When I was about 12, my aunt and uncle took my family to see the IMAX film "Serengeti" at the Omni Theater at the Ft Worth Museum of Science and History. The screen is curved so that it felt like you're sitting in the bubble of a helicopter flying over the plains. From then on, I was in love and knew I would go there someday and that I would like to attempt to summit Mt Kilimanjaro.
I haven't done it yet, but it's on my list. So I read books about other people's experiences. Kissing Kilimanjaro: Leaving It All on Top of Africa by Daniel Dorr was thoroughly entertaining and informative. I bought it based on something I rarely ever do: I read the first two paragraphs only. You can read a larger excerpt if you click on the book title a few sentences ago. Here is what hooked me:
"I used to wonder what would ever possess someone to trudge up a mountainside on the far sides of the planet, into harsh, frigid winds and thin air, thousands of feet above sea level. For decades men have died trying to reach Earth's highest points, to survive in places where humans were clearly not meant to endure. Was it for the glory of standing where few had dared to tread? Was it to test oneself against the elements and one's own inner weakness? Or was it simply another way to impress women?
For me it was a little of everything. But if I'm really honest with myself, I probably did it to impress a beautiful woman. ..." (Dorr, p.11)
Now, if you just laughed reading this, you're probably having a similar reaction to mine. Women often ask ourselves, "What is he doing?" or "Why did he just do that?" I have come to the conclusion that 50% of the time a man has not a clue what or why he is doing something and the other 50% he's thinking, "Did she see that? Oh, please tell me she saw that and is impressed because I don't think I can do it again." This book is openly honest about the fact that Daniel climbed one of the Seven Summits because Lisa smiled at him and told him one of her dream goals in life.
He's open about how much fun it is to buy gear vs. actually getting in shape to go. He talks about how people who climb mountains have a masochism fetish: they punish their bodies and call it fun! And when they get down, they're thinking about the next one and how soon can I get back up on something and which something should it be. There's something wired differently in the brain of someone who willingly, longingly, happily straps a backpack on and goes into the wilderness for weeks at a time.
The best parts of the book for me were when he talked about what it was like to travel through Kenya and Tanzania to get to Arusha and finally, Moshi. He describes the people they meet and the things they see in such a way that pictures begin to form in your mind. You want to meet these people and see a rhino in the wild. You want to go!
If you're an adventure junkie or just like stories that tell personal experiences, this is the next book you need to read. I couldn't put it down and read it during two 10-hour shifts at work. Er, I should amend that statement since I did put it down to actually do my job. It was a fun, quick, enlightening read that left me feeling good about sharing a planet with people like these. And then, I wondered how much it would cost to get over there and how long I would have to save up. The internet buzzed, the pages of NatGeo Traveler were rapidly turned, and the calculator keys flew.
Next year: Preparatory year! And then, who knows? Maybe one day in the near future you will see a picture of me at Uhuru Peak.
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