Climb for Hospice

I leave for Africa in 64 days.

I have 9 weekends left in which to hike and camp my soul away.

I have $4736.60 to raise, 2 prescriptions to buy (Malarone and something for Typhoid), 23 days worth of travel insurance to purchase, 1 Royal Bank Visa to activate, 1 Tanzanian Visa to apply for,  5 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of pants and 1 pair of sandals to buy.

I need clothing, footwear and toiletries for 6 beach days, 4 desert days, 2 rainforest days, 3 alpine days, 1 snow day, 3 safari days, and 2 air travel days.

My bag cannot weigh more than 33lbs.

I need more than a 16gig memory card.

I have to practice consuming 4 litres of water per day.

I need to find 13 days worth of lodging in east Africa,13 days worth of 3 meals a day in east Africa, and have 13 days worth of spending money for east Africa.

I need to have 4 different types of currency.

All of this to travel 15, 028 kms to climb 19,340 feet (while being 10hrs ahead of Vancouver time), in an attempt to raise $10,000.

I am a Grade-A, First Class,  #1 nutbar.

Weird Kili Facts

-The ice cap at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro is about 200 feet thick!

-Kili is also known as Ngaje Nga, meaning “House of God”

-In 1952 the movie The Snows of Kilimanjaro was made – based on the Ernest Hemingway short story of the same name. However, the only thing Hemingway liked about the movie was “Ava Gardner, (and) the Hyena”.

-Kilimanjaro supports five major eco-zones: rainforest, heath, moorland, alpine desert and glaciers.

-The bronze plaque at the summit of Kili reads: We, the people of Tanganyika, would like to light a candle and put it on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, which would shine beyond our borders, giving hope where there was despair, love where there was hate, and dignity where before there was only humiliation.

Weird Kilimanjaro Facts – Lesson One

-Kaiser Wilhelm was given Mount Kilimanjaro as a birthday present from Queen Victoria (which is why it is part of Tanzania and not Kenya, as Tanzania was a German territory)

-Mount Kilimanjaro’s name means: “Mountain of Cold Devils”

-Mt. Kilimanjaro is the only permanent snowcap within sight of the equator

-Although mostly living in North and South America, porcupines have been seen on Mt. Kilimanjaro (at about 11,000ft)

-First summit (in Oct 1889) by: German Geology professor Hans Meyer, Marangu Army Scout Yoanas Kinyala Lauwo and Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller

1) The ever-changing window displays at Bryan’s Bookstore

2) People you pass on the street happily greet you with a smile and a ‘good morning!’, even at 6am

3) The number of businesses that put dog-water bowls out front of their stores

4) Hearing the coyotes howl and the owls hoot in Harbour Park late at night, while I am standing on the other side of the river

5) The fact that my dog can happily follow behind a trotting miniature pony in the Trenant Park parking lot at 9:30 on a Thursday night.