The Journey Begins.. July 10, 2011

I can't believe it has been 5 weeks since my return from Africa. It seems like so long ago, yet just yesterday when I was there. Since returning a lot has changed and happened. Our Leap of Faith team has decided to write a book telling our stories individually and bringing it all together in a final chapter.. That is the idea for now but I'm sure as the chapters get written and creative juices start flowing some of the design will change. I have started to write my chapter, but find there is actually more to tell than I had thought. Therefore I am working now on condensing it into what people might want to read! It is all a process, but an exciting one!

I have had a lot of people ask about the climb and what it was like since I was unable to blog about it on my trip. I have decided to start blogging the trip, day by day, so those interested can read about the journey.. Lets start with

Day 1: JULY 10, 2011

Today I flew from Minneapolis to Chicago to Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro Airport. My flight from Minneapolis was delayed twice.. Oh how I love flying! I actually do not enjoy it but know that if I want to travel, especially across the ocean, it is the only way to get there! I was able to check my duffel and boundary bags through to Arusha, but had to go back through security once I got to Chicago as my MSP to Chicago flight was an add on at the last minute. I met some of my fellow climbers in Chicago: Lori, Neal, Suz, Gina, Tina, Krisy, Susie, April, Jeanne, and Tina to name a few. I had a brief moment of panic once I arrived in Chicago as other than Suz I had met no one and only verbally spoken to Lori once.. (A couple of days ago as I panicked "Am I trained enough? Am I prepared?" Lori was great to talk to and calmed my nerves almost immediately.) At the airport I recognized Suz and at that moment reality hit me. "This is really going to happen." I thought to myself. As we all sat at the airport getting to know each other I felt very comfortable and the brief feeling of anxiety had already left me.

Our flight from Chicago to Amsterdam was uneventful. I was able to watch a few movies and talk more with Lori and Jeanne on the flight. I cherish the conversations I had with everyone on the trip for different reasons and this conversation was no exception.

We arrived in Amsterdam to meet up with Jeff, our photographer and Patty, my climbing companion whom I had met before as well as others going on the climb. Jeff and I bonded almost immediately as he had technology gadgets so we sat and chatted about them as we tried to figure out how some of them worked. Jeff was going to be responsible for uploading daily footage from the climb to Sanofi, the company out of Europe that sponsored him to go on our trip. He had a lot of expectations to fulfill, and looking back I think he did an amazing job. It was also good to see Patty again. She has an adventurous spirit and I thought we were well matched as climbing partners.

On the flight from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro Airport many of us slept, despite trying to stay awake to adjust to the time difference of 8 hours. Once we arrived in Arusha, we were picked up by Bushbuck Safaris. All of our gear was loaded into the large jeeps (everyone's bags made it!) and we were off for what felt like a 2 hour drive to the New Arusha Hotel in Arusha. It was night in Africa and we could see the outline of mountains as we drove, but none of us knew exactly what we were looking at. We were left to guess.. Is that Kili?

Upon arrival at the hotel, we were greeted by our guides Eric and Ben. Eric had been a guide for several years and would be our lead guide. Ben just returned from leading a team and summiting Everest and would be the second guide on this adventure. We were each checked in, given room keys, had a brief welcome session and sent upstairs to get some sleep as the next day would be a long one of gear checks, orientation, and interviews...