Climbing Kilimanjaro - Part 2

Editor's Note: From October 24th through October 28th, JBFC is hosting Trek Tanzania. It's a walk-a-thon, where we're inviting our friends around the world to walk the same number of steps that it would take to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to benefit JBFC's healthcare clinic. Guest Blogger and JBFC Administrative Director, Melinda Wulf, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro THREE times! Here, she describes the second part of her summit on her first climb in 2013. The first part of her trek is chronicled here.

Day 4

Happy and healthy, we enjoyed our trek through more alpine desert. This was a short trekking day and we arrived at base camp in the afternoon. We sat in the mess tent with our guides eating popcorn and playing cards, laughing a lot from the altitude. We had hiked just 2 miles but climbed 2,000 feet and were now over 14,000 feet which was the highest altitude any of us had ever climbed. We were giddy thinking about summiting the next day.

Day 5

We woke up around 1 am with our tents covered in snow. We piled on the layers because we knew it was going to be a cold one. We gathered in the mess tent eating cookies and drinking warm tea and coffee. Our nervous anticipation was back. We had all been preparing for this was the moment for quite some time. 

The first few hours of the summit were switch backs on the mountain. I couldn’t see much other than the guide in front of me, which was probably for the best. The wind was pretty fierce and my layers were working but I was having issues with my gloves. My liners were not warm enough but with the fatter ski gloves I’d brought I couldn’t hold onto my trekking poles. I sucked it up and used the liners hoping I wouldn’t get frost bite.  The water in our water bottles was starting to freeze and I was feeling nauseated from the altitude.

Just around sunrise we reached Stella point which marks the end of the switchbacks and is a short resting point. I really wasn’t feeling well at this point and the guides had to take my head lamp from my head, as it was light out and I hadn’t even noticed. The distance from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak only takes about an hour to walk, but it felt like a marathon.

The walk was pretty surreal as we reached the glaciers and eventually the summit, 19,341 feet. It was a bit chaotic at the top with people that had achieved their goal and were posing for pictures with the infamous sign. We couldn’t stay long at the summit because of the altitude, but got our pictures with the sign, the glaciers and our awesome guides.

As we started walking down the mountain, we started breathing easier and my headache and upset stomach went away. Our water melted and we started stripping off our layers as the sun warmed everything. Exhausted, we “skied” down the scree on our boots and our butts back to base camp for lunch. We were greeted by our porters with a cold Fanta and big smile. I remember choking up at this point just feeling so proud of my accomplishment.

Day 6

On the last day, we walked out of the park pretty quickly. We all smelled pretty bad and couldn’t wait to get back to our hotel to take a shower. We took once last glance at the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro through the trees. Most, don’t ever look back but something got under my skin that week. I went on to trek Kilimanjaro 2 more times after this, but have since retired. The bonds I’ve formed with my guides, porters and climbing mates are some of my most cherished friendships.

Do you think you have what it takes to reach the top of Mount Kilimanjaro like our brave Melinda? Join us for Trek Tanzania and see just how far you can make it! Grab some friends and family, create your own team, and see if you can walk the 89,480 steps it takes to climb Africa's highest peak (steps are counted collectively). All proceeds from our inaugural walk-a-thon will benefit JBFC's Health Clinic. 

Register by clicking here, and don't forget to like our Facebook Page: JBFC's Trek Tanzania

Climbing Kilimanjaro - Part 1

Editor's Note: From October 24th through October 28th, JBFC is hosting Trek Tanzania. It's a walk-a-thon, where we're inviting our friends around the world to walk the same number of steps that it would take to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to benefit JBFC's healthcare clinic. Guest Blogger, Melinda Wulf, is JBFC's Administrative Director in Tanzania. Melinda has climbed and successfully reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro an amazing THREE times!

Below is Melinda's account of her first experience climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in 2013.

Day 1

With nervous anticipation I watched the guides and porters gather all the equipment, food and supplies needed for six days on the mountain. I sat and wondered how they would get it all up there, when we would start hiking, and if I would actually make it to the summit. Everyone in our group was sitting around eating snacks and making nervous small talk. We all had one goal in mind, to make it to the top, and we were all a little nervous.

We finally started walking up the path around noon and I was in awe, watching the porters pass by us wearing flip flops and carrying 20 kilos (44 pounds) on their back. The initial phase of the trek is in a rain forest, but there aren’t many animals, we saw a few monkeys and lots of insects and birds. We walked pretty slowly, but it’s amazing how quickly I felt the loss of my breath. It started raining and continued to rain until we reached camp that night.

We walked 7 miles and climbed over 4,000 feet in altitude that day. A lot of my things were wet and it was cold. We sat in the mess tent on wet canvas chairs and tried to enjoy our first meal on the mountain. Doubt really started to seep into my head at that point and I remember thinking I couldn’t handle 5 more days like the first.

Day 2

I woke up early with the birds chirping and the sun shining. It was a new day, a new start. I hung my wet clothes from the day before on the outside of my backpack, had some breakfast and started trekking. On the second day we hiked out of the rain forest and into the heather and moorlands that contained lots of moss. We had a lot more sunshine and laughter on day two as we got a “peek of the peak” through the trees. That day we walked 4 miles and climbed about 3,500 feet and spirits were high in the mess tent that night.

Day 3

Looking back, this was by far the hardest, but also my favorite day of the trek. We climbed out of the mossy trees and into the desert which meant climbing lots of rocks. I was thankful for my boot camp training where I’d been doing tons of squats and lunges. Kilimanjaro is not a technical climb, but the Barranco Wall could make you think twice about going further. There’s a portion of the climb where my guide told me to trust my boots and not to look down. I wasn’t sure if I really trusted my boots, but I sure as heck didn’t look down. The hugging or kissing rock, is a large boulder you have to hug to get around on the edge of a cliff. This part of the trek is not for sissies.

At the top of Barranco Wall, we sat and ate our snacks
and took pictures of us above the clouds. We marveled as we watched porters from other groups carry plastic chairs on their heads as they climbed over the wall. It was a challenging, but rewarding day. We walked 3 miles and climbed high and slept low that day reaching our campsite 13,106 feet above sea level.

To be continued...

You can join us on a virtual climb of Mount Kilimanjaro by participating in Trek Tanzania! Click here to register!

Trek Tanzania is JBFC's inaugural walk-a-thon! All proceeds from Trek Tanzania will benefit JBFC's Health clinic which provides preventative health services to a community of over 400 children and families.

New Faces: Melinda Wulf

In the spring of this year I embarked on what I believed to be a once in a lifetime journey to Tanzania to experience a safari, run a half marathon and climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Upon arrival, I immediately fell in love with each and every person I ran into along the way. I learned so much about the history and culture of the Tanzanian people thanks to our various guides and people we met throughout the trip, but the part that really touched me was the children.

One day, a few of us in our group visited a local school and home for street children and that was when something clicked for me. We played with a brand new parachute someone had recently donated to the school, just like one we had at my grade school. The children were having the time of their lives, and so was I. It was more than just the Tanzanian kids though, there was a group of teens from a high school in Canada that was spending their spring break at the home. I couldn’t help but wonder if I had done something like that when I was their age how that might have shaped my life.

I’ve had a successful career in the advertising media industry, but I can’t say it has been something I have been truly passionate about. I have always had the underlying desire to do something more, something that actually touched people’s lives. Over the years I had thought about jetting across the world to work or volunteer in a developing country. I wasn’t sure how to go about that though. I always thought if I were a teacher or a nurse, I might have something more to offer. I ran into this Tanzanian man during the Kilimanjaro Half Marathon and spent a couple miles talking about my desire to come back someday and do something to impact his country. He was really the one that made me realize there was a great need for all types of professionals, not just in the education or healthcare field. Two days later I started the trek up Kilimanjaro, which allowed for lots of time to think and reflect on everything that had happened the two weeks prior as well as my life and career back in the U.S.

The summit was a success and when I got down from the mountain, I really didn’t want to board my flight home. I wasn’t sure when I would be back, but I knew for sure that I would. Upon returning home and getting back to work, the desire to get back to Tanzania took over. A mutual friend put me in touch with Chris and I was impressed and inspired by his story and JBFC. I am so excited to get to work for the foundation on many different levels. I hope to help educate and empower not only the kids at JBFC, but also the youth volunteers and ambassadors.



Melinda Wulf left her career as a media planner to join the JBFC team as our new Administrative Director. She is moving to Tanzania and will start her new job in early October.