we scrambled up the last 1200 meters of rocky shale. But the worst part came on the return trip. A sleet storm hit us. If we swam to camp we wouldn't have been wetter. In a sense we did swim; the storm turned our path into a river. Ice lined the path and made our feet slip into the water. Worse, lightning crackled around us as we stood, foot deep in water, holding metal ski poles, in a landscape where nothing grows over 2 feet high. Our choices: lie down and die of hypothermia, or walk upright and risk lightning strikes. We chose lightning because it sounded warmer.
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Feeling a little sick, but happy to be at the peak at last. Our guide pushed us and got us to the top first today, in time to catch sunrise. |
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Cold, bleak, barren, one thought crossed our mind: we came here voluntarily?! |
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Jill has a brave smile, but she's ready to puke from altitude. Behind her lies Kilimanjaro crater and Mawenzi peak. |
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Scientists say Kilimanjaro's glaciers are retreating and may disappear if global warming continues.
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