Altitude and Eyesight

June 9, 2015 - I don't think I mentioned the variation in my eyesight as we climbed the mountain. I've had both RK and Lasik on my eyes. As we ascended Mt. Kilimanjaro, I noticed a shift in my eyesight specifically related to reading. My other vision was fine. I learned later that high altitude climbers have experienced a fluctuation in their eyesight if they have had corrective vision surgery. My eyesight reverted to normal as soon as we descended and departed from the mountain.

January 19, 2014

My novel "A Table on Kilimanjaro" was featured as one of the best Kilimanjaro climbing books by Mark Whitman at Climb Kilimanjaro Guide - All you need to know to get to the top of Kilimanjaro Thank you Mark! http://www.climbkilimanjaroguide.com/best-climbing-books/

March 18, 2013

I feel like I climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro all over again these past two years while I was writing my novel A TABLE ON KILIMANJARO. The characters follow the same route as I did - the Machame Trail. Our group was very fortunate in the weather we experienced on the mountain. I needed to make my novel more exciting so added in some creative weather elements. I have since heard of other climbers experiencing 60-70 mph wind gusts on summit day. If you are thinking about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro and wondering what it could be like, check out my novel on Amazon. It's available in electronic and print versions.

Jan. 17, 2011

I was perusing the broccoli at a local supermarket when I saw a friend with her shopping cart. We started talking about her upcoming trip to Mt. Kilimanjaro in June 2011. I hope I didn't scare her.
She has been doing a lot of training, but said I was the first to tell her the climb was hard. She is a runner and has climbed Mt. Whitney (at 14,505 ft. the highest point in California and the contiguous United States). My daughter, who summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro with me last July, wanted to know if I had suggested the friend turn around and climb Mt. Whitney six more times in a row to get a feel for what it's like to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Of course I didn't.
I promised to make a list of items I wished I had taken. The list follows:
A handkerchief - my nose ran constantly and was beyond the help of tissues.
Another roll of toilet paper - this needs no explanation.
More snacks - the three meals are wonderful, but snacks are essential
Better gloves - I was warned to take two good pair of gloves for summit day. I thought I had, but I was wrong. This was where I should have spent extra money. Snacks cannot be eaten with the outer glove, so it must be removed numerous times. A good inner glove would have made this task a lot easier.
A good moisturizer - I did have one, but just thought I would mention it. One of my daughters had sunscreen, but still got pretty wind chapped. My moisturizer cleared that up.
My friend and I made plans for coffee and further chatting. I assured my friend that her trip leader would fully prepare her for the climb. She will be with the same woman who led our trip, the same woman who just climbed Mt. Vinson in Antarctica. Then again, maybe I can give my friend some more hints about how an ordinary woman (like me) can summit Mt. Kilimanjaro! (check out my website www.janicecoy.com)

Dec. 13, 2010

I read an article in our local paper about a group of men who recently summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro. In the article, the men are quoted as saying they didn't have to do much training for the hike and reaching the summit was not that hard. I felt badly at first, thinking back on all the training I did: the many miles and hills my dog and I walked in our neighborhood, the repetitive boring steps on the Stairmaster, the long bicycle rides and the squats. And still, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro was the hardest thing I have ever done (and hope to do)
Then, I read to the bottom of the article and saw a local travel agency prominently mentioned, and realized the hike's leader was from that agency. The "ease" of the hike all made sense. But I'm wondering if those who read the article also saw a more recent one about tennis great Martina Navratilova who was forced to quit her climb at 14,800 feet (the summit is 19,330 ft/ 5892 m)because she developed high-altitude pulmonary edema - a potentially life threatening condition.
Not everyone who attempts to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro succeeds - I am just now discovering how many fail. I feel fortunate to have reached the top. And, I must confess, I was in a group I would categorize as ignorant. I was aware of the risks, but my inspiration was a woman in her sixties who described herself to me as "not much of a hiker" before she attempted Kilimanjaro. I would think "if she can do it, so can I!"
She got close to the summit - she made it to Stella Point. Having climbed there myself, I can appreciate her accomplishment, even more since she hiked in a snow storm while I had clear weather.

Village Visits

Our Mt. Kilimanjaro leader summitted for the seventh time! I was elated to summit once, and have no plans to return to the mountain top. Cindy does the hike over and over again - and will return summer 2011 - because she not only enjoys it, but also wants to share the work Plant With Purpose is doing in Tanzania. Cindy was instrumental in bringing Plant with Purpose to Tanzania, and the non-profit organization has been working with Tanzanian villages for the past four years. The Plant With Purpose website explains in great detail about its mission of work particularly in the area of sustainable agriculture and stopping deforestation.
We spent three days in Marangu at the Babylon Hotel (prior to climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro) so we could visit the Plant with Purpose office, and see for ourselves what the organization is up to in Tanzania.
On our first day Edith Banzi, the national director of Plant With Purpose in Tanzania, showed us an eco-toilet. I think she could tell by the look on our faces that we were not impressed. It was our first glimpse of African toilets, and the eco-toilets didn't look like much. "Don't worry," she told us, "you will learn just how nice these are." And she was right! Many African toilets are simple, small rectangular holes in cement, enclosed in a stall or single outhouse-like structure.
The eco-toilets were clean and looked like toilet bowls set flush into the ground. Human waste is separated in the eco-toilet system, treated and used as compost.
One night we had a delicious dinner cooked in a kitchen powered by methane gas - the methane was piped directly from the cow pen nearby!
We were most welcome (Karibu-sana) at two VICOBA (village community bank meetings) where we were served lunch (rice/pasta - almost like a cross between orzo and rice pilaf, meat stew and cooked cabbage salad and sodas in glass bottles). The VICOBAS are completely funded by its members' own savings, and at each meeting, members very publicly add more to the savings or pay back their loans. If someone falls behind on a loan, his or her pressure group will visit and make sure the loan payments are made.
At one village situated at a lower elevation, we walked through cornfields to visit two different stores funded by VICOBA loans. During the meeting, one man shared how he had electricity in his house because he used a VICOBA loan to purchase a solar panel. Many use kerosene to light their homes which is very expensive.
Edith told us Plant With Purpose had made available an inexpensive light about the diameter of a CD powered by a solar battery, and quickly sold out the 1,000 they had; more are on order.
Because many do not have electricity, cooking is done over a fire using three stones which uses a lot of firewood. Plant With Purpose sells an inexpensive "stove" that consolidates the cooking process, requiring less wood. (I'm sorry for my poor explanation, but you just have to see it for yourself to understand.)
We were welcomed into people's homes, and introduced to their families. Everywhere we went it seemed we were greeted with hellos (Jambos), and as we walked single file through the corn, the women sang. There was singing before the VICOBA meetings, and singing and dancing after. I can't imagine a meeting involving money, particularly savings and loans, in the United States being book-ended with singing, dancing and laughter.
Maize (corn) is a major crop in Tanzania and a big staple of the diet. Another big crop is coffee. One of the villages that works with Plant With Purpose grows coffee which you can buy. One hundred percent of the proceeds from the sale of the coffee goes back to Plant with Purpose for the village of Malindi. Visit if you want to buy Tanzanian coffee direct from the source. www.friendsofmalindi.org
This is my last blog about Mt. Kilimanjaro and Tanzania. The journey - starting with the training regime nearly a year ago and peaking at the summit - has been one I will never forget. Thanks for coming along with me. I'm not sure what the next challenge will be, but I'm positive I will not be climbing any mountains higher than Mt. Kilimanjaro's Uhuru Peak - the Roof of Africa.

Day 7 of Climb

The wake up call is early - 6 a.m. - as we want to arrive at the Mweka Gate by lunch and have plenty of time for a shower before we board the airplane at Mt. Kilimanjaro Airport.
Tips are distributed to the porters, and after handshakes and a goodbye song, we head down the trail at 8 a.m. I am happy this morning that we are at a further camp - Mweka Camp instead of Millennium Camp as previously planned - as our hike out is shorter, our lead guide estimates two-three hours to the finish. But based on my performance yesterday, he says it will take me five hours!
The weather continues to be clear. The trail is slippery mud and steep, deep steps, but could be slicker if it were raining. I imagine I am a machine, mechanically working my way down the mountain, my trekking poles an extension of my body. Although I am in the slowest group, even my husband comments on how quickly I am moving. I am determined to reach the gate before lunch, as none in our group can leave before we all sign out at the gate.
Our guide slips and falls on the mud as do two others in our group. By 10:45 a.m., my legs are rubbery again, but we have reached a deeply rutted fire road. Children appear out of the rain forest and ask for chocolate or money. Our guide says the gate is just around the bend.
It's a very long bend, but I finally turn the corner. I can see vans and Land Rovers ahead. Vendors swarm us selling cotton handkerchiefs the colors of the Tanzanian flag, small animals carved from wood, t-shirts and necklaces. One offers to wash our boots.
I find my name in the log book, and sign out. I'm proud the final descent only took me three hours. After a brief ceremony where we each receive official certificates of our accomplishment, we eat lunch, then climb into Land Rovers.
The warm water of the shower feels as good as I imagined. The dirt of a week swirls down the drain. My hair emerges from under the bandana and hat. I lock my Kilimanjaro clothes into a duffle to open later at home.
After a cold beer and dinner, it's off to the airport. It's dark on the tarmac. The surrounding fields smell like hay, and I brace myself to climb the stairs to the airplane, one step at a time - pole pole.