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Sharing My Trek Through Photos

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day 1 - trek starts in rainforest at base of mountain

Our porters are superhuman and carry tents, food, etc. up mountain

Despite carrying 80 pds, the porters are still much faster up the mountain then us

The path is easy as we make our way through dense rainforest

Trying here to capture the feeling that the rainforest enveloped us with particular intensity

Every now and then the forest opened up to sunlight

What we did not realize at the time was how quickly we would move from breathtaking green to mountain brown

Our porters were so kind and friendly throughout our trek. They would speak to us in Swahili as they whipped past us

As we climbed, the types of plants seemed to change. We encountered giant ferns

At first, you think you are looking at a tree dwelling skunk, but upon closer examination, we come across Colobus Monkeys

They have incredibly long white tails and they love to chatter

End of Day 1 - setting up camp. This is home for the next nine days

Day 2 - out of the forest and into the sky

The scenery changes so quickly as we move into a new climate zone. We encounter tall brown vegetation while the path up becomes quite onerous

The path is laden with so many rocks that require you to pay close attention to where you step. As we climb, the vegetation opens up to provide stunning views

On day 2, the guides often call out the Swahili phrase, "pole, pole", which translates to `slowly, slowly'. By the end of day two, everyone in our group would sing that phrase.

Constantly changing vegetation, which made the climb so interesting

This is where we are headed - Kibo as it is called in Swahili. Mt. Kilimanjaro is actually comprised of three volcanoes, Kibo, Shira and Mawenze. Kibo is the highest

A room view a view so to speak

I wish I could explain how often our trek changed in terms of vista, intensity, grade, path and environment. There is nothing like it

We get closer to walking in the clouds

And closer

The guides smiled when we encountered this site because we said they look like inukshuks. Indeed, they are. Some years ago, Canadians were permitted to put these up to send the inukshuk message of safety, hope and friendship. No one has ever toppled them. It was impressive

The incline intensified on day 2 and the climb was quite steep and grueling

Kibo - we never got tired of looking at it

At the Kilimanjaro's peak with teammates celebrating the great work of our charity - CODE. Together, we raised almost $250,000 for a literacy project in Tanzania

Kilimanjaro, 19,341 ft.\5895 m., three volcanoes, the jewel of Africa and the world's highest free standing mountain

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What This Charity Means To Me

In 1986, I was a volunteer teacher in a remote village in Eswatini, (formerly Swaziland). The school had only one book available to the class, but no student could read at that level nor was the book appropriate for any of the children. I knew I had to find an appropriate story for them if I was serious about teaching them to read. I received permission to teach another book, but only if I paid for the books myself. I travelled to the central city and found a novel about a boy growing up in a changing Africa.

I will never forget the joy and wonderment I saw when the children read this book. It was a story they could relate to and identify with the main character. We had so much fun experiencing this story together. I have witnessed the power that a book can bring to a child, and I am on this trek to raise money for CODE to help bring books to children who otherwise have little hope of learning how to read.

THANK YOU FOR DONATING TO THIS GREAT CAUSE AND I AM SO PLEASED TO SHARE THESE PHOTOS WITH YOU AS AN EXPRESSION OF APPRECATION FOR YOUR SUPPORT

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