Trip Preparation

This week I have made major progress in preparing for the trip to Africa. Since I will first be joining a birding/wildlife tour for 3 weeks before the Kilimanjaro climb, I need to plan for the three week tour as well as the climb. I secured trip cancelation/travel insurance, if anything goes drastically wrong, I can be evacuated from East Africa to the US or Europe for treatment (I try not to think about what could go so wrong that I'd ever need to use that insurance). I received my visa from the Kenya Consulate in NYC, which was surprisingly fast, it only took a week, and have sent out my Passport and another visa application to the Tanzania Embassy in DC.

I got my eighth vacination this week (a Meningitis vaccine) and will get the yellow fever vaccine next week, leaving only my final HepA and HepB boosters for later in August. (I also still need to get malaria meds and Diamox (a diuretic) to prevent altitude sickness

I ordered quite a bit of gear for the climb from REI and LLBean this week: hat, new -10F rated sleeping bag, insulated water bottles (I will face sub-zero temperatures at night on days 3, 4, and 5, as well as most of day 5 on the mountain), headlamps (the summit attempt starts on day 5 at midnight!). I need clothes that I'll be comfortable in for days with highs in the upper 80's and evening lows below zero. So I will need a multi-layer strategy: thermal underwear, underarmor moisture wicking layer, shirt, fleece, down vest, and wind/rain resistant jacket. Plus 2 layers of mittens, balaclava, wind chaps, and gaiters. For several items I ordered 2 sizes or styles to see what I like best. I'll sort everything out this week, save what I want, and ship the rest back. I am limited to about 40 lbs for the climb (a porter will carry 30 lbs), I will carry the rest.

I have also started a search for a new camera. Everyone wants to see pictures! I am looking for a good digital camera that is easy to use, light weight, and has a zoom lens for getting great shots of, well, a gazelle out on the Serengeti plains or a SunBird on a flower. I have a Cannon 35 mm SLR, but that is both too heavy and not digital. I also have a Cannon sure shot, fine for snapshots, but lacks a significant zoom. Howard Chen has suggested I consider a point and shoot Megazoom camera, if anyone has a recommendations, please post them.

A tough Bear Mountain Hike

View of the Hudson from summit of Bear MT.

Lake at base of Bear Mt.

Whew, Sunday's 10 mile hike was surprisingly difficult. Whereas I did 20 miles last week in 8 hrs, it took me 6 hrs to do the 10 miles this weekend. After a ~11 mile relatively flat hike on Saturday, I was looking forward to a challenging hike at Bear Mountain State Park on Sunday along the AT. The 10 mile hike took me up Bear mountain (1200 ft ascent), then 1000 ft descent and a 800 ft ascent of West Mountain, then returned on the same trail. So this was a total of about 3000 ft ascent. Unfortunately I was really worn out by the last ascent, and for the first time, I needed to take rest breaks on the final ascent. Considering I did 20 miles last week without any significant issues, I have a few hypotheses for why Sunday was so tough.
1) Dehydration, both Saturday and Sunday were really hot and humid. On Sunday, although a thought I was drinking water regularly, when I got home I was 6 pounds lighter than the day before! After a lot of ice tea I "regained" the 6 pounds. Also I've been drinking just water while hiking, with this magnitude of fluid loss, I should be adding back sodium and potassium. I've ordered some "rehydration" salts from REI, hopefully I'll have them by next weekend.
2) Over training? Since last Sunday I've either hiked or biked every day, and have not had a recovery day. So today, will be a rest day with no training.
3) Nutrition: Previously, I relied on a peanut butter sandwich and fruit while hiking, but on both Saturday and Sunday I substituted "energy bars" for the peanut butter, they certainly didn't help!

It was a pleasant surprise to run into Joanna Tyszkiewicz and her husband coming down from the Bear Mt. Summit as I was going up.

On a positive note, at the end of Sunday's hike my feet and legs felt pretty good only a little sore, no blisters, and the knees held up well on both the ascents and descents. I saw an immature 5-lined skink, also known as a Bue-tailed Skink, because of its brilliant sky blue tail.

Training update Jul 24, and a new Hiking plan

A good week of biking, I biked into work all 5 days for a total of 112 miles, I’ve worn out my rear brakes and replaced them Friday.

For hiking this weekend I plan to do two 10 mile hikes on Sat and Sun, trying to train for the 6 day hike in Tanzania. With one big exception, the daily hikes while climbing Kilimanjaro will mostly be around 10 miles: 13, 6, 9, 8, 19 (summit day, large descent), 9.
After 4 hikes over the past weeks on the Appalachian Trail (AT) near the Delaware Water Gap at the NJ/PA state line, this weekend will I will be hiking in different locations. Saturday I hiked through the Watchung Reservation, took the 10 mile white blazed Sierra trail from the Lake Surprise parking lot South, made a few side hikes along the way, and over 4 hrs 15 min, I took 23000 steps. Since I take about 2000 steps per mile while hiking, the day was probably about 11 miles. The most interesting part was along Green Brook, the trail passed through the ruins of old mills that once employed about 400 people, hard to believe the small stream could provide enough water power to employ that many folks. Unlike the AT, the trail was mostly on hard packed dirt instead of rocks, so a bit easier hiking. On the other hand it was over 90F and humid, making the hike challenging nonetheless. (It was so humid I was able to wring sweat out of my shirt).

At the end I was surprisingly tired (after all I did 20 miles last week), had a few pain points on my feet, and my calf muscles were pretty sore. I wonder if today's pain will affect tomorrow's planned hike.

A few more “naked eye” birds while hiking: Eastern Wood Pewee (2), Flicker (7), Swainson’s Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, and Carolina Wren.

Sunday I will do a 10 mile hike in Bear Mountain State Park NY. I will be starting near where the AT crosses the Hudson River (it slowest point) then climb up Bear Mountain (1200 ft ascent), then travel southwest to West Mountain (600 ft ascent). My AT guide indicates there will be some nice views from the tops of the mountains.

Why Africa, Why now?

Several friends have asked why did I decide to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Well to answer that question I have to proved a lot of background, so bear with me.

The genesis of this trip and climb go back to 1980, when I first saw the PBS series Flame Trees of Thika, which was based on Elspeth Huxley's biography of her childhood growing up on a remote farm in Kenya in the early 20th century. I was so inspired by the fearlessness, curiosity, and caring nature of young Huxley, we made Elspeth the middle name for our first child. A few years later my fascination with Africa was enhanced when I saw Out of Africa, which had amazing cinematography of Africa: flamingos on the saline lakes, wildebeest crossing the plains, solitary acacia trees in the scrub. So way back then the desire to visit East Africa began.

Another activity that leads to Kilimanjaro is hiking. As far back as High School I have enjoyed hiking, I spent many weekends driving around CT to hike various “Blue Trails”. After college I made it out west where I hiked through most of the major National Parks, including backpacking in Yosemite and Glacier National Parks. So I have always enjoyed hiking up into the mountains to experience the views, the crisp mountain air, the sense of being above the world.

The final thread that leads to Kilimanjaro is my hobby of Birding. I take my binoculars anywhere I go and always get out for local birding, weather visiting the jersey shore in summer, traveling to Germany on business, vacationing at a Mexican beach, or visiting my Mom in Oregon. As a Birder I find joy in seeing a variety of birdlife and be necessity a variety of habitats, and challenging myself to try and identify new birds, sometimes after only fleeting glimpses. I keep lists of the different bird species I’ve seen in the NJ, the US, and the world. Part of the fun of the hobby is seeing a totally new bird, a Life Bird. After 30 yrs of birding I’ve seen only about 1200 of the 9000 bird species on the planet.

So last summer I was casually looking at a brochure on birding tours around the world and one tour immediately caught my enthusiastic attention: an 18 day guided tour through East Africa. This was the ultimate fusion of my 30 year fascination with Africa and my hobby of birding: two countries, 18 days, only six participants, and led by the author of “Birds of East Africa”. The tour has the potential to see around 450 new species, including exotic groups of birds I have never seen: Snake-Eagles, Sandgrouse, Honeyguides, Barbets, Sunbirds, Hornbills, Cuckoo-Shrikes, Cisticolas, Boubous, Drongos, Firefinch, and Waxbills; to name a few. I decided, what the heck, after 30 years with Merck I have 6 weeks of vacation, maybe its time I actually used up all my annual vacation for the first time in 20 years, spend some money I’ve saved and just go! At the time Tanya also planned to go, but when she got a new job she lacked enough vacation time to go, in the end I decided to go anyway.

But how did I end up climbing Kilimanjaro? As I was reviewing the detailed itinerary for the 18 day birding tour, I realized the trip circles around Mt. Kilimanjaro. Given its near mythical status: almost on the equator but permanently snow covered, the tallest base to peak mountain on the planet, the tallest mountain in Africa, and famously titled by Hemingway “The Snows of Kilimanjaro”. Moreover, the summit is accessible by hiking and reaching the summit does not requiring technical skills of crampons, ice axes, ropes, carabineers, pitons, etc. So it seemed like a perfect chance to extend my time in Africa and make the hike of a lifetime.

And now the real challenges have begun: can I prepare for the mental and physical challenges of the 6 day climb so I can climb the mountain safely? Can I successful challenge you to support me by helping those who have difficulty breathing? Please donate generously to the American Lung Association today! Thanks!

Details of the climb up Kilimanjaro

Although climbing Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb (no ropes or crampons needed), it is very definitely a physical and mental challenge. It is a 100 km, 60 mile, 6 day, 15,000 ft ascent challenge. And if I do reach the peak I must endure air with only 49% of the oxygen at sea level, strong winds, and temperatures that can reach -15F. Not surprisingly, less than half the folks attempting this climb succeed in reaching the peak. Clearly I am at disadvantage living at sea level, and having access to peaks for practice climbs with only 1000 ft ascents.

To reach the Mt. Kilimanjaro summit I will need to:
Day 1 start at 4888 ft and climb to 7152 ft, distance hiked 13 miles
Day 2 start at 7152 ft end at 12598 ft, distance only 5.5 miles, but start of high altitude acclimation
Day 3 start at 12598 ft end at 12959 ft, hike 9.3 miles but this day includes an ascent to 15190 ft then come down to help acclimatize
Day 4 start at 12959 ft and climb to 14927 ft, hiking 8 miles (last chance to acclimatize), if suffering any signs of altitude sickness I will not be able to attempt the summit.
Day 5 start at 14927 ft (start hike at midnight!), hopefully reach the peak at 19340 ft at dawn, hiking 4.3 miles
After brief stop at summit, begin descent from 19340 ft to 10170 ft hiking down hill for 14.3 miles, total for the day is 18.6 miles (by far the hardest, highest, longest hiking day!)
Day 6 begin at 10170 ft and finish at 6496 ft with a final hike of 9.3 miles

Additional day by day details of my planned route to the summit of Kilimanjaro can be found at:
http://www.climbingkilimanjaro.com/machame-route-kilimanjaro.php

Training update: week Jul 17

Training reward: View of the Delaware River from the top of Mt. Tammany, a 1000 ft ascent on a side trail off the Appalachian Trail.





My Kilimanjaro Guide group has a 8 week training program:
http://www.climbingkilimanjaro.com/climbing-kilimanjaro-fitness.php

But it is designed around a Gym, the idea of working out indoors on sweaty machines has NO appeal to me.

So I have invented my own program: Gradually I have been increasing my biking to >100 miles a week (I enjoy riding outdoors) and go as hard as I can. Then I do at least one hike along the NJ Appalachian trial: starting from 8 miles and building up towards 20 miles. The ultimate test will be to do two hikes of ~15 miles back to back on a weekend.

Biking was on target this week, I reached 100.26 miles. Thanks to the odometer I got for Father's Day from Tanya I now know how far I go and at what speed. I was able to bike everyday but Sunday (that's the Hiking day) and Wednesday (heavy rain).

Hiking was also was on target: as detailed earlier I did 14.5 miles and made two 1000 foot ascents.


For next tomorrow's hike I plan to reach my maximum one day distance: 20 miles.

Training Update Jul 18: Success, well I did the 20 miles in almost exactly 8 hrs. But it is pretty close to my limit, by the end my feet and legs were pretty sore. Also a bit more discomfort in my right knee, noticeable wen going down steep slopes. Hope I don't get stuck coming down Kilimanjaro!

NJ wildlife while training

Two views of Sunfish pond, located about 3 miles from the start of my hiking training along the Appalachian Trail. First picture is from the South end of the pond, the second picture is from a ledge overlooking the pond at the Northeast end. I always stop for a water break and snack at the pond.


Since the climb up Kilimanjaro will require a 100 km (60 mile) hike, I need to prepare for the hiking. I picked the Appalachian Trail area near the Delaware Water gap because it is relatively close to my house (about an hour away), and I have a good guide for the trail that details distances on the trail. What I didn’t realize was how much interesting wildlife I’d see.

As a birder I have been quite excited about what I’ve seen, most as “naked eye” birds (without binoculars). For warblers I’ve seen Worm Eating, Hooded, Blackburnian, Black and White Warblers; American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, and Northern Waterthrush. I’ve some of the more colorful woodland birds: Rose-breasted Grossbeak, Scarlet Tanager, and Baltimore Oriole. Other woodland birds I've seen include Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Wood Thrush, Eastern Towhee, Chipping Sparrow, Warbling Vireo, and Red-eyed Vireo. I’ve also seen 3 Pileated woodpeckers and a Winter Wren!

Among the mammals I’ve seen are deer and black bear (happily the bear ran away from me). I almost stepped on a Timber Rattler! (do not text while hiking!), found a 5-striped Skink (one of only three lizards species that live in NJ), and saw Pumpkin Sunfish in Sunfish pond.

All in all the different wildlife have helped make the hiking/training fun.

New sitings Jul 18: Another bear (quite close to the trail), 5 deer, new birds: Ovenbird, Raven, Bald Eagle

New sitings Jul 24: Eastern Wood Pewee (2), Flicker (7), Swainson’s Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, and Carolina Wren.

Will you help others breath better?

Exciting news, the American Lung Association has allowed me to make my climb a charity climb!

Considering the 50% reduction in oxygen at the summit, it will be a challenge for me to get enough air to breath. I'd like to do something to help folks who have trouble breathing every day.

Please click over to the American Lung Association and consider making a donation, you can make a donation right now, or post a comment below pledging dollars for every km I hike on this 100 km hike. I've also arranged a 2 for 1 match for the first $500 donated at the page, so your $10 will send $30 to the American Lung Association. What a deal!


Please donate today!

Trip Update

I've now paid for air fare, birding tour and climbing tour, I'll be in Africa from Sept. 4 to Oct 3. I've gotten most of my vaccinations, just lacking the critical Yellow fever and boasters for HepA and HepB.
Now I need to get my Visas, which may require a trip into NYC and or Washington DC, I will be calling the Kenya and Tanzania consulates tomorrow to see what I need to do.
Also working on trip insurance and travelers medical insurance.

Finally I need to buy a lot of gear from REI to prepare for the lowland heat, mud and possible rain and the summit's cold and wind. I get to fill a duffel bag with 30lbs of gear that a porter will carry. Anything else I carry, including a days worth of water, trail mix and power bars for snacks while hiking, camera, binoculars, bird guide, cellphone, extra layers of clothes, etc.

Training Update

Had to take 1.5 weeks off from training: let my toes heal and I was off to visit relatives in Ohio then off to UK and Germany to try and set up collaborations for Merck. Over Independence Day Holiday had a fun time visiting in-laws in Ohio: July 4th parade and fireworks. Took a few 3 mile walks, but no biking or long hikes. So last week I only did 12 miles of biking and no trail hikes.

But this week is off to a good start, I completed a 14.5 mile hike near the Delaware water gap, including a 1000 ft very steep ascent after going 11 miles. Pretty good results: 7.5 hrs on the trail with only minor knee discomfort the last mile going down a steep trail. On Monday added another 22.5 miles of biking. The goal of my training is to do two 15 mile hikes in one weekend without crippling pain!