5895 m. Hakuna matada...sort of.

I climbed Kilimanjaro in Tanzania and although it is a bit of a blur I know I made it to the top!

I chose the Rongai route because it has the best chance of summit success,also because it is less crowded and you descend down a different route than you ascend.

I meet my gang of 11 others..mostly british and men but there are 4 of us gals. We drive to the park gate which takes about 4 hours...just what I needed,more driving in Africa!
We hike..it is about 35C.
I am how surprised how quickly it cools off,by the evening of day 2 I am getting cold and have to put long underwear on.
The morning of day 4 I wake up to a tent covered in ice. I get up with cold feet and hands and I am thinking...really?

Summit Day:
 hours down.
Starts at 630 am. We walk through a massive lunar desert saddle  between Mawensi peak and Kilimanjaro that takes 6 hours and is one of those optical illusions where you feel like you are not getting any closer. After we get to the base of Kilimanjaro we eat and rest because we have to summit at 1130 pm. So we eat tea and chocolate cookies(?) and head out in every item of clothing we have from base layers gloves etc...oh ya and head lamps. We walk in a chain gang line..slowly. I is so cold,I think about -15 with the wind. You can't warm up because they make you walk very slow and togethor. It is so hard to move your legs because the air is thin.
After about an hour and a half the mountain sickness hits me and after tapping my guide I puke and puke. I feel better immediately but do it again and again. Not good for strength or dehydration.

I remember looking up and seeing the rockface dotted with headlamps..they go forever and merge with the stars. Then I look back and see them below too..I am not alone.

I remember at times the guides taking me and others by the arm and putting us in shelter beside big bouldersand man does it feel good to lean onto a rock...comfy like a big bed.
I remember saying twice that I didn't think I could make it. I also remember a guide rubbing my hands,my back while I puked,big bear hugs that feel comforting and safe.
I remember a girl in my group saying that we could do it..only about another 2 hours steep slow climbing,3 hours at the top,and 3