I did THAT?! Summitting Mt. Kilimanjaro...

I've been home now a little over a week after my adventure of a lifetime.  I still sit in awe of all that I experienced and that I even did it!  Yep...I summitted Mt. Kilimanjaro, the largest free-standing mountain in the world.

When and how did that even begin?  Let me tell you...

Quite a few years ago, I began following a woman on social media who put together women-only adventure/backpacking/hiking trips.  She was always full of great information for getting outside and she started to put together trips.  Some of the places she was taking women were places I had already been or the dates didn't work out. 

In April 2024, I saw she promoted that she was doing a Mt. Kilimanjaro trip in February 2025.  Well, Mt. Kilimanjaro had never been something I had considered before, but NOW I was.  When that trip opened up for signing up, I was ready.  Within 5 minutes, 25 spots were sold out--and I didn't get in!  I was on the wait list.  Months went by and I pretty much thought I would not be going.

Well, October 2025, I get an email that a spot opened up and I immediately attempted to get in.  Nope, it was gone (the email had come in 15 minutes prior).  Now that I knew it could even be a possibility, I was ON IT!  A few days later, I saw an email come in that another spot had opened.  I frantically went on-line to try to get the spot--and I got in!?  Couldn't believe it.  This was real now.

My coach and trainers at the gym (EmPower) were all over getting me prepped and trained to climb the mountain  So grateful to Coach Mike and Coach Carla for their input, direction and guidance.  My training involved LOTS of strength training, lifting, box step-ups, various forms of cardio and lots of hiking--all with a weighted vest.  I started with a 20 lb. vest and then went to a 28 lb. vest.  I also incorporated a lot of breath work which was building lung capacity for the high altitude.

 

  

As the trip got closer, I begin hiking with my daypack and what would likely be in it--the 4 liters of water, extra clothing layers, snacks, etc.  

I have the best tribe.  Every weekend, I would toss out my hiking plans, and there was always several of my people ready and willing to jump in.  I had other friends who maybe didn't want to hike, but we would do mobility work together. My gym family was amazing! And, many other friends, who were behind me in prayer and cheering me on. Pam and Sandy, my co-worker friends, helped to make me some "flags" to take with me to the summit.

 

I put in the work.  I felt prepared. I was ready...at least physically!  As the trip got closer, the final decisions for packing and best things to wear were the bigger challenges.  I talked with 3 different people who had done Kili before. I was following a Kilimanjaro hiking group on Facebook.  The things I was most nervous about--the things out of my control:  trouble with the altitude, mountain sickness, vomiting, too many bathroom trips at night, difficulty sleeping at night and being stuck trekking in downpours.  I felt like I was as ready as I could be.  

Finally, the day arrived. My flight left Dulles Airport on February 11 at 10 a.m. and I arrived in Tanzania on February 12 around 1 p.m. I met my new friend, Jordan, at the Dulles airport.  She was from Pittsburgh and doing the climb as well.  

We shared an airport shuttle in Tanzania to take us to the our hotel.  We got to the hotel around 3 that afternoon and were to be ready at 5 that evening for the meet and greet for the rest of the team and then have our equipment checks.

I met my tentmate, Tara. She's from Minnesota.  We settled into an easy routine pretty quickly. 

That first evening, we met our guides from Zara Tours. They introduced themselves to us and we learned that John, the lead guide, had done over 500 summits.  We were in good hands.  They took some time checking our bags and our equipment to be sure we had what we needed.  If we didn't we could rent things there from the shop at the hotel.

 

Dinner together the first night

Our group was 25 women from all over the U.S., one international (from Belgium), and ages from 26 to 53.  Yep, I was one of the oldest in our group.  Each woman was unique and so many different backgrounds and careers. I was excited to get to know them in the week ahead.  

After a great night's sleep at the hotel, we started our day with breakfast at 6:30. We dropped off our duffle bag (the 33 lb. or less bag that the porters would carry for us during the trek) and went to breakfast.  After breakfast, we gathered our other belongings that we were going to leave at the hotel until we returned after the trek.  By 8, we were ready to load up the vans and head to the mountain.  But, you know, we were on Africa time.  I think we left at 8:45.  

 

We had an hour drive to the Machame gate where we would start our climb. Once we arrived, we were given box lunches that we all disassembled and stuffed the food in our daypack. Then we waited.  And waited.  And waited some more. Finally, at maybe 11:20, we took a team photo and started to go through the gate, only to be stopped for security checks.

 

We finally began our 7-mile ascent for Day 1 at 11:45 a.m.  I've included the 7-day itinerary below

Feb 11	Flying from US - Leave 10:00 a.m. from Dulles Airport
Feb 12	Arrive Kilimanjaro at 12:55 p.m. Check in at hotel:  Springlands Hotel, Moshi, Tanzania Evening: Dinner and equipment check
Feb 13 Day 1 – start climb	Machame Gate to Machame Camp (45 min drive to start) 2985 ft to 4888 ft	7 miles	6-7 hours	+3940 ft
Feb 14 - Day 3	Machame Camp to Shira Camp 9840 ft to 12600 ft	4 miles	5-6 hours	+2630 ft
Feb 15 - Day 4	Shira Camp to Barranco Camp 12600 ft to 12960 ft	7 miles	7-8 hours	+2630 ft
Feb 16 - Day 5	Barranco to Karanga Valley and Karanga Camp (for acclimatization) 12960 ft to 13240 ft	3 miles	4-5 hours	+990 ft
Feb 17 - Day 6	Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp 13240 ft to 15331 ft	2 miles	5-6 hours	+1970 ft
Feb 18 - Day 7 Summit Day!	Barafu Camp to Summit 15331 ft to 19341 ft Midnight start Steep, rocky, cold Sunrise at Stella Point (18651 ft) Uhuru Peak Descend to Barafu Camp, then to Mweka Camp – 10170 ft	9 miles	12-13 hours	+3900 ft
Feb 19 - Day 8	Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate (Base) 10170 ft to 5380 ft Transport back to hotel Dinner, celebration	5 miles	4-5 hours
Feb 20	Morning – hotel Check out by noon Leave Kilimanjaro at 5:20 p.m. on ET 814 through Ethiopia Arrive Dulles on 2/21/25 at 8:00 a.m.

 

Day 1 was hiking through the rainforest.  It was a steep and rocky climb.  It was hot and muggy. We did 7 miles and gained 3940 feet in elevation.  I loved the green and all of the moss in the rainforest. We arrived at Machame Camp around 6 p.m. that night.  The porters had gone ahead of us much earlier and had camp set up and ready for us.  What a welcome site!  

   

 

 

 

 

Tent #16 - my home for the week.     Our personal bathrooms they set up for us every day

Every day, after our hike, they provided popcorn and tea for a snack.  So tasty! They also always provided a basin of hot water (both morning and evening) for washing. A few hours later, we had dinner.

 

Every night at dinner, they also checked our blood/oxygen levels.  This was important information for our guides, especially as we would go into higher altitude.  I'll share my numbers on that later in this post.

Crawled into bed and slept sporatically that first night.  And, only one wake-up call to use the bathroom during the night. 

Day 2 started early.  Actually, every morning, the wake-up call was at 5:45 a.m. with tea and coffee being brought to you in your tent.  Breakfast was at 6:30.  We started our hikes at 7:30 each day.

 

Breakfast options

Day 2 was hiking Machame Camp to Shira Camp.  4 miles completed in maybe 6 hours. It was a steep and rocky climb with different landscapes and amazing views. 

 

 

 

 

It was a challenging hike but not as difficult as the first day.  It wasn't as warm and I was starting to get into a groove.  We hike very slowly...pole pole (po-lay, po-lay) which is Swahili and means slowly, slowly.  I would have liked to go faster, but was prepared for this and accepted the fact that this was the safest way to acclimate to the altitude.  Trust the guides. 

We arrived into Shira Camp around 1:30 p.m. at 12,600 feet of elevation.  We had lunch and then took a little break.  We were to meet up again at 5 to do a "surprise" hike--hiking up the mountain for 45 minutes and then back down again.  This was for acclimatization. 

After dinner, early to bed because we are early to rise.

Day 3 we were to hike from Shira Camp to Barranco Camp - a total of 7 miles.  Today we had some light rain, sleet and snow!  But, it was manageable.   At lunchtime, we reached our highest point yet, about 15,000 feet at Lava Tower.  We sat down for some lunch and then it started snowing more heavily. We could enjoy the beauty of that from inside the dry tent. After lunch, we continued on to Barranco Camp. It was a challenging day of hiking, but I enjoyed the beauty of the climate changes and landscapes. 

 

Breakfast of champions...

The Porters had quite the system in breaking down and setting up camp

 

 

 

Lunch!

The snow while we had lunch

 

 

Chillin' during a break

 

 

When we arrived at Barranco Camp, I asked if I could see the "kitchen" where they were making all of our food.  It was so tiny!  

Our chefs happily preparing our meal

 

The Barranco Wall was hidden by the clouds.  We would have a better view of it in the morning.

I was still feeling physically strong and no issues with altitude.  I was beginning to feel like I was getting a cold.  Nothing much I could do about it.  

Day 4 we tackled the Barranco Wall and made our way to Karanga Camp. The hike itself was about 4 miles but it was literally climbing the mountain.  It was very technical.  This was my favorite day so far!  Loved the challenge of the wall.  Loved the change of pace -- not just slowly walking in a straight line. It was such a fun morning!

 

                                                                                  With Mary, Jerusha and Adam, our guide.

 

 

 

Made it to the top and the other guides were having a dance celebration!  So fun!

We continued on and arrived at Karanga Camp for the night.

Day 5 would be a shorter day. We did 2 miles from Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp.  Although it was a short hike, the last little bit of the hike was a bit intense. We got to camp around noon.

 

 

 

Contemplating the summit ahead for tomorrow

This was our "rest" day before the big summit day.  After lunch, we rested a few hours.  Then had dinner around 5:30.  Then rested some more.  We were to wake up for "breakfast" at 11:00 p.m. and begin the big push to the summit at 11:45 p.m.  

Here are my blood/oxygen levels for the trek:

Summit Day - Day 6 - was the longest day ever!  

We left Barafu Camp at 11:45 p.m. on February 17.  It was beautiful, clear skies and stunning night sky with the moon and stars  There we were, just a long single file line, climbing the mountain.  Whether you looked up or down, you just saw a line of headlamps.

It took us 2 hours to go 1 mile.  It was cold. It was a slow and steady climb.  We took maybe 5 breaks.  The guides were awesome!  They had carafes of hot tea and hot water for us.  They were checking on each of us closely during the climb, looking for any dangerous signs of altitude sickness.  I was coughing quite a bit, but was able to just keep a steady pace. The guides were super helpful in helping us add extra clothing layers too.  Everything took so much effort with so little oxygen in the air.  Adam helped me add my rain pants over my hiking pants for extra warmth.  He also helped me pull on my heavy mittens.  It was literally all we could do to just keep taking one step after the other. Sometimes I felt I was literally sleep-walking or in a state of delirium. 

Finally, after 6 hours of hiking the sun started to come up and we reached Stella Point. This was a huge emotional moment for me (and many others).  It was just breath-taking!  I was just in awe and amazement that I was there and was able to do this!  

  

 

From Stella Point, you could actually see the peak ahead.  They told us it would be another 40 minutes to an hour to reach the summit.  I knew I was going to do it!  

 

at the summit!

At 6:50 a.m. on February 18, I reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  I did it!  I summitted the tallest free-standing mountain in the world!  What a privilege!  My heart was just bursting with gratitude.

 

(Some random stats from one of the woman's GPS tracking)

They didn't want us to stay long at the peak.  The longer you stay at high altitude, there are more risks.  So, before I knew it, we were heading down the mountain.  The descent was rough.

The 3 miles back to Barafu Camp were all loose stones and gravel.  Tough going. The sun was hot. We experienced so many climate differences on summit day. Once we got back to Barafu Camp, we rested a bit and ate some lunch. 

Then they told us it was time to continue down the mountain another 4 miles to Mweka Camp. More rocky terrain. More heat, sun and wind. My toes and quads were happy to finally see Mweka Camp ahead.  

 

High Camp was ALMOST at the bottom to Mweka Camp

Finally!  Back to 10,000 feet elevation

Ate dinner and slept like a rock that night. I think in all, we had 16-20 hours of hiking summit day. Crazy!

Day 7, we woke up and energy was high. We were still riding the adrenaline high from our summit and were also excited to have our last day on the mountain!  We were ready for our 5 mile descent through the rainforest to the base. 

 

A final view of the summit. Crazy to think we were there the day before!?

What an amazing, epic adventure!  We had a snack, loaded up in the vans and made our way to the hotel for the hot shower that was waiting for us!

Enjoyed a mango smoothie and an oreo milkshake prior to dinner.  I'm looking a bit beat up and weathered, haha!

 

That evening, we had our celebration dinner with the guides.  20 of the 25 of our group made it to the summit.  Every single woman on this trip succeeded.  The five that didn't make it, had to overcome and push through some serious challenges.  They are rockstars!

 

 

So, after all of that, here are some random facts:

• There were 24 other women and me who were in the group.
• We had 1 chief guide, 12 assistant guides, 2 chefs, 3 waiters and 69 porters
• We had a private bathroom at our camp - 1 toilet for every 6 people
• The porters only bring in 3 days worth of food and then they go back down the mountain and back up with more for the rest of the week!?
• A few porters were sent ahead early each morning to get our spot at the next camp.
• Porters generally carry 50 lbs. (our bags could not weigh more than 33 lbs.)
• The meals were great!  They were definitely preparing food to fuel us.
• I drank 4 liters of water every day.

And, now, some thoughts and reflections from my adventure:

• So grateful that I had this opportunity.
• I did not get altitude sickness at all---no vomiting, no nausea, no headaches.  When we got to the hotel at the end of the trek, and all of us were coughing and wheezing quite a bit - we learned that it was actually a form of altitude sickness.
• We had amazing weather the entire time (just a little bit of rain, sleet and snow)
• I slept well each night and had minimal bathroom wake-up calls
• I was never in pain.
• I felt physically prepared.  It was definitely a challenge of mental toughness.
• The clear, night skies were just breathtaking
• Loved the variety in climates and landscapes.  
• Enjoyed getting to know the other amazing women in the group
• I was never too cold or uncomfortable with temperatures.  My fingers and toes did get cold on summit day.
• Going into the trek, I was afraid that the slow pace was going to frustrate me. It did a little bit the first day, but I settled in pretty quickly.  The pace was necessary to acclimate well to altitude.  Once I accepted the pace, I took the time to really take in and enjoy my surroundings. Life lesson-sometimes slowing down is necessary to really see things/others around you.
• Put in the work and dedication and it will pay off.
• It's good to be a quiet observer sometimes.
• I had some sweet conversations and connections with some of the women.  You never know the impact you have on someone.

I also have to give a shout-out to my amazing husband, Jared.  He doesn't love to hike. He doesn't love to travel. He doesn't love adventure.  He loves me.  If you would have asked me just a few years ago if I would do a trip like this, I would have said no, because of Jared's health. But our God is bigger than all of that.  God is giving me bigger dreams and gifts than I ever would have imagined.  I am so grateful for Jared's good health and his support and love for me in this.

My Mt. Kilimanjaro trek was:

• Epic!
• Exhilerating!
• A test of every part of me - emotionally, physically, psychologically
• Beautiful!
• Fun!
• Hard
• A test of strength in all areas
• Awe-inspiring - the night skies, mountains, terrains, landscapes, plants, waterfalls
• Amazing views
• Done with an amazing support crew -- on the ground and at home

My heart is bursting with gratitude.