Journey To Extraordinary ~ The True Summit.

Then there we were: on the true summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the roof of Africa, enjoying the view while we waited for the rest of our group. Here you could see that we were standing on the edge of a massive volcanic crater. Snow was sparse in most areas, but in others you could see the towering glaciers clinging to the shadows. This is something very few people will ever see in their lifetimes.

We now had two climbers who had fallen behind. Miraculously, the first climber with the severe stomach issues was only 30 minutes behind us and hit the false peak at 7:30. Athumani, our fearless leader from Team Kilimanjaro, had run back down the mountain to encourage her. Gripping the ends of her trekking poles, he literally dragged her step-by-step up the final stretch of the mountain. Remarkably, she recovered enough to continue and joined us triumphantly at the summit where we were waiting.

Our second hiker, physically and mentally drained, was resting with one of our guides, Dula. His legs felt like lead and he did not have the mental drive to force himself the last bit up. The voice in his head was winning. But then, a much larger, older, man passed him with two porters. Dula seized the moment and said, “Are you going to let that old guy beat you?”. That challenge lit a fire and he gathered all of his courage and trudged the last little bit up the mountain. 

As we sat on the summit waiting for our two climbers I allowed myself to rest and I fell asleep for a few minutes. A dangerous move at that altitude where hypoxia can set in. Hypoxia is a dangerous condition that occurs when the body’s tissues don’t have enough oxygen. It can be generalized, affecting the whole body, or local, affecting a region of the body. Luckily, I woke up easily feeling renewed, grateful, and proud that I had accomplished this goal. Beneath my jacket, I wore my  “Journey to Extraordinary” T-Shirt. I shed the jacket wanting this moment etched in time – a testament to my extraordinary journey.

While sitting there at the True Summit I thought about my dad. I reflected on life’s challenges that all of us go through. I thought about that voice in my head that often tells me I’m not good enough or that things are not important. I thought about how doing hard things makes us better people and I figured after this I must be amazing! And I thought that as hard as this was, there are things in life that are so much harder – like losing loved ones, doubting our own self-worth, and staying in our comfort zones and missing this kind of awe. That would be harder.