One of EwePack’s team members, Jake, recently travelled to Africa to undertake a great challenge – climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. Here is an entry from his time there.
Hi there!
I’m back from my travels to Africa, and I successfully climbed Kilimanjaro! The event has to be one of the best and hardest things I will ever do! The first two days involved us trekking through luscious rainforests; the first one of the five climates we passed through over the trip. After the rainforests the real hiking began as we began scrambling up rocks and very steep slopes by day, and wore far more layers at night to cope with the sub zero temperatures.
Summit night was the hardest. After two hours of rest we were briskly awoken in the middle of the night and began the 16 hour epic journey. I personally hadn’t struggled too much with altitude until summit night, and then I’ve never felt so ill in my life! It was indescribably difficult, six members of our group couldn’t make it and I thought at some points I too couldn’t go on. None of the stories we had been told by returning climbers had really prepared us for the effects of the altitude sickness. Thankfully I was able to push through, and made it to the top where it all became worth it.
I will remember the views, and the feeling at the top for the rest of my life! After a knee crunching descent you could truly appreciate the achievement we’d accomplished. Sadly these photos don’t quite capture the experience completely.
I am so grateful for your support, and would also like to pass on the thanks for the sponsorship money from my chosen charity, Practical Action, who will be using the money raised to fund grass roots projects in Africa designed to help people help themselves.