May long weekend/Anniversary Getaway

And I'm back! I thought I would share about our most recent adventure, a few weeks late...

For the May long weekend, we decided to go to the Adirondacks to celebrate our 3rd Anniversary, and the great outdoors of course. We left home around 7:30 Friday night, and rolled into Saranac Lake around 2am. For those of you who don't know anything about the Adirondacks, they have what is called "The 46", which are forty-six of the highest mountain peaks over 4,000ft. Many people make it their goal to climb all 46 throughout their life, myself NOT included. Dan of course thinks that would be awesome. Well after the weekend I'm 3/46 and Dan is 4/46. 

We started out on Saturday around 11 am, the trail was a very popular one and the weather was perfect, which meant there were a lot of people. I actually like when there are lots of people around (less likely to see a bear that way), but Dan thinks it's too crowded. It was quite muddy in some parts, but we were prepared with our gaiters and hiking boots. 

And by the way, what is up with people who hike in jeans? I just don't get it, there is no way that's comfortable! But who am I to judge? 

Proof!

After a couple of hours we made it to the peak, joined by many others and stayed for a few minutes to catch my our breath, take in the scenery and head back down. But not all the way down, because from that mountain we climbed to the top of another, I mean why not if you're that close? 



Almost at the top!

 

I just love him

 

 After our hike down, we were back to the car about 4.5 hours later! Overall we had a great day, and topped it off with pizza and bread sticks. That's right, no counting calories after hiking all day.

All cleaned up!

 However, our hiking was far from over as we were up and onto our next mountain by 8am the next day. This mountain is called Big Slide. The name is kind of intimidating...and this hike started instantly on an incline, great! Not long into our hike we heard some sticks breaking and a deer ran out right in front of us across the trail. It was too fast so I couldn't get my imaginary gun out in time, and Dan couldn't get the camera out either, so you'll have to take my word for it.

There were parts of shear rock that we had to climb up, which makes it a little more interesting then the usual trail.



Really? That way?

There was also a built in ladder up this one section...so that was fun, well not really at the time, it was a bit nerve racking. However, we made it to the top, had some snacks, and took a little break, along with a few others. 

While we were eating this little Marten pokes his head out of the bushes, and this guy was so fascinated that he kept throwing food at it, and wanted to get his picture with the cute little thing all the while saying how dangerous these little things are and you don't want to make it angry. Ok guy, then stop trying to feed it!

But we escaped in one piece and were on our way down...and downhill hurts man! As Dan said "wet rocks are your nemesis". It's true I have this problem with slipping a lot on wet rocks. But all in all the trip down was uneventful, and as we neared the end it started spitting. By the time we were out and in our car it was pouring. So we made good time, the hike took us exactly 7 hours.

After cleaning up we went out for our Anniversary dinner, and I had the best seafood pasta ever...again calories were not a concern! Then we watched Ironman 3 on film, in the smallest theater ever! But we enjoyed it.

All in all we had a great time. You know I didn't grow up with a desire to hike long hours on end, or climb to the top of mountains. But I have grown to love being outside, enjoying nature and everything that comes with it, including the sense of accomplishment when you reach the top. Most importantly, I just enjoy being with Dan. Ok, maybe this is sappy, but it's the truth. No matter what we do, we just enjoy being together. These past 3 years have been better then I could have ever imagined, and I am so blessed to have Dan as my husband- he's the best! Not only is he the best, but he's kinda like a superman. I mean who gets back from hiking all weekend, driving 7 hours and then decides to go for a 10km run? That would be Dan, because he's awesome! Ok, you can stop throwing up now.

Now what?

Our trip has come and gone, so...now what? I was all prepared to tell all my family, friends and any strangers that have been reading my blog, that this was it, the end, I have nothing else to write about. I mean I don't lead a very exciting life on a day to day basis. It's not every day we're climbing mountains or sleeping with hyena's, so I told Dan that I would post one more blog saying that I was done. However Dan said that I can't stop blogging becuase he wants to give me things to write about, and that can only mean one thing: MORE MOUNTAINS?? So who knows where we will go from here. Many people have asked me if our cruise has been booked. Not yet, but it will happen! We don't have a date in mind, but he is prepared to go, and I will be sure to let you know when we do. I hope you've enjoyed reading about our adventures, as much as I've enjoyed writing about them. He's already planning some hikes this summer, so I guess the title will remain the same for now: you owe me a cruise (still)! 

Safari

After our climb we had a 5 day safari. I'm wont do a day by day blog for that, but I'll give you a brief recap. The safari was such an amazing experience, we saw so many animals, including the big 5! We stayed in a hotel the first night, then the second and third nights we were in a tented camp in the middle of the Serengeti. The tents were canvas, and big enough for our king sized bed, shower, and bathroom. But it was a tent, in the Serengeti, so you could hear everything! Before bed you would hear lions in the distance, and hyena's laughing hysterically just outside your tent. Like what's so funny? Of course Dan slept like a baby and didn't hear anything, every sound I heard would make me sit right up. I was so paranoid that if I made any noise it would attract the animals to our tent.

There was even a time when the hyena's were laughing (hahahaheeheehee) and then there was a bang into the side of our tent, I'm telling you it was a hyena but there were no other witnesses, so of course no one believes me. It was quite an experience, the second night in the tent we heard lions going crazy outside and found out the next morning that it was a pride of 30 enjoying a kill, just down the road from us.

Another guy staying at the camp peaked out his window during the night to see an elephant just hanging out in our camp! But they told us not to worry as they had security...a guy with a flashlight! Needless to say, I didn't sleep that great those nights. One day during the safari, we saw a pride of 9 lions attack a wildebeest for lunch, we watched that in amazement for over an hour. Also saw a family of about 45 ostrich. Did you know that ostrich can have up to 50 eggs at a time? Crazy! At one of our stops, two monkeys got into our truck (we were out, don't worry), they almost stole our boxed lunches...which would have been ok. By the end of the safari we had seen all there was to see, and took a whole lot of pictures. Our vacation was definitely a trip of a lifetime. One that I will never forget!

Day 8

We were woken up at 6:15, and had one last breakfast of porridge, toast, eggs, and the meat. Our only complaint was that breakfast never changed! Every day they would bring us 8 pieces of toast, and we would leave 8 pieces of toast, they just never caught on! Before heading out on our last hike, the porters and guides sang a traditional Swahili song for us. It was a great ending to our time together. Then Shabaz thanked us for being great clients, we also expressed our appreciation. There was no way we could have done the hike without them. They went above and beyond to make our climb a success. After that we were on our way by 7:30. Although it was very painful on the toes, and slippery and steep- the beautiful scenery of the rain forest really distracts you from all your pain. As happy as I was to be at the end of this adventure, there was also a part of me that was going to miss being here.


It's funny but we actually had the most conversation with our guides on the last two days, then we did the first six. It's much easier to talk going downhill at lower altitudes. It was great to hear about their lives and about how much they love and appreciate their jobs. Basil has been to the summit 115 times, and Shabaz over 200, fascinating! After walking a few hours in the rain forest we finally reached the gate. It felt like crossing the finish line after a long race. What a great feeling! We quickly signed out, and we're in our van (with the most comfortable cushioned seats) and on our way back to the hotel. Once we got there, we had to figure out the tips for our guides, porters, the cook and waiter. Then we had a little awards ceremony, where they gave us certificates for our great accomplishments! After that we said our goodbyes, what a journey, a trip I will never forget...but my shower couldn't come fast enough.

YAY, I did it!

Day 7- To the Summit!

Hamed woke us up around 11pm, ( this is still day 6...but it will change soon enough). I was able to sleep a little bit, but the wind was going crazy and it sounded like a blizzard outside. I was actually worried that we wouldn't be able to go up, but things always sound worse in a tent, it was just windy- no blizzard. We slept in our base layers, so it wouldn't take that long to get ready. We were served some porridge before we went, but it was different then the normal disgusting porridge, so thankfully, we were able to swallow a few bites along with some biscuits.

Normal, disgusting porridge

We were all bundled up and ready to go by 12:30 (now it's Day 7). Shabaz recruited 3 extra assistant guides to help us up, and carry our bags. Unfortunately he wasn't able to go to the top with us, he had a really bad ingrown toe nail that was causing him a lot of pain, so he was staying at camp. The 8 of us were ready to go, and of course I was in the lead. With our headlamps on, we started out pole, pole, and saw a trail of lights heading up the mountain ahead of us. A few things greatly frustrated me during this time. First of all, my waterproof pants were a bit big so I felt really restricted trying to step up on the big rocks. I had to stop a few times to try to pull my pants up and tie them tight. Another frustration was that I didn't have a water bottle on hand. I didn't have room to shove it in my jacket like the others, so Dan and I shared his. Which meant anytime I needed to drink, I had to stop the group to get it from Dan. Going up, I felt VERY dehydrated, my mouth was extremely dry, so I had to drink a lot, which meant stopping a lot. They say you get very irritable and grumpy at higher altitudes, and it's true. I was getting so upset at the fact that no one else was stopping, I was thinking 'Are they not thirsty? What's wrong with these people?' Ok, so maybe I didn't just think that, I kind of snapped at Dan once. I hated being the one who always had to initiate the stops, and it made me look like I was so weak (which I was, but I didn't like it). So anyways, I was really upset about this for a while...I think some steam was coming out of my nose. Rob later made a comment that there were times when he wanted to stop for a break, but he knew I would stop soon so he never said anything. Thanks a lot Rob! It's ok though, I'm over it now...kind of. Back to the climb- the higher we got, the steeper it got so we had to do switchbacks (back and forth) to help get up. I was getting so tired and exhausted, there were moments when I could barely lift my feet, I was just dragging them behind me. My head was also killing me, and I would look in the distance and it still felt so far away, I just wasn't sure if I had enough energy to go all the way. I did a lot of praying at this point, I knew I wasn't making it up there on my own that's for sure.Even though I felt like quitting, and felt like my legs would just stop moving at a moment's notice, I kept on going. We finally stopped for a tea break, and Christine gave me two red magic pills. I say magic pills because after taking them I got this immediate renewed energy. Then I found out that we were just 3 hours to the top! That's it? For some reason that felt like a short distance, and I thought 'I really CAN do this'! I asked Basil what he thought our chances were to make it to the top, and he said '80%'. Oh come on Basil, have a little faith! But I was determined to prove him wrong. Those magic pills did wonders, and I felt great for a good while, I just continued to put one foot in front of the other, and we kept on going and going and going and going and you get the point. 

The sun was slowly beginning to rise so we didn't need our headlamps anymore, and the views were beautiful! The summit seemed to be getting closer and closer. However the more we walked, the more the magic pills wore off. My headache was gone, but the exhaustion came back, and it came with a vengeance. Man was I tired, but before I knew it, I saw the sign for Stella's Point (5739m) the last checkpoint before the summit.

It was at that moment that I knew without a shadow of doubt, that I was going all the way! I asked Basil again what percent we were at now, '110%!' Finally! Some people only make it to this point, as it's still another 45 minutes to the summit. I started getting emotional, but quickly stopped myself as I wasn't quite there yet. The last 45 minutes were hard, very hard. I would put my pole in front of me and take two steps, move the pole ahead, take two steps, I did this for a while. Sometimes I would put the pole in front, take two steps, rest my head on the pole and repeat. The others were feeling great (I hated them), but they still lingered close by me so we would reach the peak together.
 Even though I knew there was never a point I actually would have given up, and I always said I would make it all the way, I was never really convinced until the moment the sign was in view. I was overcome with emotion, and these weird sobs (I blame the altitude) came out of my mouth, along with 'I can't believe I did it!' All the praying, talking, preparing, planning, finally became a reality. It was absolutely one of the best moments of my life, and the best thing was that I got to share it with Dan. Without him, I would have never dreamed of doing anything like this. Throughout the hike he always knew when I needed to hold his hand, or some words of encouragement. I just love him. It was great sharing the experience with Rob and Christine too. It was 7:15 by the time we made it to the summit, took us just under 7.5 hours.

The whole gang

After our little celebration, and some pictures we were on our way down. Now you would think that going down would be a breeze, and for some people it was, but not for me of course. The rocks that were frozen solid on our way up, were now loose scree, so you just had to shuffle your feet through it kind of like skiing and you could go as fast as you dared. But every time I sped up I felt my body leaning forward, and just imagined myself doing somersaults all the way down, so I took the slow lane down. Besides I was the slow one going up, why change things now? Keep in mind that we just spent the last 7.5 hours hiking uphill, so I'm tired, I just want to be done. But true to myself I'm being extremely careful going down, and so I fall a few times. Hamed (our waiter, who came up with us), saw I was struggling, so he took my left trekking pole and held it in his left hand, and linked arms with me and we walked together, arm in arm down the hill. I didn't care if I looked pathetic, I needed help, and he helped me down. We finally made it back to camp at 9:15, and we were greeted by a few of our porters who had orange juice for us. Everyone was so happy and congratulated us for making it all the way. Shabaz was there with a big smile on his face, very proud of us, and was even impressed with our time as he wasn't expecting us so soon. I thought I went up extremely slow, so I guess I didn't do that bad. We were told we had a few hours to nap and rest a bit, as we still had a 3 hour downhill hike ahead. This was the moment we all felt our worst. We had really bad, pounding headaches, and the sun was just roasting us in our tents, and we could barely move an inch without being breathless. All we wanted to do was to get out of there. So by 1:30 we were on our way down, and moved at a good pace. The more you went down the easier it was to breath.

In case of emergencies, this is your way down

Last night!

You still had to keep your eyes to the ground though as we were heading down on slippery, muddy rocks. After a little while we were out of the rocky, desert land and into the rain forest which is much nicer to look at. However still steep and slippery, your toes are constantly jamming into the front of your boots, which feels like non-stop bruising. So each step hurts, and you just want to be done so you pick up your pace, and start slipping so you slow it down, but you want to finish so you speed up again. And this rhythm goes on and on until we finally reach our final campsite at 4:30. It was probably my favorite camp, not only because it was the last one, but it was in the middle of the rain forest with trees and greenery all around. Shabaz wanted us to be away from all the other groups so our tents were further away to make it nice and quiet for us. We had a good night of reminiscing in the mess tent, we couldn't believe it was almost over, and it felt like the beginning was already a distant memory. They wanted us to get an early start tomorrow, so we went to bed for the last time in our tents!

Day 6

I can't believe it's day 6, the night we go to the summit! But before that happens we had a good hike this morning, over a lot of rocks. Which means you keep your head down to avoid tripping. It took us just over 3 hours to get to our camp- the highest we'll sleep at 4641m.

Our highest camp

We all have headaches now, hoping a little motrin will do the trick. We had some macaroni for lunch, and now have the afternoon to rest and prepare for tonight. We'll probably have an early supper as they want us up by 10:30 to get ready to leave by midnight. Now, since I had a slow/weak start, the guides always made me be at the front of the group, which got old, real fast. After a break I would try to linger, and fall into place behind someone else, but without fail Basil, or Shabaz would always say 'Monica (pronounced Mooneeka) to the front', or 'Mooneeka, behind Basil please'.

Lots of rocks

Argh! I hated being up front, but that was my calling, to be the leader. But, ever since taking the extra diomox, I've been feeling a lot better, and have gotten used to not being able to breath. It's very weird to completely loose your breath just walking to the bathroom, or should I say the bucket in a tent. Or to get completely winded just by packing up your bag. It's a very odd feeling, but something I can handle now. However tonight will be the true test as we hike up to our highest point at 5895m or 19,341ft. I'm actually excited right now, most nights I go to bed nervous about what lays ahead, but now I just want to get up there already! I'll be patient for a least a few more hours, and get some sleep before we go.

Day 5

The wall!

What a difference a day can make. I felt like it was my strongest day yet, I was even able to shout out 'baba kubwa' a few times!


We left camp around 9:15, tackled the Barranco wall, which looked much scarier then it was. I actually enjoyed the climb very much, and felt like a warrior!

See the people?

After the wall, we had a long downhill hike in the rain. Which made it slippery, and made me fall...just once this time. There's something about going down, steep, slippery rocks that makes me very tense. I try to be extremely careful, I think too careful at times. But after the steep downhill, we just had a steep uphill to our camp. I felt fine, short of breath of course but we made it to camp around 1. It was pouring off and on, so we spent a lot of time in our tents and the mess tent. For lunch we had grilled cheese, chicken, omelettes, and veggies. My appetite has actually gotten better the higher we get, so that's a good thing. After lunch we had a good nap, we're trying to get as much sleep as possible to prepare for our big night tomorrow. TOMORROW! Oh dear, that just sent shivers through my body. But I'm not going to think about that now. After a while Hamed was at our tent calling us for 'dinnertime'. We weren't that hungry since we just ate a couple hours ago, but they want us in bed early. Shabaz said tomorrow's hike will be short but steep, and they want to head out by 9.

It wasn't that bad!