Kilimanjaro Expedition



We left Atlanta on February 23 on a 20 hour flight to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania and arrived in Kilimanjaro at 930pm on February 24. We were transported to the Meru Lodge and had a night’s rest before our first day full day in Tanzania.
We spent Friday adjusting to the time and temperature change with a trip to Arusha National Park. In the park we were accompanied by an armed ranger due to possible wild animal attack. We saw a variety of animals including zebra, giraffe, Cape buffalo, warthog, hyena and others from our Range Rover and during a three-hour hike. We also visited Lake Big Meru which has the largest concentration of fluorite of any lake on earth. This lake is also the home to tens of thousands of Flamingos. Mount Meru at about 15500 feet is the backdrop for this area.
Early Saturday morning we rode an hour to the Umbwe Trailhead to start our climb. The Trailhead is about 5500 feet. There we signed the official log-in book. We met our Thomsom Safaris head guide, Prosper, two assistant guides, Gauden and Godlezen, our cook and his two helpers and our 27 porters. All this for nine climbers; Tim from Boston, Tom from Miami Beach, Joe, Bryce and George from Chicago, Paul and Victoria from Toronto and the two of us. Each porter is only allowed to carry 40 pounds. Everything, including all trash has to be carried up and down the mountain.
The climb started rather easily with a gradual ascent up a dirt road. After two hours the road turned into moderately steep single track. We hiked for two more hours and stopped for our first lunch break. Thomson does a good job providing beyond our needs. Every meal was a hot one. We always had tables and chairs and table clothes and a hand washing station at each meal. They also provided a portable privacy toilet which Cathy and Victoria appreciated.After lunch we climbed about four more hours on fairly steep trails. We arrived at Umbwe Cave Camp at 9700 ft. for our first overnight. Since we were in the mountains, it’s hard to find level ground. Our tent usually slightly slopped downhill toward our feet. We put our duffels down by our feet each night to keep from sliding down toward the front.Day two brought another eight hours of climbing. Most of the climbing was very steep with a number of scrambles up steep walls. We went from 9700 ft. to 13050 ft. this day. We traveled through three eco-zones; Forest, Heather and Moorland. The Heather area was spectacularly beautiful. The Mooreland climb was on a ridgeline with plunging mountain walls and spectacular views on both sides.  Late afternoon we arrived at Barranco Camp. This camp was also hosting several other expeditions coming from more westerly routes than the Umbwe. We were in the Alpine Desert ecosystem and would remain there till decent after summit day.

On day three we climbed from Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp. Although we went up and down many times the overall elevation only increased 300 feet. This was to help with acclimatizing to the elevation for the final summit push.

Day four was a short climb day. We only climbed about four hours and were finished by lunchtime. This climb from Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp at 15300 ft. was to set up our climb to the summit stating at midnight. After lunch we rested, had dinner and rested some more. After dinner the wind picked-up considerably and was severely buffeting out tents. One of the other climbers in our group asked Zach if we were still summiting with the high winds. The answer was yes.

At 11pm we started putting all our gear on for the summit climb. The wind was fierce blowing constantly 40-50 miles per hour. Everyone was determined to make the summit. We were also hoping the wind would die down. That did not happen.

We left at midnight with only the incredibly bright stars and our headlamps lighting the way. The first 500 hundred feet in elevation gain was a scramble up rock. After that it was a climb up scree the rest of the way to Stella Point which was the crest of the mountain. Kilimanjaro is the tallest free standing volcano on earth so the scree is pretty typical of the area around the top of most volcanoes. We climbed up the scree for almost 5 hours, stopping occasionally for a quick break. We did not stop long. Even though we were well bundles up with the wind blowing we had to keep moving to stay warm. About half way to the top our fluids and food were frozen from the below freezing temperatures and 50 mph winds. Not sure what the wind chill equals but it was damn cold. Several times many of us felt like we’d be blown off the mountain but we weren’t. As the sun started rising we made our last big push and arrived at Stella Point. The worst of the climbing was over. The wind had not let up though. 

After a short break to view the sunrise we pushed on for another 45 minutes to Uhuru Peak 5895 meters – 19340 ft. The view of the glaciers and surrounding area was spectacular. Unfortunately by this time we were too cold to enjoy it.  After the requisite photos of the summit area, we headed down the mountain. Both of us were in early stages of hypothermia and we needed to get to a warmer place.

The only way to do that was to go back down the mountain. As we climbed down and the sun rose in the sky the winds moderated a little. It was a four hour climb back to Barafu Camp. By the time we arrived there we had warmed up. We were also very tired from the climb and fighting the wind. Every day on the mountain is a different experience. One guide who had summited over 170 times said it was the worst winds he had ever experienced on the summit climb.

After a short rest and lunch we took off down the mountain on the Mweka Trail which took us to Mweka Camp about 5000 feet lower than Barafu. We arrived at that camp early evening. It’s a large camp since it is a staging area for many expeditions. One of our group members bought everyone a Kilimanjaro beer which we thoroughly enjoyed.

The next morning we climbed down to the Mweka Gate and signed the official book. Thomson had a nice lunch and ceremony for us. We received our summit certificates and we had some summit patches as well.

From there we went to KIA Lodge for the first shower in a week and a well deserved break. That evening we went to the airport and started our journey home.

Cathy’s JournalFeb 23rd – Wed to Thursday Feb 24th We started our adventure with a long flight, over- 8 hours to Amsterdam (with an hour layover). We met a couple (a little older than us) who had climbed Kilimanjaro two years prior, and took a different route up. They shared their story and pictures. Our next leg of our journey was even longer to Tanzania. We slept a fair amount on the plane and watched lots of movies. We land in Tanzania. My first stop was at the restroom, after meeting with the Thomson Safari people and other people that we were climbing Kilimanjaro with. Joe, Bryce, George, Tom, Tim, Victoria and Paul was the group. The restroom was a real eye opener. I have never seen just a hole in the ground and a place to put your feet! What have I gotten myself into?
From the airport we went to Arusha Lodge which was about an hour. We turn to go the lodge onto a very long and very dusty road. We were greeted with warm washcloths to get the dust off our faces. It felt wonderful. Then we offered a passion fruit drink. We had a slight briefing on the plans for the following day.
Feb 25th – Friday
We had breakfast at 7 am and a 830 am briefing on our climb and to meet our guides. Prosper is the head guide and Gauden and Godlezen are the other guides. Then off to Arusha National Park for a full day of animal viewing and some light hiking. We rode in Range Rovers that had roof tops that pop open for easy viewing of the animals and taking pictures. We saw lots of Blue monkeys, Colobus monkeys, Kirk’s dik-dik, Martial Eagle, Giraffe and Zebras, Crowned Crane, and thousands of Flamingo’s. Lake Big Meru has the largest concentration of fluoride in the world. After our mini safari, we arrived at the National Forest where we had to wait for our guide to take us on our hike. Our guide was a small man, a ranger carrying an AK47 gun. He had another assistant helper with him. His name was Ezekiel and he was full of information. We walked in this open field viewing the animals. The African buffalo did not look to happy about our presence and once our guide cocked his gun he just turned and went the other direction. Whew! We saw warthogs and baboons. We walked through the forest and came upon a very nice waterfall. We finished up our hike and then it was back to the lodge. We had a nice dinner at the lodge. We turned in early for the big day and the start of our climb. Back at our room we had a visitor, a little mouse. We shooed him out. About 4 am Zach wakes me, “did you hear that?” I heard a rustling sound coming from we thought Zach’s duffle bag. In the morning I discovered that the sound we heard was coming from the thatched roof and the mice were running on top of it.
Feb 26th – Saturday
Big breakfast! We weighed our bags to make sure they do not exceed 33 lbs. Then off to our start for the Umbwe Trailhead (5,900 ft). The bathrooms were , well………those holes in the ground with two stands to place your feet, very smelly!! (at Arusha National Park there bathrooms were far smellier – I had to leave and let my eyes stop tearing from gaging then go back in holding my nose). Anyway, we signed the book here with all our information, passport numbers etc. and then make sure our duffle bags were there and they were. We were pleased to see that the porters rewrapped our bags in heavy duty waterproof duffle bag carriers. It is now 11 am as we start our climb into the rainforest. We will stay in this eco system for today and then move into the Moorland system. The rainforest is beautiful, with ferns, passion plants and baby trumpet plants. The rain teases us, ponchos go on (Zach and I didn’t) gaiters on (we didn’t do that either). Twenty minutes later, everyone starts taking off their ponchos and gaiters which are very hot. That is why we did not put them on only if it was raining very hard. We sat down for our first lunch about 2 pm. Tables, chairs, and table clothes. A very nice lunch was served. I’m impressed! The rain and thunder tease us once again, close but just a tease. We’re all having lots of great conversation and lots of laughs. We couldn’t have asked for a better group to climb with. The porters and guides are awesome. What respect I have for all the porters for all the equipment they brought up. it was just unbelievable. The porters set up the whole camp, Umbwe Caves camp (9,500 ft) by the time we got there. We had a mess tent, 6 tents for the climbers, 4 huge tents for the 3 guides and 27 porters, and 1 medic. Our dinner was amazing!! We had fresh veggie soup, spaghetti with meat, bread, fresh sliced vegetables and dessert. The toilet facilities (2) were not as primitive as I imagined. They pump flush and they did not smell. Zach was good at doing his research to keep me happy. We had a long day starting at 630am – 8 hours of climbing.
Feb 27th- Sunday
Up at 630 (teas served tent side), however I did not sleep well due to Zach snoring ( he was congested) and when he stopped snoring some bird with a strange call would squawk. The bird would stop and then Zach would start snoring. This went on for most of the night. We left camp at 830. Our guide today is Gowden. It will be a very steep climb at the start along with rock scrambling (not very good for short people). The forest took on another eco system. With a lot of moss, Giant Erica and Giant Heather trees with narrow steep trails. The air gets drier and the ridgeline very steep. We get a glimpse of Uhuru Peak through the trees. It is a beautiful day! We stop for a wonderful lunch. This day of climbing will bring us to Barranco Camp (13,004 ft). We see manly varieties of ferns and flowers. Now we enter the Moorland zone 330pm. We enjoy some downtime. After every day at camp the porters bring you basins of hot water to wash up. When you come to camp your duffle bag is in your tent (We’re a little spoiled). Tea is served and we relax looking at what we have to climb tomorrow! It will be only a 3 hour up and over very steep and down the other side to Karanga Camp. There will be only 230’ elevation change. No one at this time has suffered from altitude sickness. Everyone is taking Diamox for the altitude sickness and Joe and Cathy are taking something else for it (a steroid). Some have had touches of Montezuma’s revenge. Actually all the guys got it but not Victoria or Cathy. Dinner was lasagna, garlic bread, beans and fresh pineapple for dessert.
Feb 28th – Monday
Up at the usual 630 am. We left camp at 840. We were all curious of the “Barranco Wall”. We were told it would be about a 3 hour hike today, turned into 4.5 hour hike or climb and very strenuous. The “Wall” was very challenging. Everyone feeling well and strong and another beautiful day!! We arrived at Karanga Camp at 315. Lunch was served, French fries, chicken tenders and sliced avocado, tomatoes cucumber salad, carrots, fresh coconut, and cucumber. Excellent food! It really hit the spot. We went back to our tents for a nap. Every day the porters knock on our tents for “Teatime”. The elevation – 13,231 ft. The sun periodically peaks through and we get a clear view of the snow covered summit. Today is Paul’s birthday. Dinner, Taco’s with all the fixings and they surprised us with baking Paul a cake with his name on it and singing Happy Birthday, with all the cooks and staff. They sang a special song for him in Swahili. Victoria (Paul’s wife) was shocked as the rest of us were.
March 1st – Tuesday
Up at 630 and we depart 840 to our next destination, Barafu Camp 15,331 ft. Three hours steady uphill. We arrive 1140 at camp. The tents are all set up. Lunch served at 1245pm. Corned Beef brisket, pasta, hard boiled eggs and fresh cucumber, carrots and coconut. It is very dusty and windy. The temperature will drop at the altitude. We will take a nap (or try- the tents are like saunas). There are a lot of Kili mice here. They look like chipmunks with a long tail. We have our tea at 4 pm and wash up. Dinner is a 6 pm, soup and pasta. Coming toward the camp, you could see the camp set up on the ridgeline, totally exposed to the elements. Also the blue glaciers! Just beautiful!! This is the night we have all been waiting for. After our dinner, we will settle in early to be awoken at 11pm and leave camp for our accent at 12 midnight fully clothed- it will be cold. This will be a 6-8 hour climb to Stella Point and then onto Uhuru Peak 19,340 feet!!
March 2nd – Wednesday
We wake up at 11pm and the wind is blowing fiercely. We had tea and toast and left by midnight. All headlamps on and we set out to climb. I never lost my determination to finish. We were all very quiet and cold. About 2 hours into the climb, my headlamp did not work because of the cold. I had to rely on everyone else’s headlamps. It was a horrendous scree climb followed by rock scrambling. At this time I was getting blown off balance. We all kept looking, trying to see the end of it. About 3 hours into the climb my fluids bladder froze and I kept blowing it back to keep it from freezing but the wind was relentless whipping about 50 mile an hour wind. We packed a Nalgene bottle and kept it upside down to keep it from freezing. Zach’s bladder froze about ½ hour later. It makes it difficult to hydrate yourself which is the one key in success to the summit. Two hours later we are still climbing and going through narrow paths of glaciers. We keep looking behind us to see if we can see the sun rising to give us some warmth. At this point Victoria and I have got to relieve ourselves. Not easy for women!! Two more hours and we finally make it to Stella Point 19,000 ft. we still have another 45 minutes until we come to Uhuru Peak 19,340 ft. I had my new big camera in my back pack however once we got to the summit we were so cold that we just wanted our guide to take our picture with our point and shoot cameras and get down fast. I had all intentions of taking a picture of Zach’s altimeter watch with the altitude on it. That never happened. Between hypothermia and dehydration we were fueling the altitude sickness. We were the first to start down with our guide Gauden. Scree all the way down- all 4000 ft. That was difficult. We got back to camp about 10 am. This we knew was going to be a very long day. 4000’ up to the summit and 4000’ down, have lunch then 5000’ down to Mweka Camp. So that is 13000’ in one day!! Everyone felt they needed more time before moving out of the camp. All agreed that the climb was the hardest they had ever done! We packed up camp by 1 pm. We would be taking a different approach down. This is a very slippery trail, all dusty (Alpine Desert zone), rocky and scree for a good part down. We finally made it to camp about 430. Joe tried to get the porters t meet us at the camp with beer and wine (his treat) only to find out they could not bring it into the park area. The park had beer at their store so we settled for a beer. We had an appetizer of roasted lamb tenderloin with herbs and garlic. It was very good. Dinner was served at 7 pm. We were all exhausted (sleep deprivation from the early climb). We all went to bed early to finish our trek through the rainforest to Mweka Gate early in the morning.

March 3rd - Thursday

This trail was very slippery and wet. We finally made it to Mweka Gate. There we signed the book that we completed our climb and had lunch which was hamburgers, avocados and pineapple. Beer and wine for all the porters, guides and our group (compliments of Joe). We were presented with our certificates of completion on climbing Kilimanjaro. We were transported to the Kia Lodge. A shower never felt so good. We went by the pool for a couple of hours and had a beer or two. Dinner was at 6pm and we were taken to the Tanzania airport at 7pm and our flight was not until 10pm. It was a long flight to Amsterdam and we had an eight hour layover so we took the train to downtown Amsterdam and walked around for 4 hours. It was very coldthere. We arrived in Atlanta at 630pm on Friday, March 4th. It was a GREAT trip!

Kentucky 2010

These are pictures from our trip to Kentucky in 2010. We visited Mammoth Cave, Fort Knox and the Patton Museum, Louisville, Churchill Downs, Louisville Slugger, Heaven Hill Distilleries...
,

...Lexington area and Cumberland Falls.

FCFAR 2007

This has always been one of our favorite races. Fall Creek Falls State Park, TN is one of the most scenic places east of the Mississippi. Our teammate from the Blue Ridge AR, Mark Bell was out third for this race. Zach’s brother Paul was volunteering since a support crew was no longer required. Zach and Paul were running the 12-mile trail run the next day.

The race started early Saturday morning. The maps were handed out at 5am with the race scheduled to start in a half hour. Unlike previous years, there was no plotting involved; we only had to copy the checkpoints off a master map.

The first thing we had to do was the paddle section on the lake. An interesting twist this year was that both checkpoints 1 & 3 were underwater. Fortunately for us the water wasn’t stirred up and murky, so we found the CPs with only a little difficulty. Many teams never found them. Once we returned to the start we had to portage the canoe about a quarter mile to CP4. From CP4 we ran back to the lake and swam a quarter mile across with most of our gear in dry bags. It was about two hours into the race when we finished the swim.

After changing our socks and retrieving our packs from the dry bags we were off on the trek section than turned into a 20 mile, eight and a half hour marathon. We had to follow a lakeshore trail to CP6. After about a mile we found many teams wondering about looking for the CP. They were not looking in the right place because the CP had been incorrectly marked on the map, but we knew where to find it and we did. Our passport clearly said, “Stay on the trail until you come to CP6”. After a short bushwhack and a trail run we were at CP7. We were informed by the volunteers there that the three teams in front of us had not found CP6, so we were technically in first place at that time. Since we had raced in previous years we knew a short cut to CP8 and took it. Then it was on to CP9. Before reaching CP9 we had to cross one of the many swinging bridges in the park. By then it was about 10am and the temperature was already in the 90s. From CP9 to 10 we were running on paved roads. An hour later at CP10 we took the very steep Cable Trail into the gorge to start the bouldering section. It’s called the Cable Trail because there is a cable running from top to bottom for assistance. That’s how steep it is!

In the gorge was the hottest part of the race since the noon sun was beating directly down on us. Because of the drought there was little water in the gorge; so the boulders and rocks were mostly dry. Two teams (much younger than us) passed us in the gorge by running on the boulders and rocks. We were much more cautious than that. Although the section was only three and a half miles long, it was very tedious hoping and stepping from rock to rock and took quite a toll on our feet. After two hours and 45 minutes we reached the swinging bridge and CP12 that was our stopping point and our exit out. It took over 30 minutes to climb the trail out and another hour to reach CP13. Cathy was being “towed” by a rope that was attached to Zach, the “tow man”. The bottoms of Mark and Cathy’s feet took a toll in the gorge. At CP13 it was back on the paved road for a few more miles to the TA for the bikes. After 20 miles and eight and a half hours and lots of blisters we reached the TA. We don’t normally get blisters but the wet shoes from the swim kept our socks wet even though we changed them several times. Wet feet are what usually cause blisters besides poorly fitting shoes.

We arrives at the TA about 430pm. The Race Director told us we were in 4th place overall and would be the last team allowed out on the bikes. Since it would not change the standings she gave us the option of riding directly to the rappel a distance of only two and a half miles. That was a ‘no brainer” especially since our feet were not in the best of condition and we might not have the opportunity to rappel if we completed the entire bike section.

After the short ride we headed for the rappel site. On the hike up to the rappel Cathy’s hip locked up and she was not able to continue. Zach was hoping that Cathy could make it and if need be he would help her. Cathy knew this meant being “towed or dragged” and opted not to push it. Mark and Zach continued the hike to the rappel. At the rappel Mark decided his feet were too torn-up to complete the trip out of the gorge which was a half mile of bouldering and a climb up the Cable Trail. Zach ended up doing the 300 foot rappel by himself and taking the hike out. It was a great rappel!!

Our official finish time was 14 hours after we started. We finished in fourth place overall and third place coed, our best finish ever in this race and our best overall finish in any adventure race in a long time.

After we returned to the cabin Zach spent a lot of time draining blisters in preparation for the 12-mile trail run the next day. When he went to sleep that night he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to run or not. In the morning he seemed to be ok. The run didn’t start until 9am and had about 50 participants. It was hot but the forest cover kept temperatures under control. Since Zach had raced all day Saturday and Paul spent the day volunteering, including carrying all the rappel equipment out; they were both kind of tired at the start. They went out at a 12 minute pace, which is good for trail running, in the hopes of maintaining that pace the entire distance. After five miles Paul was starting to suffer and told Zach to go ahead. Zach knew that he would finish ok as long as he didn’t get a cramp in his legs. He crossed the finish in two hours and 24 minutes, a 12 minute pace. He finished first in his age group. He also took home some poison ivy and lost both big toenails from the bouldering.

BRMAR 2009

Wow! Our 10th Blue Ridge Adventure Race! 10 years ago the Blue Ridge was our first AR. 10 years and 50 plus ARs, we are still at it. Besides adventure races, we do a six- race series at Callaway Gardens every year. The series includes a half marathon, duathlons, two triathlons, a 10k and a mountain bike race. We have been the series champions there for the past 10 years. We also do the Peachtree Road Race and other events during the year. This year will be Zach’s 31st Peachtree Road Race!

For Blue Ridge we again teamed up with Mark Bell, our teammate for the last three years. Mark’s wife Lorie, brother-in-law Casey and son Andrew were there to support us. We received our map and race instructions on Friday night. We’ve been racing in the Blue Ridge area for many years and know it fairly well; still the Race Director, Ron Zadroga was able to come up with some new challenges for this year’s course. We nick-named this race the “Cemetery AR” because many of the checkpoints (CPs) were located near old and abandoned cemeteries in the Lake Blue Ridge area. The race also had a 10 hour finish time. Any teams finishing after the 10 hours no matter how many CPs they obtained would not be official finishers. The course was also Rogaine style which means we could collect CP punches on our passport in any order we wanted.

During the pre-race dinner on Friday we plotted 18 CPs on our map. That is a skill that requires a UTM plotter and accuracy. We always double check every plot; otherwise we could be looking for a CP in the wrong place. They are hard enough to find as it is. The other four CPs were provided to us 15 minutes before the start of the race on Saturday morning. Our primary strategy was to paddle more than bike, but we couldn’t be certain of that until we received the last four CPs on Saturday morning. We were also required to preposition our bikes Friday night at Tilley Church near Persimmon Hill and Tilley Bend as in Toccoa River bend on Old Dial Road. This is a fancy way to say on a dirt road.

Saturday morning, 15 minutes before the start of the race we received the coordinates for our first four CPs. For the first three we had the choice of CPs A, B and C or D, E and F. ABC were in the Free Knob area and closer. Don’t know if or why any teams would have picked DEF. We had a pretty good climb up to A and a steep down hill to B. That section took us about an hour and a half on foot.

That took us to our bikes which were at WP1 (a waypoint doesn’t require a passport punch) and decision time; how much to bike, how much to paddle. Friday night we had decided on paddling and stayed with that decision. Many teams made the same choice we did and many teams decided to primarily bike, which was probably the wrong strategy. From WP 1 we biked a short distance to CP1 and then CP3. From there we decided to go by foot to CP4 and skip CPs 5 & 6 because they required big climbs and we were more concerned about the 10-hour finish then punching every CP. This is where things went awry. CP 3 to 4 was due west about 4/10th of a mile. The vegetation was very thick and progress was slow and it seemed farther than we actually traveled. After 25 minutes, thinking we might have missed the CP we want back to CP 3 and started again. Again we did not find the CP. After looking an hour, we decided not to waste any more time looking. If we had we gone another 250 meters we would have found it.

We rode to WP2 and arrived there by noon which was our original goal time to be there; however, we were one CP short of our goal. We were not very happy about that, but we eventually got over it. At WP2 we dropped off our bikes and picked up the canoe and portaged about a half mile down an awful trail to the lake to CP 2. Since we were going down hill it wasn’t all that bad. We had the option of putting a bike in the canoe, but didn’t want to deal with the three of us and a bike in the canoe. We probably could have obtained one additional CP had we brought the bike with us.

We basically paddled the entire length of Lake Blue Ridge, 10 miles or more. We had planned 4 hours to get the WP4 but during the paddle decided we need to be at WP3 by 3:30pm instead of 4pm, a very good decision. It was a short paddle to CP7 then a longer paddle to CP 8. CP 8 was the most difficult CP placement in the middle of a bunch of fallen down trees but Zach and Mark found it rather quickly while Cathy stayed with the canoe. This lifted our spirits after the CP4 fiasco. We thought about portaging to CP 9, but decided against it and made the 2-mile paddle instead. We quickly obtained that CP, but the clock was ticking.

We had another long paddle to CP 10 and then portaged up a nasty trail to a nice dirt road. It was about a mile portage down the dirt road to CP 11, but we cut off 3 miles of paddling. By the time we reached CP 11 we were definitely running short on time and decided to skip CPs 12, 13 and 14. We went straight to CP 15 and then arrived at WP4 at 3:25pm. We refilled our fluids, ate some food and picked up our helmets, or so two of us thought, for the next paddle section. As we paddled away Andrew came running down the beach with Cathy’s helmet which was required on the river portion of the paddle. We still had a 2-mile paddle to the dam, but did have all three required helmets.

When we arrived at the dam we had to portage up one side, that was a killer, and down the other side. We had another 3-mile paddle down the river to the take out. This paddle took about an hour. It was longer than we anticipated because the river was shallow and we kept getting stuck on rocks. At 5 pm we arrived at the take out and still had a half mile portage and a 5-mile bike to the finish. We put our wheels on the canoe quickly and going as fast as we could arrived at the bikes at 5:25pm. We were really concerned about finishing by 6 pm at this point and flew in and out of the transition and took off down the road on our bikes. The only problem was we had to ride a half mile on railroad tracks. That doesn’t work very well even on a mountain bike and really slowed us down. At the bridge over the river Mark punched CP 19 and then it was only a short distance to a paved road. It was a flat out sprint from there to the finish. However, there was a lot of uphill; so progress was a little slower than we anticipated. A hundred yards form the finish line we had to drop our bikes and run to the finish line; which we did.

We finished at 9 hours 50 minutes and 39 seconds with over eight minutes to spare. We came in 40th out of 74 teams, 7th in our division. We were among only 42 teams that finished in the required 10 hours and received the distinction of official finisher. Not too bad for a team with a combined age
of 165 years.

Arizona 2009

We flew out of Atlanta to Phoenix early morning Wednesday, July 15. To save $300 on a 10-day car rental we took a shuttle to an off-airport location to pick up a car. From there we drove toward the Grand Canyon on Interstate 17. We planned to arrive at the Canyon mid-afternoon so we could check-out the area before our rim-to-rim-to-rim hike. A rental truck and Mother Nature had other plans for us. The trucks brakes overheated and it pulled off the highway. When it pulled off the highway it started a grass fire. The grass fire spread rapidly along the Interstate and the police closed the highway in both directions. We were about a third of a mile from the road closure with no place to go with a grass fire burning. Cars backed up behind us for miles. Fire trucks came but there were no hydrants to connect their lines. The fire kept spreading. The temperature was about 110 degrees and everyone was baking in the sun and heat waiting for the road to open. Helicopters with buckets then started dumping water to control the fire. After several hours of waiting the police reopened the interstate. The fire was still burning but was off the road enough for us to drive safely through.

We arrived at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at about 9pm. We only had time to check into the Maswik Lodge and get our gear ready before going to sleep. We woke at 2am, on Zach’s birthday, to get started on the hike. We walked from the Lodge to the trailhead of the Bright Angel Trail and started our hike at 3am. We had originally planned to hike down the South Kaibab, because it’s two miles shorter. We changed to the Bright Angel because the shuttles didn’t start running until 4:15am and it was a four mile hike to the South Kaibib trailhead.

We had prepared our backpacks with all the food and gear we’d need for the two days. There were several points along the trail to obtain water. We wore our headlamps but proceeded cautiously down the trail until sunrise. The Bright Angel Trail starts at 6860 feet of elevation and ends at the Colorado River at about 2480 feet elevation. The trail ends at the Phantom Ranch/Bright Angel Campground 9.6 miles from the start with about a 4500 foot drop in elevation. Once the sun was up the trip to the Ranch went quickly except for the tree on the trail and the sand. Shortly after Indian Gardens Campground the trail was blocked by a large tree that had fallen on the trail. We had to carefully work our way through the branches before proceeding. This required us to get much closer to the edge than we wanted. Once we made the turn along the Colorado Rive to travel the two miles to the Phantom Ranch the trail became very sandy and was like walking on the beach.

There are two bridges that cross the river. One is basically for the mules. The other they will not use. People use both. After crossing over the bridge we arrived at the Phantom Ranch about 8am. The “easy” part was over. It was also over 100 degrees in the sun.

The North Kaibab Trail is about 4.5 miles longer than the Bright Angel Trail and has more than a 5700 foot climb to the top at 8241 feet, about1400 feet higher than the South Rim. Most rim-to-rim hikers go north to south because it is easier. After Phantom Ranch we hiked a gradual climb up the trail for over seven miles in 110 degree sun with little shade along the way. Bright Angel Creek was agonizingly close but mostly unreachable due to the cliffs. We stopped to cool off whenever possible. After three, what we thought were, brutal hours we reached Cottonwood Campground. Zach was totally out of fluids by the time we arrived. It was time for a liquid refill and some food and rest. Cathy wanted to take a break in the creek at Cottonwood and on hindsight that would have been best.

The next section was Cottonwood Campground to Roaring Springs, a distance on only a little more than 2 miles but it was a 1500 foot climb in the direct sun and 110 plus degrees. On this section Cathy was starting to suffer heat exhaustion. At the trail junction to continue up or go down to Roaring Springs, we started up the trail then decided it would be best to hike the half mile down to Roaring Springs and rest and cool down. That was a good decision. It saved Cathy from becoming one of the 260 people rescued from the canyon each year. We rested and cooled downed for almost an hour. After Cathy felt better we headed up for the last five miles and 3000 feet of climbing.

Our first goal was Supai Tunnel three miles away. The climb up was extremely difficult yet spectacular with switchbacks with sheer drops of over 1000 feet. Makes you want to stay closed to the inside of the trail and not look out. It took us about three hours to hike those three miles. We were ready to finish but still had the last leg and the hike to the North Rim lodge where we were staying that night. At Supai Tunnel we starting talking to a woman named Julie from Golden Colorado who had hiked to the tunnel with her family. We mentioned that when we reached the top we still had to hike an hour to the Lodge. She volunteered to drive us. When we got to the top, Julie was not there. Cathy knew that Zach was thinking, we lost our ride, Cathy was too slow; however, our angel reappeared! Her family got to the top faster than us, nonetheless, she met us when we finished and she had a COLD CORONA with a lime too boot for us a well; a real angel. True Colorado fospitality!

At the lodge we had a beer, dinner and checked into our room and discussed if it was a good idea to do the return trip through the Canyon. Common sense prevailed; we didn’t want Cathy’s heat exhaustion to worsen. We took the van back to the south rim, a 250 mile, five hour trip. We accomplished the goal of hiking from the South to the north Rim on Zach’s birthday, actually his goal. We could have done the return hike in cooler times, but not with that heat. The rest of Friday and Saturday we spent visiting around the south rim and doing a few short hikes.

Saturday we were supposed to pick-up Julie, Zach’s sister and her husband Doug at the Phoenix airport. It was their Wyndham time share in Sedona we were staying at for the next week. Julie called and said Doug had a kidney stone and they probably wouldn’t be coming. That changed our plans; not for the Wyndham but for sharing the week with them. We had been on a number of adventures with them in the past and always had a great time together.

On the way back from the Grand Canyon to Sedona we went up San Francisco Peaks just north of Flagstaff. The San Francisco Peaks are about 12000 feet in elevation and are the ski Mecca for Flagstaff. We took the Skyride at the Snowbowl, the ski lift, to the top. It’s a half hour ride. On the way up a thunderstorm developed and made the ride up more interesting. We didn’t stay at the top very long since it was still storming in the area. By the time we reached the bottom of the Skyride the storms were pretty much gone.

The Snowbowl is also the home of one of the highest disc golf courses in the US and the course with the most elevation change. Even though our legs were tired we, translated Zach, couldn’t pass up playing on such a unique course. Cathy went along for the hike. The course was on the ski slopes and the holes were pretty long. Number 9, a par 5 was 867 feet and hole Number 8 was so steep it was a par 4 at 306 feet. Zach had a great birdie shot on #15 from over 100 feet and played the course below par. After that we drove to Sedona and checked into the Wyndham. Nice place!

On Sunday we drove south with our first stop at Dead Horse Ranch State Park and the Verde River Greenway. The Verde River and Oak Creek River which runs through Sedona are the only two rivers in this part of Arizona that have year round water. The names sounded intriguing but there’s not much there. We also looked at a ride on the Verde River Railroad but didn’t want to ride four hours on bench seats. After that we decided to turn the day into a wine tour of North Central Arizona wineries, that’s right Arizona wineries. Most are in the Tucson area but there are four near Sedona. We stopped at all four and were surprising pleased with the quality of the wine. The wineries were; Javelina Leap, Oak Creek, Page Springs Cellars and Alcantara. Our last stop of the day was Fort Verde, an Indian war fort we some original structures still standing.

Monday we thought we were going for a hike to the base of Cathedral Rock near Sedona. We had our hiking poles with us but they soon ended up in Zach’s backpack. The hike turned into a free climb up to the rock and down. We had to use our hands a lot due to the steepness of the climb. We then went for a hike at Red Rock State Park and returned to the Wyndham. That day we discovered it’s monsoon season in Arizona. It rains most every afternoon somewhere in the area.

Tuesday we figured out we needed to go to the pool at the Wyndham in the morning before the clouds. After that we went to the Riordan Mansion in Flagstaff, a 13000 square foot home designed by the same architect as the El Tovar Hotel in the Grande Canyon, Charles Whittlesey. The house, built in 1904 with all the latest modern features of that day, is in the Arts and Crafts style architecture. After that we went to Meteor Crater about 30 miles east of Flagstaff. It is the best preserved meteorite impact site in the world. The Crater is about a mile wide and 550 feet deep. It is estimated the meteorite was about 150 feet in diameter at the time of impact.

On Wednesday we hiked Doe Mountain and Fay Canyon Trails. Thursday bought us to Jerome the old mining town turned Arizona artist’s shopping Mecca. The best shop there was the kaleidoscope store. We then went to Prescott and toured the territorial governor’s mansion built in the 1840s and Whiskey Row across from the courthouse. Whiskey Row was part of the old time Prescott saloon area and some original saloons are still in operation like the Palace Saloon. We also threw a few bucks away a local casino Called Bucky’s.

We took a jeep safari on Friday. It was called the Mogollon Rim Run Extreme and it was extreme. It was a 50-mile loop that was supposed to last three hours but ended up about three hours and forty minutes. It was a lot a fun and we saw some great sights. The company was Arizona Jeep Tours and our driver’s name was Gene. He took us on some rugged and steep trails. The trail back to Sedona was breathtaking in its beauty.

Saturday was head home day. We were on the “redeye”, so we had the whole day to do stuff. We went to a place called Out of Africa where we could get up-close with African animals. While there we experienced our first Arizona monsoon (thunderstorm). I t was a big one and by the time it was over everyone but the two of us had left the park. As we were walking around one of the lions started roaring and Cathy’s eyes became as big as saucers. The lion was actually a couple hundred yards away and fenced in but to her it sounded right behind us. After we left there we went to a casino and threw away some of our money on slots and blackjack.

Thus we ended our Arizona adventure. We already have a list of other places to see and things to do there; like, Monument Valley, Havasu Falls, Antelope Canyon and Canyon de Chelly and we want to climb Mount Humphries the tallest peak in Arizona.