January 2023

Hiking Kilimanjaro (Or, how I became the sweaty yeti)

January 29, 2023

I’m just about a month away from climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and everything is starting to feel very real. I’ve been doing a lot of training hikes and testing out all my gear, and one corner of my bedroom looks like I’ve robbed an REI. It’s just a big pile of base layers, gaiters, gloves, Nalgene bottles, a portable urinal…

Yeah, I’ll probably post more about that last thing at some point.

But I also have very thick, knee-high socks that I’m packing especially for summit night. Since these socks have a yeti on them, somehow I started thinking of myself as The Sweaty Yeti.

While I know there aren’t any yeti stories associated with this mountain — not even close — it makes me feel stronger and cold-weather resilient to imagine myself as part-Yeti. (Sweaty is a given.)

I’ve also been looking over the schedule and poring over maps. By law, every hiker on Kili must go with a guide, so I’ve signed up to do a group hike with a local Tanzanian company. (And a couple of my friends will be joining in too!)

We’ll be taking the Machame route. It looks like this:

DAY 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Elevation: 5,380 ft. to 9,350 ft.
Distance: 11 km/7 miles
Hiking Time: 5-7 hours
Habitat: Rain Forest
We begin in the village of Machame which is located on the lower slopes of the mountain. As we leave the park gate, we will walk through dense rain forest on a winding trail up a ridge until we reach Machame Camp, where we will stay overnight.

DAY 2: Machame Camp to Shira 2 Camp

Elevation: 9,350 ft. to 12,500 ft.
Distance: 5 km/3 miles
Hiking Time: 4-6 hours
Habitat: Heath
Leaving the glades of the rain forest, we’ll continue on an ascending path up to a steep, rocky ridge. On the Shira Plateau, we’ll pass through heather and open moorlands, then cross a large river gorge to Shira 2 Camp and stay overnight.

DAY 3: Shira 2 Camp to Barranco Camp

This day is divided into two parts:

Shira 2 Camp to Lava Tower

Elevation: 12,500 ft. to 15,190 ft.
Distance: 7 km/4 miles
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert

Lava Tower to Barranco Camp

Elevation: 15,190 ft. to 13,044 ft.
Distance: 3 km/2 miles
Hiking Time: 2-3 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
We’ll continue to the east along a ridge and then head southeast towards the Lava Tower – a 300 ft. tall volcanic rock formation. Then we’ll descend down to Barranco Camp through the strange but beautiful Senecio Forest to an altitude of 13,000 ft. Although we’ll begin and end the day at the same elevation, the time spent at higher altitude is beneficial for acclimatization.

DAY 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Elevation: 13,044 ft. to 13,106 ft.
Distance: 5 km/3 miles
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
We’ll begin the day by descending into a ravine to the base of the Great Barranco Wall. Then we climb the non-technical but steep, 900-foot cliff. From the top of the Barranco Wall we’ll cross a series of hills and valleys before descending sharply into Karanga Valley. One steeper climb up will lead us to Karanga Camp. This is a shorter day meant for acclimatization.

DAY 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Elevation: 13,106 ft. to 15,331 ft.
Distance: 4 km/2 miles
Hiking Time: 4-5 hours
Habitat: Alpine Desert
We’ll leave Karanga and hit the junction that connects with the Mweka Trail. We’ll continue up to the rocky section to Barafu Hut. At this point, hikers will have completed the Southern Circuit, which offers views of the summit from many different angles. Here we’ll make camp, rest and enjoy an early dinner to prepare for summit day.

DAY 6: SUMMIT DAY

Another day divided into two parts, and IT’S A DOOZY.

Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak

Elevation: 15,331 ft. to 19,341 ft.
Distance: 5 km/3 miles
Hiking Time: 7-8 hours
Habitat: Arctic

Uhuru Peak to Mweka Camp

Elevation: 19,341 ft. to 10,065 ft.
Distance: 12km/7 miles
Hiking Time: 4-6 hours
Habitat: Rain Forest
Around midnight, we’ll begin our push to the summit.
This is the most mentally and physically challenging portion of the trek. The wind and cold at this elevation and time of day can be extreme, and we’ll ascend in the darkness for several hours. Near Stella
Point (18,900 ft.), hopefully the sun will come up and reward us with a magnificent sunrise over Mawenzi Peak.

Finally, we’ll arrive at Uhuru Peak, the highest point on Mount Kilimanjaro and the continent of Africa.
From the summit, we’ll make our descent continuing straight down to the Mweka Hut camp site, stopping at Barafu for lunch. The trail is very rocky and steep. Many have said this is actually the worst part of the hike, due to the strenuous, rocky descent that can be hard to the joints, combined with physical fatigue from hiking throughout the previous night.

DAY 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate

Elevation: 10,065 ft. to 5,380 ft.
Distance: 10km/6 miles
Hiking Time: 3-4 hours
Habitat: Rain Forest
On our last day, we’ll continue the descent to Mweka Gate and collect summit certificates. From the gate, we continue another hour to Mweka Village. A vehicle will meet us at Mweka Village to drive us back to Moshi.

Holy crêpe: Paris and the tale of the long layover

January 22, 2023

Paris at twilight when the sky is lavender

Why am I stopping in Paris on my way to Tanzania?

That’s a great question, and the answer offers some insight into how I travel.

I’m headed to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro in early March. It’s an expensive trip that has been a long time coming, so I want everything to go as smoothly as possible.

In reading accounts of people who didn’t successfully summit the mountain, three things repeatedly popped up: The hiker started their trek while still feeling the effects of jet lag, they didn’t have sufficient gear, and/or they physically couldn’t acclimate to the altitude during the climb.

Two of those things are within my control. (Meanwhile, acclimatization seems to be a roll of the dice.)

I usually don’t check luggage, but in this case I have too much gear for a carry-on bag. So for my trip to Tanzania, I’m going slowly. My hope is that this will minimize jet lag, and the handful of extra travel days will serve as a buffer in the event of delays or lost luggage.

I looked at all my options for long layovers, and Paris jumped out for a few reasons: It’s a necessary stop for a future book project; I thought I’d be able to convince my friends to join me; and most importantly, I’ve never been! Though I’ve traveled to France before, I’ve somehow always missed Paris. And while I’m enough of a contrarian that I don’t feel a deep need to visit the city of lights, I’m not going to pass up an opportunity to explore a beautiful place.

I found a great deal on a nonstop flight from LAX to Paris for $400. Then I used United MileagePlus award points to book the rest of my trip, a flight from Paris to Tanzania with a brief stop in Ethiopia.

Usually I like to keep a lot of space for spontaneity when I travel. But because I only have three days in Paris, I created a schedule to make the most of that time. I booked a hotel, scheduled interviews, arranged tours.

The airline, however, had a different plan — and they cancelled my flight. While they did offer to put me on another flight, one was a week earlier, and one arrived too late. So that didn’t work.

Since we’re just over a month out from the trip, new flights on other airlines are about $1,000, plus taxes and fees. Merde!

At this point, I have too much research, work, and money invested in going to Paris, so I can’t skip it. But at that price, I can’t go to Paris.

My simple layover was going to drive me in-seine.

Here’s how I fixed it

First, I did many, many searches for flights, using every trick I know.

Nothing.

Then I moved some points around to my United MileagePlus account and booked an awards flight from Palm Springs to Paris for 30k points + $5. I kept the awards flight I already have from Paris to Tanzania.

For my return, United doesn’t charge a change fee for awards flights, so I rescheduled my Tanzania to Paris flight as a Tanzania to Palm Springs trip, which cost 44k points and $240 (most of that money was for seat selection, a pointless fee I will forever gripe about). It is going to be a terrible, 37-hour travel day — but I don’t need to build any buffers into the return flight, I just need to get home.

So I’m getting for Paris for less money than the flight I originally booked, though I am blowing through a lot of points. But hey, that’s what those are for, right?

I have to admit, right now I feel … triomphe-ant.

My mom has been gone for 12 years. Here’s how I’d like to mark her passing

January 12, 2023

When I was a teenager, and I got in trouble for smoking cigarettes at the mall, my mom grounded me. I remember curling up like a little shell on my bed, sobbing, as my mom gave me a stern lecture about the dangers of tobacco.

Suddenly, a sly look flashed across her face as she said, “But what kind of cigarettes were they? … I used to smoke Camels.”

Mine were Winston Ultra Lights, but that’s beside the point.

The point is that this story summarizes my mom. She knew the rules, and she played by them. But there was also a wild streak that she rarely indulged, a cheeky side that I only saw in bursts and flickers.

Today is the 12th anniversary of her death, and for some reason it’s hitting me hard this year.

I often wonder if she had known how it would end, would she have lived her life differently? I don’t mean smoking cigarettes or even tearing through a to-do list à la Queen Latifah in “Last Holiday.” But something in between. How would she have inhabited her days?

I think about how my mom occasionally took the long route home from church, the country road that meandered past a farm with peacocks, simply because she wanted to catch a glimpse of the colors. Perhaps she would have taken the scenic route more often. Maybe it would’ve been all scenic routes.

I remember how she denied herself pleasure simply to keep up appearances or to fit into a specific pair of pants or to follow someone else’s playbook, and none of that matters anymore. It never mattered.

Maybe today, in honor of my mom’s passing, you could indulge yourself. Eat a pastry you’ve never tried before. Play a new sport. Take the long road. Sing out loud. Wear something sparkly. Devour a mango and let it be juicy. Love something fiercely.

“We’re nothing but brief bodies,” writes poet Joy Sullivan, which is true, and we deserve to lead scrumptious lives. Do something wonderful and succulent today.

Road trip: Underground adventure at Mitchell Caverns in the Mojave Desert

January 9, 2023

The guide prepped us with a countdown of “Three, two, one …”

Instantly, we were plunged into the blackest darkness I’ve ever experienced. A darkness so complete, it felt thick. I put my hand in front of my face, and not only was I unable to see it, I wondered if my hand still existed.

Just when I felt like I might be falling through space, my son wrapped his arms around my legs. A moment later, the guide turned on the small lights that illuminated the path.

I quickly reoriented myself. Ahead of me, cave. Behind me, cave. Above me, you guessed it. Cave.

It’s a good thing I’m not the kind of person who gets claustrophobic in confined spaces. Rather, I’m the kind of person who, when faced with darkness, potentially loses their own body.

I was standing in the deepest point of Mitchell Caverns, an adventurous Southern California road trip destination within two hours’ drive from Barstow and a fun add-on for camping trips in the surrounding area.

The caverns are named for Jack Mitchell, who bought claims to the land and sounds a bit like a sunbaked, desert version of P.T. Barnum. Back in 1934, he and his wife, Ida, built stone structures by hand on the property and ran a small resort that included tours of the caves. They also developed the road that led from Route 66 to the caverns, approximately 22 miles, and turned it into a popular attraction.

On view are two main caves: “El Pakiva,” the Devil’s House, and “Tecopa,” named for a Shoshone chief. There’s a third cave, but it’s deep and dangerous, and at this point it’s off limits to the public.

The tour enters through the “eyes of the mountain” and only becomes more spectacular from there.

The caverns feature some unique and unusual formations, and our guide was excellent about explaining them. I knew about stalagmites and stalactites, but I had no idea that so many cave features are named for food! We saw cave bacon, cave frosting, cave mushrooms, and cave shields — “they’re kind of like a sandwich,” our guide said.

Overall the caverns were more impressive than I expected, a true gem within the California state park system.

GO SEE IT

Where: Mitchell Caverns is located in the Providence Mountains State Recreation Area in the eastern Mojave Desert.

When: The State Park is open Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holiday Mondays from September to June. (Closed July and August.)

You must have a guided tour for the caverns. Reserve this by calling (760)928-2586 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Mondays. Group size is limited to 15 people.

What time: Tours are approximately 2 hours long and take place at 10 a.m. in June and September, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the other months.

Cost: Tours are $10 per adult, $9 per senior, and $5 for children. There’s also a $10 State Park fee per vehicle.

Bring: There’s no gas or food located within many miles of the attraction, so make sure you have everything you need to fuel yourself and your vehicle. For the tour, you can take a water bottle, but no backpacks or snacks.

Good to know: The bat population is being decimated by white-nose syndrome. It’s a fungal growth that does not affect humans, but humans can carry and spread the spores, and the spores can survive for up to a decade. For that reason, the park requests that whatever you wear to Mitchell Caverns, you never wear into another cave. (So if you have plans to visit another cave soon, this is a great excuse to buy new hiking boots!)

Accessibility: The location of the caverns do not allow for trails to be ADA accessible. Also, the cavern formations create areas as low as 62 inches and as narrow as 14 inches. There are video tours of the caverns that can be viewed inside the visitor center.

Find out more: Visit the park website