Packing - all my gear is safely stored in two bags. They are divided differently than they will be once I embark on my trek. In the blue carry on (which is the only bag going up the mountain) I have the things I deem essential or that would be very hard to replace in Africa if my luggage is lost. Everything else, including my sleeping bag is in the red one. According to the KLM website I am 4 lbs under the allowance on each bag.
In some ways it seems like a lot of gear, but the majority of it is for the mountain. In other ways, I am going for three weeks and don't seem to have a lot of stuff with me. Regardless, I have what I'm taking, anything else I will buy there or do without. After all this planning I would like to believe I have everything, but that is just folly. I'm sure I've missed something that will seem perfectly obvious once I get there.
So, I started posting January 21, 2012 - just over a year ago and the date is finally (or already- depending on how I'm feeling) here.
Summary -
I've done a fair amount of training in my opinion - none of it overly hard but more requiring consistency. Do I wish I had done more? Of course I do - until I meet the mountain, doubt will exist.
Injuries - I started training with bursitis in my left hip and a dodgy right shoulder. I finished my training with two dodgy shoulders, a sore left hip but not in the bursitis spot and sore feet. I have orthotics for my boots now, but in reality my feet still hurt when I walk more than two hours, especially if I have to go fast. That being said - we do not walk fast on the mountain, but each day is longer than 2 hours. Do my feet hurt enough to make me stop - I sure don't think so. I have lots of analgesia with me!
Weight - I've stayed the same over the course of the year but my pants are a bit looser. I put my treking pants on this morning, which I haven't done since before the snow came and breathed a sigh of relief when they fit!
I have compression socks on for the airplane ride - they are kind of squidgy in my boots, so even though I vowed not to add anything to my luggage, I think I will be adding a pair of bamboo socks for inside my boots.
My family has spent the last week telling me how much they'll miss me. I will miss them too as we have never been apart this long. Still, I am the lucky one because I will be out of my usual environment and seeing new things while my husband will go to bed without me and my kids will miss my hugs.
Pretty much all the people I know who've wished me well on this journey in the last week have ended the conversation with, "Take lots of pictures". Well, since you asked.... I have had some practice sessions with my camera this week and now know how to take a panaramic shot and video. I am taking two battery back up systems (one solar) with me to ensure I have juice for pictures. As well, there are 34 of us trekking up this hill together, perhaps we'll share some of our more spectacular shots with each other.
I may have sporadic internet while in Africa so will be writing my blogs the old fashioned way - on paper - as the days progress and then will upload them individually when I have time and internet. So, although they will be posted in order, they will be late.
That's it from this country I think. At around 2 pm on February 13 in the Edmonton time zone, I will be beginning my summit push. Have a thought for me. When you wake up on Valentine's Day - I will be on my way down!
Take care my friends - stay safe, and I will do the same!
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