 Photo Credit: Josh Phillips 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. 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.  1. Connect to the Moment not the Wifi While there are so many amazing memories I have of Kilimanjaro, one of my top five moments is stepping outside my tent to look at the mountain at night. By sheer luck, our trip coincided with the tail end of a full moon. It acted as a spotlight in the sky, cinematically lighting up the mountain but leaving it just dark enough to see the stars. In that moment it was just me and the mountain while everyone was sleeping in their tents. Was it an insta-worthy moment? Absolutely. But, it was also a cherished one that gave me an incredible perspective and made me realize how fortunate I was to be standing there. This past August, the Tanzanian government announced that it has installed broadband internet on Mount Kilimanjaro. It's disappointing that the government would invest in wifi for tourists when their citizens need more infrastructure while there are still areas of this country that don't have electricity, running water, and reliable cell reception. The official explanation is that the wifi is for the safety of hikers and for the porters and guides to stay in touch with their families. But the marketing is towards the influencer so they can post on instagram from the peak or live tweet along the way. As of now the wifi reaches about 3,200 MASL but the plans are to bring it to the summit at 5,895 MASL (19,341 feet). I am SUPER grateful that it wasn't available a month earlier when I hiked up the mountain. Hey, I love instagram (see here) but call me old (school), I think a trek that requires physical stamina and mental acumen, and a be-in-the-moment attitude, shouldn't have a must-post-on-instagram-now agenda because there is a freely accessible wifi connection. I think there are some places that should be free of wifi to give you the permission to be in the moment and I think Mount Kilimanjaro should be one of those places. I'm old enough to remember a world when we weren't virtually connected all the time or living in a time of immediacy (when we had to wait days for film to develop - yes, that old!). The world used to be a place where I wasn't thinking about my next social media post or feeling the urge to immediately share with the world where I am and what I'm doing. It's hard to be in the moment when your mind is focussed on those things.  While some people might be relieved that they won't have to go without wifi for 8 or so days, let me explain why I don't thinks it's a brilliant idea, particularly on a high-risk mountain, where not everyone reaches the top because it's so physically challenging. I know not everyone will agree with me and that's okay. First of all, the idea of live tweeting or instagramming shouldn't even be a thought when you're at the top. It's very cold at the summit, finger-freezing, cold. There is a glacier on top of the mountain - it's cold. Then, factor in the high altitude along with the lack of oxygen, which affects your ability to breathe, the last thing anyone should be doing is posting on social media. Guides will only let you stay at the top for no more than 15 minutes as they understand the severe physical repercussions of staying in a place with 48% less oxygen than at sea level. I know people who didn't even take pictures because they were so cold and focussed on breathing. The one photo you rarely see on social media is this one - the lineup of hikers gathered at the sign for a photo. It can get crowded. We were only minutes ahead of the crowd and by chance got there before a line up of hikers converged to take photos at the top. Frankly, I find it rather shocking that the government has marketed to influencers to hike Kili for this moment when it's already the most precarious one of the whole hike. It seems irresponsible for a government to suggest something that can have serious impacts on a person's health and well being. So, my advice: take your photos - LOTS OF PHOTOS - and make a plan about what you do want to post on your social channels because you're (probably) only going to climb this mountain once, but be there, in the moment, revel in your acheivement, your posts will be equally fabulous if you wait a few days to post them.  2. Fall in love with the Mountain (Trail/Tour) not your mountain (trail/tour) guide. Hiking one of the seven summits is an intense experience. From the anxiety of wondering if you'll make it to the top to the exhilaration when you do - it's a rollercoaster ride of emotions. If you're like me and take months to plan and prep for the climb, it's a sensory overload when you're on the mountain. You may not realize it at the time but it is quite overwhelming, at least for me it was. I'm still processing the hike as I write this nearly three months after reaching the summit. If you're incredibly lucky to have an amazing crew, like we were, you will spend quite a bit of time with the guides and get to know a lot about them and their lives. But, while you're chatting away with them, they are also assessing your health and watching you to ensure you're okay - it's their job to help you get to the top of the mountain and make your dream a reality. A very important job if you ask me and I'm forever grateful to the team who helped me reach the summit. While I truly enjoyed chatting with the guides and learning about their lives in Tanzania, I can see how, in the intensity of the day-to-day climb and the euphoria of reaching summit, that one could easily confuse the feelings of camaraderie and friendship for affection. It's not a big step to fall for someone who is helping you achieve your dreams. But don't, alright? Most likely your guide has a wife (or husband) and children or grandchildren. Your brief interaction with them on the mountain is just that, brief. Appreciate your guide(s), be grateful for their expertise but respect them and the lives they have after your trek ends when they return home to their families. You also wouldn't want to put your guide in the precarious position of potentially losing their job because of inappropriate behaviour. I can't imagine anyone would want to carry that weight on their shoulders, but that's just me. Your guide and crew are amazing, hard-working people. Love the experience. Just don't fall in love with them.  3. We're all on the Same Trail, but a Different Path.
We're all on the same planet, hiking the same trail on the mountain and yet we're each having our own experience. My experience on Kili was different than anyone else's in our group. To begin with, we choose to hike the trail for different reasons - some attempting to reach a personal goal, others to spend time in nature, some just felt like a really long walk, others to celebrate with family, others needed an escape from reality, and some (me) because they heard a voice that said 'go'. There are so many reasons why someone choses to be on that trail at that time, or any trail for that matter. So, like life, we may be walking the same trail but we're on a different path. You can't compare your experience to someone else's. "Comparison is the thief of joy," ~ Theodore Roosevelt Undoubtedly you can't climb a mountain or hit a long distance trail without it changing you in some way. I experienced this incredible mountain as a 48-year-old woman. Was my experience different from the 25-year-olds in my group? Absolutely! Should our experiences be as individual, unique and authentic as we are? Absolutely. And that's how it should be.
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