Mt. Kilimanjaro Expedition - 2008

Sandie and I head out the door at 6 AM for our 42 hour trip (22 hours on planes) to Kilimanjaro Airport, Tanzania.



The big reasons for the trip was to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, go on a safari, and hang at the beach. We got a pretty good look at "Kili" as flew into the airport.


We stayed at the Springlands Hotel in Moshi and did a lot of napping when we arrived. The next day we headed out on our six day "Kili" hike. We had a guide and seven assistants (porters, cook, Etc.) to carry our packs and everything else, except our day-packs.


We used the Marangu Route which has huts at 9,000, 12,000, and 15,500 feet. It's all very primitive.


Here's the cooking area. Needless to say, the primary training you should do before attempting the climb is to toughen up your stomach.


That's the summit behind our guide Joseph and I. Sandie and I elected for the six day trip. Day one to the Mandara Hut - Day two to the Horombo Hut - Day three for acclimatization at Horombo with a short hike - Day four to the Kibo Hut arriving at Mid-day and trying to sleep before leaving at midnight for the summit climb - Typical times to the crater rim are six hours - Return to the Horombo Hut - Day Six hike on down to the Park entry gate.


Sandie hiked up with our guide Joseph and I hiked with his son-in-law, Frank. The top of "Kili" is a huge crater rim and there are several points on top to hike to. I hiked to the Uhuru Peak and Sandie hiked to the Gillman's Point. She made it up there in six hours. Very impressive!


Here's the view from the crater rim at sunrise. The ice wall at the top of the glacier is huge.


This is just starting down from Gillman's Point, and Sandie and the Kibo Hut are in the picture.


Congratulations to Sandie! She made it! That's the crater rim in the background.


After the climb we should have taken a rest day but left immediately for our four day safari. We visited three National Parks, Manyara, Ngorongoro, and Tarangire. After a few thousand animal sightings, I was ready for something new.



Hippos!


Famous Masai people village!


Animals!


A "bushman" village visit was on our itinerary and I figured we'd get a "canned" tourist presentation and dance. But,,,, this was a big treat after bouncing down a rough 25 mile 4WD road. We visited the Hadzabe People and the Datoga People in their "homes". Hanging on the line was the meat from a Kudu (deer like animal) covered with flies.


The Hadzabe People don't build houses or grow anything. They live off the wild animals they kill with their bow and arrows.


They make their own bows/arrows.


When the head man strapped some bells on his ankle and started to dance and sing, I joined in. He'd sing a phrase and the rest of us would answer. Around and around, in and out, the dance went on for quite awhile. Very emotional!


Next we visited the Datoga People. They raise cattle and grow onions.


This was the head man of the family and he had nine wives. When he asked me how many I had and I said one, he offered me one of his daughters.


We saw a lot of these.


A view of "Kili" from Moshi, the town our first hotel was in.


We flew out of the "Kili" airport and landed in Zanzibar. A spice and slave trading island. Stonetown with it's very narrow streets is a lot of fun.


Two days in Stonetown and we were off to the eastern beaches to "hang" at these beach bungalows for six days.


We really worked hard at watching the sand and beautiful blue water of the Indian Ocean but we did take a break to go sailing and snorkeling on the this dhow fishing boat.


A great trip!

Losing Weight book - Chapter on Exercise

Exercise - "Not"

Almost anyone will admit that exercise makes sense. There’s a built-in intuition that exercise is a healthy thing. The people that don’t do it have convinced themselves; that it’s too hard, no fun, they don’t have time, and on, and on, and on. Combining exercise with losing weight is highly recommended because you combine burning more calories with an increase in your metabolism, along with reduced calorie intake. This is a winning combination. If you believe, but don’t want to go for the conventional exercise program, here are a few ideas to try.

Tip - Look for ways to do things the "hard way". The following list of ways to burn extra calories will go a long way toward fulfilling your “exercise” quota without doing any formal exercise. – Put on your socks and shoes while standing on one foot (One leg tie) - Always Take the Steps - Carry someone's bags - Push someone's car - "Do it the hard way! - Hike the Terminal - Jog the Parking Lot - Walk a Bit Faster (Check out my book: Exercise -- For Life!).

Training for Mt. Kilimanjaro

Pikes Peak Cog Train steam engine on display at the Manitou station. The train started operation in 1890 providing an exciting way to journey to the top of Pikes Peak. If you haven't visited Colorado Springs, you should add it to your list of places to see.

See the history of The Cog at: http://www.cograilway.com/history.htm

The Barr Trail starts alongside the train station and zig-zags it's way to the 14,115 foot summit. I've been on the trail a bunch when I've been training to run the Pikes Peak Marathon, but lately I've been using it to get in shape for climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

Sandie and I are leaving tomorrow morning to fly into Nairobi, Kenya and then continuing to the Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania.



Looking up from the Cog station at the rock formations, Gog and Magog.


The Cog station!



Three miles up the trail


It's about 8.5 miles to the summit from here and this point is about 2,000 feet above the trailhead.




About five miles up the trail you get a nice look at the summit. The trail switchbacks up the face directly behind me.

It was plenty cold on the trail a couple of weeks ago but I took a lunch break here and felt very comfortable relaxing in the sun.



About half way to the summit sits Barr Camp. A wonderful respite from the rigors of the trail. Hikers can stop for a snack or spend the night here. Since I didn't it make up here in the past few weeks, due to the deep snow, I'm adding this Pic from one of the Pikes Peak Ascent races that my brother Doyle and I have run.


Here we are at the top with our finisher medals around our necks. The race is 13.3 miles and covers 7,800 feet of altitude gain. It feels very good when it's over.

Tarahumara Marathon - Copper Canyon

Waiting for the race at Real de Minas Hotel in Batopilas!

I found out about a Tarahumara Marathon in the heart of the Copper Canyon at a website by Micah True, Copper Canyon winter resident and mountain guide. It sounded like a lot of fun and I signed up. No other gringo entered the race. The course leaves Batopilas, heads over the mountains and ends up in Urique.

The Copper Canyon is actually a network of five major canyons, each with a river in the bottom, that are four times the volume of the Grand Canyon, and deeper. It's located southwest of Chihuahua and the Copper Canyon Train runs along the rim from Chihuahua to Los Mochis.

Ready for the start!

When the race started, I only saw the Tarahumaras and Micah for a few blocks as we left town and for the next thirty miles it was just me and the mountains. They were all waiting at the finish line for me though.

Micah conducts the Pre-race meeting!

The guys weren't carrying any food, water, or other survival gear. To them, a thirty mile jaunt across the mountains was no big deal. I carried everything I thought I'd need to spend a night in the mountains at high elevation.

The trail passed under the cliffs on the left and continued up and over the mountain.

Los Alisos!

The rancho owned by Propero Torres sits in the valley. Growing corn, raising goats, and living off the land is a satisfying life for Prospero and his family.

The kitchen at Los Alisos!


Sofia grinds corn on the matate!

The trail as it winds around the ridge on the left. There were no course markings or aid stations along the way, so I carried a GPS receiver and logged a track on the Pre-hike. I think I would have been lost in those mountains without it.

The finish line in Urique!

I was pretty well exhausted after being on the trail for ten hours. I had trained really hard for the race and was in pretty good shape.

The Tarahumaras ran it in five and one half hours. They all finished within thirty minutes of each other.

Here we are in front of the restaurant belonging to Jose Quintana. Jose also has a nice hotel (Estrella del Rio) where we spent the night.

Typical Tarahumara cave dwelling! Many of the fifty thousand Tarahumaras that live in the Copper Canyon live in dwellings similar to this. Most of them build cute log cabins and live dispersed throughout the huge canyon system.

The overlook at Divisadero! Probably the most well known tourist stop in Copper Canyon. The world-famous Copper Canyon train always stops here for "photo Ops" and to drop off tourists staying at the beautiful hotel sitting on the rim.

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