She-Trek Leave the Men at Home
She-Trek - Bringing, Cultures and Inspiration Together in Friendship and Success
We love all of our climbs and we always feel so close to the people we get to introduce to our beautiful mountain. In May though we had a group with such infectious drive and spirit we have to share a little of their story.
Our first year of She-Trekkers were made up of a group of 7 women from 7 different countries, with different cultures and languages that decided on a common goal to climb Kilimanjaro. Their inspiration came from different sources: teaching their children how to succeed at difficult tasks through hardwork and dedication; hearing experiences of overcoming disabilities to accomplish feats no one thought possible.
These women did not take their task lightly, they set to work and trained for 5 months to be ready for Kilimanjaro. They hiked or did other strength building exercise 3 times a week. They found 12 different hikes in the area around where they lived in suburban Johannesburg and happily shared their beautiful landscapes and hiking fun with us through weekly photo updates.
While they felt confident and ready for the climb after their months of preparation, there was no denying the underlying worry of altitude sickness. The fact is no matter how fit you are or what your weight is or body shape and size; anyone can be affected by altitude sickness if your body does not properly acclimatize. They were happy with our plan of an 8 day hike. With this amount of time it gives us plenty of time to acclimatize. We climb up to higher altitudes but then descend for the nights sleeping at lower altitudes allowing for the body to adjust. One of the She-Trekkers started feeling the effects of altitude sickness, but with the steady approach to the climb, regular monitoring of the levels of oxygen in her blood and making sure she had plenty of fluids she was able to recover, and succeeded in reaching the summit with no continuous problems.
There is no doubt in our minds of how special Kilimanjaro is. As you climb you pass through rain forest, moorland, arid dessert, and finally reach an artic zone with a rare equatorial glacier. The climb will take the will of your mind, body and spirit, starting your last climb near midnight to reach the summit at sunrise in the freezing temperatures. But our guides will encourage you, never leave you alone and tell you “You will never see anything as beautiful as the sunrise from the highest point in Africa.”
Like many people who climb Kilimanjaro the She-Trekkers took their opportunity to raise money and awareness. They donated money to local projects benefiting schoolchildren in Arusha. They also raised money and reached out to tell their story of their desire to assist specialist schools for children with autism and developmental delays. You can read more about their stories in these articles written about them:
http://www.pekintimes.com/news/20160730/pekin-native-scales-kilimanjaro-to-make-point
Let us know if we can plan your She-Trek Adventure – Leave the Men at Home …