Spending 8 days on Africa's tallest mountain has had a profound effect on me and undeniably changed me and how I see the world. Like any journey, the experience has seeped under my skin and become part of who I am. But isn't that what exploring the world is all about?

Over the last few months I've had time to reflect on the entire experience while chronicling my 8-day trek to the top of Kilimanjaro - from planning to packing to summiting. Getting the opportunity to hike Mount Kilimanjaro, or any opportunity to travel, is an incredible gift. I wanted to share a few nuggets that I think are worth mentioning to help enrich your Kili climb and make the most of any long distance guided or self-guided trail you do. 

This isn't a packing list or a practical guide, but more 'sage advice from a 40+ year-old who recently summited Kili' kind of post. You can apply my little nuggets of advice to any mountain trail or epic, unforgettable journey you take. A journey is a journey after all.
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My advice:
1. Connect to the moment, not the wifi.
2. Fall in love with the mountain, not your mountain guide.
3. We're on the same trail, but a different path.

For five days we had been walking towards base camp, towards the top of Kili, towards our ultimate goal. While it's just one foot in front of the other, each step was getting me closer to the moment I had been envisioning for seven months - standing on the peak touching the sign that so many others have touched before me. 
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We were high above the clouds now at 4,000+ MASL.  For someone who lives at sea level, it can be a rather strange sensation to look down at the clouds instead of up at them. And, as someone who has a (sometimes debilitating) fear of heights, it really played with my brain that the ground and clouds were so far below. The third highest peak in Tanzania - Mount Meru  - was the only point of reference poking through the clouds at 4,565 MASL. That's how high we were.

My brain thinks we should be looking up at mountains not down at them. But, we still had a lot of upwards to go so the best things was to keep my eyes on the prize and not look back down the mountain.

It turns out the base layers were not quite enough to keep warm overnight, despite the high quality sleeping bag, I was chilled. We were sleeping in the shadow of Mount Kilimanjaro at 4,200 MASL, under a clear night sky, it's no wonder it was cold.

The night called for cocooning myself in multiple layers of merino wool and down. The combination seemed to work. I can honestly say that for the first time in my life I slept in a sleeping bag wearing not only head to toe merino wool base layers, but also a North Face down jacket. It was that kind of cold.

​But in the end, I slept really well (finally) being all nice and cozy warm. Having a solid night's sleep was good because today was going to test my limits with another first - altitude sickness symptoms.

 A lesson in listening to that voice in your head.

Early one morning in November 2021 I woke up to a voice that said 'climb Kilimanjaro'. As someone who has never once thought about climbing that mountain this was a rather surprising thing to hear. 

As I stayed cocooned in my cozy bed, 'Climb Kilimanjaro' kept echoing in my brain. Like so many people, I was experiencing cabin fever from being house bound during the pandemic - I desperately wanted to brush the dust off my passport and travel but this seemed a bit, uh, extreme. Couldn't the voice have suggested something a little closer or perhaps something without so much altitude? I mean the Amalfi Coast sounds lovely.

After a beat of being slightly dumbfounded, I picked up my phone and started googling Kilimanjaro, beginning with 'where is Mount Kilimanjaro?'

But, have you ever had a moment where your brain sees you doing something you never thought you would do and then it becomes all you can think about? That's what started to happen. 

Months before setting foot in Tanzania, I spent hours researching everything about climbing Kili, from what to wear, to the best routes, to best pre-climb training, to how to tip, etc. By the time I got on the plane to Africa, I felt ready. 

Small details can have big rewards - that's how we planned our trek. We were all about being prepared to tackle the mountain, not just the physical challenge, which required a lot of training on my part, but also about being smart about packing and bringing things that would up the comfort level a notch or two. This is a mountain you generally climb only once, so why not do everything to make it one of the most memorable hikes you've ever done. It was for me!

​In addition to the two most important tips: drinking 3 liters of water per day and paying attention to symptoms of altitude sickness, I've put together 10 tips to help you make the most of your Kili climb: