Conquering Mount Kilimanjaro

It was something she had always wanted to do. She knew it would be difficult, but also knew if she didn't try, it might be something she would always regret.

Shelly Steadman, a former Green River resident, recently conquered hiking to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, which is 19,341 feet.

"The thought of climbing Kilimanjaro was a bit intimidating, but I wanted to not just see the mountain from afar but be a part of it," Steadman said. "I always figured 'one day,' but finally decided one day doesn't happen unless you make it happen."  

Steadman said a friend of hers from Canada mentioned he would also like to to go Africa, somewhere she had always wanted to visit and the plan to visit Africa and hike Mount Kilimanjaro was set in motion. Steadman said it was tricky figuring out which touring company to use, airlines to fly and all the logistics of a trip when they were in two different countries, but they figured it out.

"We did a lot of research on the internet and finally found a company that was reasonable and had great ratings on TripAdvisor," Steadman said. "They were part of a company I had used before to Everest Base Camp and I had a great experience with them before."

As for the guides and porters who helped carry food and supplies up the mountain, Steadman and her friend didn't get a choice with who they received for the hike or camping safari, but they were happy with who they received for both adventures. 

Steadman's trip took about 19 days. Seven of which were used climbing Mount Kilimanjaro and five were used on a safari. "I had a little extra time at the beginning for a hike to a local waterfall and coffee plantation," Steadman said.

The hike itself

Since Steadman had hiked to the base camp of Everest at 18,600 feet in Nepal in 2017, she knew what it would take to make it to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. 

"I was so nervous before we even started the climb that I started to question my training and if I could really do this," she said. "When I climbed in Nepal to Everest Base Camp, I felt terrible. I got sick and had altitude sickness at our highest camp, feeling nauseated and dealing with headaches. Kilimanjaro is higher than I had ever been and I was so worried about feeling like that and not being able to finish the climb."

However, Steadman said even though she kept waiting for the headaches and nausea to come, it never did. She followed the advice of her guide and drank a lot of water. She estimated to have drunk about four or five 32 ounce bottles of water a day. Although this helped with the altitude sickness, it did cause another problem: having to go to the bathroom frequently.

"Even though I had to go to the bathroom every 5 minutes, it really helped," Steadman said.

She said the guides would keep the group moving slowly and they just kept saying pole to pole. A slow and steady pace also helps hikers acclimate to the change in elevation. Others in the four-person group of hikers did suffer from altitude sickness and Steadman said having suffered from it herself before she really felt sorry for them. 

"The climate was so interesting," Steadman said. "As we drove to our trail head we were in agricultural areas, where they were growing vegetables like carrots and potatoes, then when we started hiking we were in the rain forest."

The group made its first camp in the rain forest. Steadman said it was a little chilly the first night, but with a light jacket they were fine. On the second day the group made its way quickly out of the forest ascending into the Heath Zone and Moorlands. Steadman said these areas tend to overlap. The volcanic rock became more apparent and the ground was now covered mostly by grasses and everything was drier.

"Some of it reminded me of Southwestern Wyoming with the vast openness," she said. On our third day we were still in the Moorlands and as we got close to our camp at Baranco, there was a garden of Senecio trees. They looked like the Saguaro cactus in Arizona except they didn't have needles and the tops were slightly like palm trees."

Once they left Baranco and climbed above 13,000 feet, they scrambled up rocky terrain into the Alpine Desert Zone.

"Vegetation was pretty much non existent now and it looked like we were on the moon," she said. 

The highest camp the group stayed in was at 15,331 feet and they were still in the Alpine Desert. As they neared the summit they entered the Arctic zone of the mountain.

"I didn't have a thermometer with me, but if I had to guess the temperature was probably just above 0 degrees, and with the wind chill it was slightly below," Steadman said. "We were fortunate to have great weather with clear skies and the wind wasn't gusting too bad."  

Steadman said the final hike to the summit was extremely challenging, but she wouldn't give up.

"I knew I would make it, or I would give everything I had to make it," Steadman said. "I really tried to stay in the moment and not think about the hours of climbing waiting for us, by following the footsteps of our guide and being almost hypnotized by watching his feet. In fact, sometimes when he would stop I ran right into the back of him from not paying attention."

She just kept walking slowly trying to focus on putting one step in front of the other. Steadman said she just kept moving through the steep area that led to the crater.

"Once we reached the crater and I knew we were close to the summit with an easier climb, a feeling of euphoria swept over me," Steadman said. "I almost started crying, knowing we were going to make it."

Steadman knows she probably wouldn't have made this kind of a hike on her own.

"It really does take a team to accomplish a major goal. We had our group to encourage each other to make it to the summit. We also had one lead guide, one assistant guide, one cook and 14 porters to carry our gear and other items for the four of us to climb Mount Kilimanjaro," Steadman said. "We only had to carry our gear that we needed for the day, everything else was carried up the mountain for us and they would also set up our sleeping tents, cooking tent and have our meals ready. We couldn't have done it without them."

She has learned a lot from the trip and is happy to have had the opportunity to experience it.

"This trip wasn't cheap and it wasn't easy and I could have had a million excuses not to go, but in the end I knew I would regret not doing this," she said. "Even when I was there I really tried to be conscious of every moment."

Steadman said this trip made her realize life is short and she needs to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented to her.

"I would definitely do a trip like this again," Steadman said. "I love the adventure of seeing new places, meeting new people, and the challenge of pushing my body and mind to do more than I think I can. We are all much stronger than we think."