(ring, ring) “Hello?… Where?… Great, that sounds awesome. How many days is it?… Ok, count me in; just one more question: do you mind if I bring my kids?… Excellent. By the way I have six kids, age two to fourteen.”
Six Kids and Five Weeks in Africa
Kilimanjaro
My whole life I have been fascinated with harsh mountains, vast deserts and grand adventures. As a boy growing up in Utah I spent hours poring over maps of twisting canyons and solitary wilderness peaks. I dreamed of climbing the seven summits and the one that captured my imagination was Kilimanjaro. The contrast of climate and culture drew me from a young age. This spring my wife and I discovered an opportunity to tie humanitarian service into our adventurous dreams. We decided to take our older three children and climb Kilimanjaro and then spend the rest of the month with all our children volunteering at a dental clinic in Kenya.Before we knew it we were packing our duffles and boarding a plane to Nairobi. Fifty five hours of travel led us through San Francisco, Zurich, and Nairobi, ending with an six hour bus ride to Arusha, Tanzania. The next eight days were a delight as we trekked through five unique climate zones and enjoyed the culture and hospitality of our Tanzanian guides. Our preparations served us well and the children pushed strongly up the mountain, smiling through two days of steady rain and wind.
The guides loved trekking with the kids, watching them play at rest stops and chase lizards in camp. The minimum age to attempt to summit Kilimanjaro is ten years old, and children are very rare on the mountain. Our route took us across the northern slopes of the mountain, and while Kili has a reputation of being crowded, our family was alone on the trail most of our trek. After five days of slow ascent for acclimatization we began to push harder. On day six we ascended to School Hut camp at 15,472’ elevation and prepared for our push to the summit.
After dinner the sunshine set and the moderate wind created frigid conditions outside. When we got up at 10pm it didn’t feel nearly as cold and we discovered we were a bit over dressed. We had “breakfast” under a perfectly clear sky, the air was 22ºF and the wind calm to light. We hit the trail for the summit at 11:45pm. We were given strict instructions for the ascent: "Stay on the trail, we'll take breaks as needed. Absolutely no photos until sunrise. We'll stop briefly during sunrise for photos, then press onward. Hopefully we'll be on the rim of the crater or perhaps even at the peak for sunrise."
We climbed up lava flow, loose rock, and gravel in the dark for six hours. The only metronome to mark time was the steady crunch of our boots on the rocks and the slow, clock-like rotation of the Big Dipper as it scooped toward the horizon. The only indicator of upward progress was the starlight silhouette of neighboring Mawenzi Peak slowly shrinking behind us. The mountain loomed above us all night as an unvarying black mass outlined by the intense stars. For hours our world consisted of the tiny circle of light our headlamps cast at our feet, illuminating just the next two steps ahead. It brought to mind the words of the hymn “Lead Kindly Light.” As the night drug on the guides began to sing, taking turns leading songs in Swahili, sometimes somber and sometimes vibrant and lively. Most of them hiked with their headlamp turned off, and their voices echoed through the darkness across the barren mountainside.
The skyline never seemed to change until we were just 200 yards below the rim. We crested the rim at Gillman's Point (18,652 ft) with an incredible sunrise behind us. By now 10-year-old Sara was exhausted and moving slowly but determined to make it.
From Gilman's Point we could see the highest point of the African continent 2 km away and 600 ft above us on the other side of the crater rim. We took off our mitts to touch the snow alongside the trail then continued onward, slowly working our way up the crater rim. When the sun crested the horizon at 6:30am we paused for photos, then the guides required us to put on our sunglasses because of the intense rays. 12-year-old Patrea led the charge and arrived first at the 19,341 ft summit.
After some triumphant family photos on the summit, one of our guides took Sara's hand, said “This is how we go down,” then nearly sprinted down the mountain. Her spirits and energy rose as they quickly descended and she led us most of the way down. After an exhausting and knee-pounding descent we reached our lunch site where we received a hero's welcome from the porters as they lifted the children up on their shoulders and carried them into camp. We ate and hit the trail again before stiffening up, then about one kilometer before reaching camp Patrea fell and broke her arm, which I splinted with a sock, sticks, and an ace wrap. [When we got to the dental clinic two days later my son Hunter made her a cast out of bamboo.]
In total we spent eight days on the trail, climbing almost 14,000 vertical feet, trekking over 50 miles and crossing through five distinct climate zones. The Kilimanjaro phase of our trip ended with a sweaty bus ride back to Nairobi, which took almost nine hours because of intense security at the Kenyan border.
= continued in part 2 =
Six Kids and Five Weeks in Africa
Kilimanjaro
My whole life I have been fascinated with harsh mountains, vast deserts and grand adventures. As a boy growing up in Utah I spent hours poring over maps of twisting canyons and solitary wilderness peaks. I dreamed of climbing the seven summits and the one that captured my imagination was Kilimanjaro. The contrast of climate and culture drew me from a young age. This spring my wife and I discovered an opportunity to tie humanitarian service into our adventurous dreams. We decided to take our older three children and climb Kilimanjaro and then spend the rest of the month with all our children volunteering at a dental clinic in Kenya.Before we knew it we were packing our duffles and boarding a plane to Nairobi. Fifty five hours of travel led us through San Francisco, Zurich, and Nairobi, ending with an six hour bus ride to Arusha, Tanzania. The next eight days were a delight as we trekked through five unique climate zones and enjoyed the culture and hospitality of our Tanzanian guides. Our preparations served us well and the children pushed strongly up the mountain, smiling through two days of steady rain and wind.
The guides loved trekking with the kids, watching them play at rest stops and chase lizards in camp. The minimum age to attempt to summit Kilimanjaro is ten years old, and children are very rare on the mountain. Our route took us across the northern slopes of the mountain, and while Kili has a reputation of being crowded, our family was alone on the trail most of our trek. After five days of slow ascent for acclimatization we began to push harder. On day six we ascended to School Hut camp at 15,472’ elevation and prepared for our push to the summit.
After dinner the sunshine set and the moderate wind created frigid conditions outside. When we got up at 10pm it didn’t feel nearly as cold and we discovered we were a bit over dressed. We had “breakfast” under a perfectly clear sky, the air was 22ºF and the wind calm to light. We hit the trail for the summit at 11:45pm. We were given strict instructions for the ascent: "Stay on the trail, we'll take breaks as needed. Absolutely no photos until sunrise. We'll stop briefly during sunrise for photos, then press onward. Hopefully we'll be on the rim of the crater or perhaps even at the peak for sunrise."
We climbed up lava flow, loose rock, and gravel in the dark for six hours. The only metronome to mark time was the steady crunch of our boots on the rocks and the slow, clock-like rotation of the Big Dipper as it scooped toward the horizon. The only indicator of upward progress was the starlight silhouette of neighboring Mawenzi Peak slowly shrinking behind us. The mountain loomed above us all night as an unvarying black mass outlined by the intense stars. For hours our world consisted of the tiny circle of light our headlamps cast at our feet, illuminating just the next two steps ahead. It brought to mind the words of the hymn “Lead Kindly Light.” As the night drug on the guides began to sing, taking turns leading songs in Swahili, sometimes somber and sometimes vibrant and lively. Most of them hiked with their headlamp turned off, and their voices echoed through the darkness across the barren mountainside.
The skyline never seemed to change until we were just 200 yards below the rim. We crested the rim at Gillman's Point (18,652 ft) with an incredible sunrise behind us. By now 10-year-old Sara was exhausted and moving slowly but determined to make it.
From Gilman's Point we could see the highest point of the African continent 2 km away and 600 ft above us on the other side of the crater rim. We took off our mitts to touch the snow alongside the trail then continued onward, slowly working our way up the crater rim. When the sun crested the horizon at 6:30am we paused for photos, then the guides required us to put on our sunglasses because of the intense rays. 12-year-old Patrea led the charge and arrived first at the 19,341 ft summit.
After some triumphant family photos on the summit, one of our guides took Sara's hand, said “This is how we go down,” then nearly sprinted down the mountain. Her spirits and energy rose as they quickly descended and she led us most of the way down. After an exhausting and knee-pounding descent we reached our lunch site where we received a hero's welcome from the porters as they lifted the children up on their shoulders and carried them into camp. We ate and hit the trail again before stiffening up, then about one kilometer before reaching camp Patrea fell and broke her arm, which I splinted with a sock, sticks, and an ace wrap. [When we got to the dental clinic two days later my son Hunter made her a cast out of bamboo.]
In total we spent eight days on the trail, climbing almost 14,000 vertical feet, trekking over 50 miles and crossing through five distinct climate zones. The Kilimanjaro phase of our trip ended with a sweaty bus ride back to Nairobi, which took almost nine hours because of intense security at the Kenyan border.
= continued in part 2 =
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