Kilimanjaro Update

June 24, 2013

OMG! Only 4 days away from our trip! We've been so busy lately. With my new job I have to travel a lot so I haven't been at home much lately. Last week I went to Chicago to attend the SHRM (Society of Human Resources Management) Conference and since it was our wedding anniversary and Alexis birthday, he joined me for the weekend. It was a lot of fun and we saw a lot, however we did nothing to train for Kilimanjaro.

We've been packing and think we are almost good to go, here's our mess before:

Before packing!

Our medicine cocktail for Tanzania: Malarone (Malaria), Diamox (altitude sickness), Pepto Bismol, Aleve, iodine tablets, Ibuprofen, migraine pills, Imodium

June 8, 2013
Omar (Alexis' twin brother) with his wife Jennie came to visit from Austin, TX in order to do our last strenuous practice hike before Kilimanjaro. We chose Mt. Dana in Yosemite National Park for the following reasons:

• High elevation (13.059 feet)
• Close to home (California)
• Doable in a day

We spent the night at Tioga campground, which is at 9,700 feet of elevation in order to give our bodies some time for acclimatization. The campground was absolutely gorgeous (we chose site #4 right next to a beautiful creek). No showers.

Tioga Campground, Inyo National Forest (Yosemite)

Since we got there Saturday at 3pm, the rangers laughed at us when we said we wanted to start climbing Mt. Dana at that time. The said absolutely not and to wake up early the next day. Although we were kind of bummed in the beginning and almost didn't follow instructions, we made the right decision (always follow instructions kids). We headed to the campground, set our tents and went for a small hike close to Mono Lake Tufa State Reserve

With Jennie, my sister in law

Alexis (left) and his twin brother Omar

Mono Lake

The next day, Sunday, we woke up very early and packed up our tents. We headed to the trail which was less than 10 minutes away (by car) from the campsite. We started our ascend surrounded by fairy tale-like scenery!

Where Mt. Dana trail begins

There was lots of snow still on the trail...

Mt. Dana trail in June

But we made it to the top almost 4 1/2 hours later!

At the top of Mt. Dana

And was rewarded with a fantastic view!

View from the top of Mt. Dana

March, April & May 2013

We hiked the Quicksilver Trail in San Jose several times during the weekends just because it's so close to home. It's also a good 8 mile hike with steep hills.




















February 3, 2013
We picked Sweeney Ridge and hiked 12 miles! Our friends Nick and Marina joined us this time. It was hard, but the view was very rewarding. Here are some pictures: