The Roof of Africa

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in Tanzania.

The highest summit, Uhuru Peak, is 19,341 feet above sea level.

When I first looked into this excursion about ten years ago I thought it is a obstacle that few could conquer, but as I recently researched about 40,000 people a year trek this mountain. It is the highest peak in Africa and the tallest free standing mountain in the world. It is a volcano, created from lava millions of years ago. The hike is started in a rain forest and ends in, what is left, of glaciers. I will spend a total of seven days camping on the mountain. Five days going up and two days coming down. The biggest challenge will be battling altitude sickness. As much as one trains and prepares, you will not know how your body will respond until you are there. The journey up is taken slowly in five days to give your body a chance to acclimatize to each new high altitude as much as possible. Headache, fatigue, nausea and disorientation are pretty much expected during most of the week I will spend on a mountain. Enjoy your vacation Samantha!
If you support me and the path I have chosen please donate on my behalf to the American Foundation for Children with AIDS.
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samantha-obrien/climb-up-kilimanjaro

I wish I was Mountain Size....

"You Want It All, But You've Got To Give"

My journey this year to get to Africa is so exciting, there are so many new things I am learning about and opening up to. To get there though, there are some things that I have to leave behind for now. Coachella 2011 is one of those things. In a perfect Sam World where time and money are expendable I would keep up this tradition that I love so much. Before I went to bed last night I read the highly anticipated line up just released and Facebook posts from excited friends. Then I laid in bed with visions of Spicy Pie and hippie dresses dancing in my head. I thought back to my first Coachella that I went to by myself. Driving alone to a place I had never been to before and having no idea what to expect....who goes to three day festivals by themselves anyways? Then I became fully aware, that as unconventional as "training" that Coachella was, it was a step in my journey toward Africa. Yes, I can go places by myself and have life changing experiences. I know that the type of people who trek to the highest peaks in the world don't usually count music festivals as their survival training, but it worked for me. I then fell asleep peacefully and woke up early to hike up a side of a mountain. Where I belong now.

Fistful of Mercy. Playing Sunday at Coachella. I may not be seeing them in person, but I will be listening to them on my trip across the world. Their music is beautiful and inspiring.

"Don't Set Sail Using Someone Else's Star"

That quote is a Swahili proverb. It was the title of my journal entry on October 27 2002. That was the day I read a Vogue magazine article (that this hoarder still has!) about the country of Zanzibar. I longed to go to this exotic land that I thought would satisfy my desires of the unknown. It made so much sense because I always knew, since I was a young girl, that when I first started traveling this world, Africa is where I would start.

The motivation of starting this blog is so I can share a very important journey in my life with the people close to me. I am setting sail, following my own star September 2011. Within the past few months I have come to realize that, yes I am ready...and now IS the time. And once that decision was made everything has come together more than I ever dreamed. My trip is more than a vacation and now has a purpose. I did not want to go to this part of the world and take all these amazing memories without giving something back to people that need so much. So.... I will be trekking Mt.Kilimanjaro as a part of a charity climb with the American Foundation for Children with Aids (AFCA). I came across their program Climb Up So Kids Can Grow Up when looking for a tour group to join. I worked a lot with AIDS charity organizations when I was younger and it has been a part missing in my life. I believe in AFCA and the work they are doing,

This is a link to my fund raising page with AFCA: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/samantha-obrien/climb-up-kilimanjaro

 

Here is a video made by AFCA for their first Kilimanjaro charity climb in 2009, so you can get an idea of what I am in for!

Gonna Live Till I Die

 My first post. I have been encouraged by many to blog for quite some time. Here I am. I like to tell stories. This blog is going to be about the goal I have set for myself this year and my journey to get there. I start the long climb with this first step.