Hike on Mount Kilimanjaro

I really want to be a badass. But I am not what you think of when you hear the word “badass.”  I am a petite woman who tends to worry a lot and startle easily.  I took a test once to find out what my soul animal would be.  I was hoping for an eagle or a lion.  Nope. A meerkat.  And all of my adult children said, “I can see that.”  A meerkat?  There is NOTHING badass about a meerkat! 

I saw a post about a group called WHOA. WHOA is a women owned group that leads adventure travel for women.  The post was about a trip to hike Mount Kilimanjaro.  What could be more badass than that? I was retiring from my job of 35 years, so it seemed like a great time to go.  I asked my two adult daughters, Ally and Sarah, if they wanted to go with me, and they both said yes! 

I have to admit. I was definitely in meerkat mode preparing for this trip. I hike a lot, but I had never hiked anything like Mount Kilimanjaro before. WHOA provides very thorough instructions about things you need to do to prepare for the trip, including a very detailed packing list. I STRESSED over this list-I was determined to get it right. I read every word multiple times, researched, and did a lot of shopping. I spent at least a couple of weeks talking about and worrying about gloves. I started yet another conversation about the gloves, and the look on Ally’s face made it clear that I had reached her limit and I would be wise to not say another word about the gloves.

We left for the trip on July 13, 2024. I don’t know about the girls, but I was very excited about spending this time with them.

After a long flight from Chicago to Ethiopia, we had a few hours layover and then a short flight to Kilimanjaro airport. I was feeling nauseous as we boarded the plane in Ethiopia, and by the time we were on the plane, I was getting light headed and knew I was about to pass out.  What was happening? I’m not a fainter! Maybe it was all of the stress about the gloves. I had a daughter on either side of me, fanning me with the life vest/oxygen mask instructions. Not exactly badass. This was not starting out well.

We arrived at the Kilimanjaro airport and we were met by one of the WHOA leaders.  She was so friendly and welcoming.  We went to our hotel, where we would meet the rest of the group, acclimate, and then leave for the hike in a couple of days.  We started meeting the rest of the women in the group. So many strong, confident women.  I was very intimidated. 

First day of the hike:  We arrived at Kilimanjaro National Park.  We had lunch before we started out on the hike.  There were monkeys that kept trying to steal everyone’s food.  When a monkey jumped down close to me and stole Sarah’s apple off the table, I screamed. Not quite the badass image I wanted to present to this group of women.  The women who cleaned the park were more badass than me.  Part of their jobs appeared to be to chase away the monkeys.  They didn’t scream or act scared of the monkeys.  Of course, they were armed with brooms.  Maybe I would not have screamed if I had been carrying a broom. 

We started the hike. After a while, I noticed that Sarah had dropped behind the group. I was worried that she would not enjoy this trip, and I was worried that she was behind the rest of the group.  She had already asked me what would happen if she decided she did not want to finish the hike. 

I was concerned that she was by herself.  I was reassured by the WHOA leader that a guide was with her, but I was not able to turn off the mom thing.  We continued to hike.  At the next stop the WHOA leader asked me how I was doing.  I began to cry.  Ugh. I was so embarrassed. I turned away and pulled myself together after a few minutes.

We arrived at our camp for the night. Rather than going to our tent to rest, I stayed at the end point and waited for Sarah to arrive.  She arrived about an hour later, after dark, singing and laughing with some guides and a WHOA leader.  She continued to hike at her own pace, in her own time, for the rest of the trip.  Some of the other women in the group who either couldn’t, or didn’t want to, keep up the faster pace joined her after that first day. They formed their own little group and had a great time. I think I’m beginning to see who the real badass is.

Stay tuned next time for more on Kilimanjaro.

Below is a picture of our fearless, amazing, badass WHOA leaders.

Top Tips for Mt. Kilimanjaro, part 1

1. WHOA is an amazing organization.  If you want to check out their adventures, you can find them at http://www.whoatravel.com
2. WHOA partners with a guide service called Tanzania Journeys.  They were awesome, and more will be said about them in future blogs.
3. If your soul animal is a meerkat, you may not be considered a badass.
4. There is a limit to how many times you can ask your daughters about gloves.
5. The life vest/oxygen mask instructions make pretty good fans when you’re about to pass out on the plane.
6. You might consider arming yourself with a broom if you want to eat at the trailhead in Kilimanjaro National Park.  And hang onto your food.