Climb every mountain

I am super-psyched for Kilimanjaro. In 6 weeks we'll be on the mountain. We’ve done lots of preparation but still have quite a bit to do. I think we’ve finally ordered the last bit of gear – spare camera batteries. It takes so long for us to receive mail here that we are nearing the drop-dead date for when we can order and receive in time. (We’ve bought so much crap that I’m already thinking ahead to the next trek. I’d hate to use this stuff once and then have it sit in the closet for years. I’m obsessed with Nepal right now, second to Kili.)

Mike weighted my pack (all those bricks of soap from Costco that we bought last August!) and I’ve done my local mountain hike with it three times now. It’s only around 20 pounds and I don’t want it to get much heavier. I feel healthy and strong though. The pack is working out great. I feel the weight in my hips and quads, not my back or shoulders, and that’s good.

We’re so focused on climbing the mountain that the week-long safari afterward has been at the backs of our minds. It will be so relaxing compared to the trek. I got Mike a Blu-Ray player for Christmas and one of the first discs we watched was the Planet Earth episode on great plains. It got us really excited for the safari. I also reread the Northern Tanzania chapter of my Tanzania guidebook to refresh myself on the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and Olduvai Gorge. I can’t wait to see all the animals!

Happy New Year! May your mountains be climbed in 2009.