Hiker Introduction: Bekah D

 Nicknames? 

Not a very long list.  Bekah, B, Silver, Beks. 

2.  Previous hiking experience

My dad and I used to hike up Chimney Top in North Carolina the summers I was in middle school. It was switchbacks and single track the whole way up,  and at the top we'd enjoy some canteen water, crackers, and some of that Cracker Barrel square cheese logs that seemed so cute.... sliced with a pocket knife.  Other than that,  there was a portion of a crazy adventure race I did in 2009 that was somewhere between hiking and trail running -- all in the dark for the part on foot.  I've recently become reacquainted with the fact that trail running is nowhere close to road running and that all my 'training' can seem irrelevant when faced with 20 miles of rocky trails.  :) 

3.  What made you want to go on this trip?

Adventure?  With awesome inspiring wonderful people?  yes.    I've wanted to go since we started talking about it, though for a couple months I did back out due to fear of economic irresponsibility.  I got my priorities straight though -- this is a once in a lifetime trip and I am so happy to be surrounded by fearless adventurous friends.  Finally--there is way more to life than Ironman and work and I really want to experience it all! 

4.  What legs of the trip are you going on?

The Climb, the Safari and a couple days on Zanzibar island!  

5.  What words/phrase do you think you will slightly overuse on the trip?

"wow"  (as in Wow, that is beautiful,  Wow it is freaking cold,  wow this food is "interesting").  That is assuming I can form any words apart from whimpering from an altitude induced headache. :) 

6.  What is your greatest fear leading into the climb?

Now Kathleen has me worried about peeing. great!  I hadn't thought about that before this.  I guess related to that is freezing off my buttocks while trying to pee.   Cold is definitely my greatest fear.  

7.  What are you most looking forward to after the climb?

Flushing toilets (that the paper goes into versus a separate bucket),  a real bathtub, and free refills of drinks at restaurants.  

8.  What is going to be your "special phrase" for "the altitude is killing me and you all better leave me alone or else..."?

I miss Java. 

9.  Anything else we should know about you?

I'm excited and terrified all at once. I've never been to Africa (My mom has done a few missions there) so I'm really happy to have the opportunity to see a new part of the world and meet some amazing people. I'm looking forward to coming back with fresh perspective and joy for life.  

Hiker Introduction: Kathleen

1.  Nicknames? 

The list is very long...Pink Bunny, Pinkalicious, Woody, Woodrow, Arms, Ox, Compton, Kat, Pinky Tuscadero (Pinky for short), Woody Jr, Velvet (from 7th grade Mathcounts...don't ask), the rest aren't necessarily PG-rated

2.  Previous hiking experience

Not much.  When I was 16 I went on a backpacking trip with my summer camp (Camp Olympia - best ever!) in Colorado.  We just spent one night on the mountain just below the tree line and hiked to 13 something thousand feet.  We did have to carry tents, food, sleeping gear, etc, so the packs were 35-40lbs a piece which is more than we'll have in Kili, but it was a good 6000' short of how high we are climbing...and a few (7) nights shorter as well!  Last year my friend Kim and I hiked Mt. Quandry just south of Breckenridge which is 14,285.  It was about a 5 hour round trip, so still pretty hard to get any real comparison there.  I wasn't a happy camper for the last hour or so we were going up and needed the phrase mentioned in #8 below on more than one occasion.

3.  What made you want to go on this trip?

The idea that I don't have to shower for a week?  Or that I started planning my candy packing list as soon as I committed?  Or perhaps really because I had nothing better to do and this sounded like a great way to continue my "retirement" from Ironman triathlons with a great group of friends.

4.  What legs of the trip are you going on?

I'm heading on the 3 day safari in Tanzania after the climb and then another 3 days on the small island of Zanzibar - it looks heavenly!

5.  What words/phrase do you think you will slightly overuse on the trip?

There will definitely be one too many f-bombs thrown down on my part as well as "really?!?," "are you kidding me?!?," and various forms of "uuuuuuuuuuugggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh."

6.  What is your greatest fear leading into the climb?

The number of times I'm going to have to pee on a daily basis.  No lie.  I drink tons of water as it is and we are supposed to drink even more on the hike.  And the drug we take for altitude is a diuretic.  Really?  I haven't wrapped my head around peeing on the side of a mountain where the temps are below freezing...over and over and over again.

7.  What are you most looking forward to after the climb?

Most likely a real bed and food of my choosing.  And flip flops.

8.  What is going to be your "special phrase" for "the altitude is killing me and you all better leave me alone or else..."?

Cupcakes

9.  Anything else we should know about you?

I like candy.  And naps.

Destination: AFRICA