Day 8 of the Mt. Kilimanjaro Challenge began at midnight. Some of the 16 challengers had slept. Others were unable.
Ten months of training brought them to this starlit night to strap on headlamps and packs to gain the final elevation to conquer Africa’s tallest peak.
“You tend to sleepwalk a little bit,” said Cindy Outlaw, the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy Board Member who led the trip. “You just look at the feet of the person in front of you.”
As of this week, most of the hikers have returned home from Tanzania with rich memories of the eight-day, 19,341-foot climb.
Earlier this month, the trek began in a rainforest before traversing the Afro-Alpine moorland and high desert.
At about 11,000 feet, the hikers crested the plant line to enter a landscape of rock, shale and sand.
On one segment of the voyage, the Barranco Wall challenged hikers with two hours of hands-and-feet climbing.
After completing the hike, all but two of the travelers joined a four-day safari to explore Tarangire National Park.
For Outlaw, the trip was her 20th to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a milestone that the hikers celebrated by presenting their leader with a Miss America-styled sash.
“After the 10 months of training, we were good friends before we even arrived,” Outlaw said. “Every day, people were watching out for everybody else.”
As part of their challenge, the hikers raised more than $30,000 to support conservation in the San Dieguito River Valley. That's a long way from Tanzania and very close to home. Daily photos, videos and writings from the voyage are posted on the Mt. Kilimanjaro Challenge webpage. We're already talking about plans for our next trip to the mountain!