Thank you! Our Fundraising Total is...

Michelle, Me, Melissa, Noelle and Sarah @the fundraiser

Wow! I am so thrilled, thankful and humbled to announce that our combined American and Canadian fundraising efforts raised just over $12,000 dollars for Multiple Sclerosis Research! Because of each and every person who showed up at our To the Roof of Africa and the Bottom of the Barrel fundraiser in Coronado, donated online, or sent a check into our fund, we blew our goal out of the water! 

I need to give special recognition to the incredible woman that inspired these efforts--my Mom. She helped keep track of all the donations, setup the fund through the MS Society in Canada and then link the fund to the American MS Society's page. She's an incredible woman, mother and friend and we're hopeful that this money will help find a cure for the disease she's battled half her life. We love you, Mom!

Busy street in front of WineStyles...good news!

 Secondly, I need to give a HUGE thank you to all the fabulous ladies who helped me plan, organize and setup the even on Coronado. To my board members: Michelle Amthor, Sarah Garza, Laura Lopez, Noelle Salucci, and Melissa Trombetti--Thank you so much and I love you all dearly. This event would not have gone even half as well as it did without your help.

I would also like to recognize WineStyles Coronado for allowing us to host our fundraiser at their wine bar and providing such a fun environment for the party. They were incredibly easy to work with, extremely helpful and also provided some excellent wines to taste!

Mom drawing the raffle winners as everyone awaits

I would also like to thank each of our raffle donors. Michelle Amthor provided a Pampered Chef basket as a business donation. Be sure to check out her business page here. Sarah Garza generously donated two flower arrangements to raffle off in honor of my Mom (since she loves flowers!). My Dad, Paul Bennett, donated a fantastic gift basket with reserve wines and cheeses included. And WineStyles provided one wine and italian fare basket to include. THANK YOU!

And last, but certainly not least, I would just like to thank any and everyone who came out to the event. It was such a fun way to raise money and I appreciate the support from each and every one of you. God bless.

Enjoying some R&R

Well... We made it to the summit! Now we're enjoying a little bit of rest and relaxation at a lovely hotel in Arusha before we head out to Serengeti for a safari tomorrow.







Dad & Rich enjoying lunch poolside and recovering from our climb.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Kibo Palace Hotel, Arusha, Tanzania

From the Base of Kilimanjaro...

Jambo everyone!

Our first picture IN AFRICA! At our hotel in Moshi

Well, after 22 hours of travel, I'm happy to report we are all safe and sound at our hotel in Moshi and enjoying a day of rest before we start up the mountain tomorrow. Everything has gone extremely smoothly so far. We met Dad in Amsterdam without trouble and our flights were all smooth and on-time. Our bags were waiting for us when we got here, and we were first in line for customs due to securing our visas before arrival. On that note, I'm so glad we took care of our visas before getting here! I would say 90% of the people on our flight did not per-purchase their visas, so the line to apply and receive one when you got there was about 2-hours long. Needless to say I was glad we didn't have to stand in that line!

We all slept well last night and had a meeting with our mountain guide at 10 a.m. He talked to use about our route, what to expect, how much to pack and also the different flora and fauna we'll encounter along the way. We will start our journey at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow by doing the 1-hour drive to Machame Gate and then hiking 18km (12 miles) to our first camp called Machame hut. We spent our afternoon today rearranging things from our base camp bags into our day packs and the duffel bags our porters will carry.

It's hard to believe this day is here! Our plan for tonight is to eat dinner and play a game of Scrabble around 8 p.m. and then head to bed early. I'll keep you posted on who wins at Scrabble, as it's sure to be a lively round.

Tomorrow we're off to begin realizing our dreams of reaching the "Roof of Africa"! Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts. Can't wait to share our adventure with you all in about 8 days!

We used Google+ with Mark in Edmonton-- he was the only one awake!

A Dream Come True!

Wow. Is today really here?! I've literally been dreaming about this day since I was seven years old. The weeks leading up to today have been so busy that they haven't really allowed Rich and I time to think about the trip. But here we are, sitting at the San Diego airport at 5:30 a.m. waiting for our flight. I finished my MBA program just two days ago, Rich wrapped up learning to fly a new aircraft on Thursday, the movers picked up all of our belongings on Friday and now we are leaving for Africa for three weeks. No wonder these last few days in San Diego seem to have flown by! That's a lot going on in a short time.

Our journey today will take us from San Diego to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam where we'll meet up with my Dad, and then Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania, Africa. Who knew there was an international airport just for Mount Kilimanjaro?

As I reflect on the last twenty years it took to get me to this point, I can't do anything but thank God for all the blessings He has bestowed. My life has changed a lot over the last two decades! I've taken on new adventures and challenges, seen the priorities in my life shift from soccer to school to marriage...and I've even taken up citizenship in a new country! Throughout everything, things have always just seemed to work out. This trip is no exception. The timing, the finances, the opportunity. There's no way it could have happened without help from above.

So, as we depart this morning, I am just filled with gratefulness and thanks...thanks for all the blessings I've been given, including this one. Thanks for the amazing family and friends we have praying for us along this journey. And thanks for this precious time with my Daddy and husband as we undertake the adventure of a lifetime! We'll see you after the summit :-)

Getting Goofy/Delirious at the San Diego Airport

To the Top of Kilimanjaro: Day-by-Day

An overview of the climb each day compiled by Paul. 

Date				Activity
Aug-24		Drive to  National Park Gate to start Machame Route
		Overnight at  Machame Hut -- 1200m (3960') climb Altitude in Evening: 3300m (10,890'), 10km
Aug-25		Machame Hut to Shira Hut -- steep start gentle ending Altitude in Evening: 3800m (12,540'), 9 km
Aug-26		Shira Hut to Lava Tower to Baranco Hut - -up to 4500m (14850')
		Lots of up's and down's Altitude in Evening: 3940m (13,002'), 12km
Aug-27		Baranco Hut to Karanga Valley - Baranco Wall in the morning Altitude in Evening: 3900m (12, 870), 5km
Aug-28		Karanga Valley to Barafu Altitude in the Evening: 4800m (15,840'), 8 km
Aug-29		Barafu to Uhuru Peak ( 5895m - 19454') to Mweka Altitude in the Evening: 3100m (10,230'), 20 km
Aug-30		Mweka Camp to Mekwa Gate-- drive to Moshi, 10 km

We will be hiking the Machame Route!

Lessons Learned: Gear

Rich and I were discussing what we learned from our treck up to the summit of Mount Whitney and I decided to share them with you. Here are the top three tidbits of info we wish we'd known before Whitney, but are glad we figured out before Kilimanjaro:

1) Bring Poles! Prior to hiking Mount Whitney, Rich and I had been told by several people that poles were a necessity for a successful hike. Rich and I were both extremely skeptical about this fact, however, and secretly thought that these people were just lightweights and that we definitely didn't need poles. But, as the trip grew closer, and everyone else on our trip listed poles in their gear plans, I decided we'd each borrow a pair to bring with us just in case. Well, I'm very happy to eat my words and say the poles were awesome. They were the perfect tool not only for extra balance when crossing tricky streams, but also when coming downhill after 14 hours of hiking. Upon returning the poles we borrowed for Whitney to their owners (thanks again, Melissa and Chance!), Rich and I headed straight to REI and picked up our own collapsable shock-absorbent poles for the trip. We both opted for REI-brand poles, just the men's and women's versions.

2) Buy a Walter Filtration System. Rich and I both went back and forth on this subject, as well. We knew we needed some way to treat our water, but had read mixed reviews about wawter filtration units and didn't really want to shell out the cash for a pro system. For Mount Whitney, we ended up skipping the system and opting for the chlorine tablets. Again-- we should have spent the $100 and bought the filtration unit. Chance's Dad Bob brough a unit with us on the trip and all I can say is it was glorious. It took about 5 minutes per camelback to fill, but it had an attachment that went directly onto the camelback spout, so that made it easier. The water from the filter, unlike that from our tablets, tasted great...and it was safe to drink. We are planning on investing in an MSR Hyperflow before we leave for Africa.

3) Liner Socks really do help! Rich and I experimented a bit with our socks on Mount Whitney. We both brought a pair of Smartwool Medium Weight Hiking Socks, a pair of Smartwool Heavy Weight Trekking Socks, and a pair of Smartwool Merino Liner socks. In the morning, we both started out wearing our mid-weight socks without problem. Around lunchtime, Rich decided to put his liners on under his mid-weights, while I still felt pretty comfortable in just my mid-weights. However, by the time we reached the summit, both Rich and I felt like we needed a change of socks. At that time I threw on my liners and heavy-weight socks and Rich just added his heavy weight socks over his liners. While I didn't have too many perspiration problems without the liners, my feet just seemed slightly more comfortable having the liners as a friction point rather than my skin. Neither of us had blisters from perspiration (although I did have a blister from trying to tape my toes!) and overall, we decided the liner socks are the way to go.

Those are just a few of the lessons learned from our hike a few weeks ago. We're less than two weeks out from the big journey to Africa now and everything is going in warp-speed. I packed this weekend, as the movers come in just over a week and I want to make sure everything I need is in my bag so there's no confusion the day-of with the movers. Everything's falling into place and there's just a few days and one tiny little MBA thesis standing between me and leaving for Africa! I can't wait. :-)

Whitney in the Rearview

22 miles, 7,000 feet of elevation change, a summit of 14,500 feet and 16 hours later, we summitted Mount Whitney in one day. It was one of the toughest challenges Rich and I have faced, but thankfully we had some very patient seasoned hikers with us "sea level" hikers to encourage us along the way. Our group included our best friends Chance and Melissa Trombetti, Michelle Amthor, Chance's parents, and their friend Jacob. Melissa joined us for all of the prep hikes, but unfortunately wasn't able to climb Mount Whitney with us this year. For a great reason, though--She is expecting their first child due in December!

Melissa, Michelle and I at Chance's parents before leaving for Mt. Whitney

Our journey started at Bob and Lydia's (Chance's parents) house in Wrightwood, CA. They were kind enough to provide an awesome breakfast of pancakes, bacon, fresh mango and melon to get us started off on the right foot. Afterwards, we packed in two cars and headed to Lone Pine, CA to pick up our hiking passes from the interpretive center at the base of Mount Whitney. That night we carbo loaded with pizza and pasta and went to bed early for a 3:00 a.m. wakeup call to begin a very long day.

Early the next morning, we groggily rolled out of bed and headed to the mountain. My day began poorly not only due to the fact that I'm not the least bit of a morning person, but also because the first thing I saw at the mouth of the trail was a bear! As exciting as this was, it also worried me as I recalled all the food I was carrying on my back which then led to images of bear attacks flashing through my mind. Sometimes this overactive imagination isn't all its cracked up to be lol. Nonetheless, our fearless group hit the trail and quite quickly we were 2.3 miles in at Lone Pine Creek where we saw our first bit of snow.

Michelle at Lone Pine Creek

From there, the trail wound up a large stone staircase and we found ourselves using our poles quite a bit. Eventually we reached the next major checkpoint, Trailside Camp, 6.3 miles into our trek. We stopped here for a quick bite and to refill water using Bob's awesome filter (more to come on that in a later post) before heading up the 96 switchbacks that lead to Trail Crest.

Taking a break on the switchbacks with the summit behind me

Upon reaching Trail Crest at 8.5 miles, I could tell our whole group was excited and hopeful that we would reach the summit. What I didn't expect was how hard the last last 2.5 miles to the summit would be. Trail Crest is gorgeous because you can see the valley you've just hiked to your right and Mt.Hitchcock and the Great Western Divide to your left. At this point, you are on the back side of Mount Whitney approaching the summit from behind. It was here that I realized how tired I was and that we still had a long way to go on this back side. The hope that came from seeing the summit from the front side quickly faded when I saw the little specks of black on the ice field nearly two miles away and realized they were people heading to the summit and I still had to get to that point. But, the views of guitar and hitchcock lakes quickly captured my attention and helped me keep thoughts of giving up at bay. It also helped to have such supportive friends there pushing me along and telling me I could do it!

Rich and I on the backside with the lakes.

After what seemed like another 10 miles (but was actually just 2), we crossed the last snow field and found ourselves at the summit of Mount Whitney. I was so completely exhausted that I teared up a bit and was overcome with a feeling of accomplishment I haven't experienced in a long time. I was also extremely proud of our whole group for persevering and pushing each other to make it to this point. We spent a few minutes at the top, signed the log book, changed our socks and then turned around to head back down the mountain.

Bob, Michelle, Me, Rich, Jacob and Chance at the summit!

Overall, the journey up and down Mount Whitney in 1 day was far harder than I anticipated. My body responded pretty well to the altitude but I was definitely more challenged physically than I'd imagined. All of my equipment faired well and I learned a lot about what I do and do not need for Kilimanjaro. Despite the fact that we took 5 hours longer than we'd originally thought we would, I was still impressed with everyone in our group for finishing. I was also extremely grateful to Bob, Lydia and Jacob for their patience with us in reaching the summit. I have no doubt they all could have finished in a much more timely fashion, but their presence and guidance were greatly appreciated by all of us first-timers. At the end of the day, it was humbling and fulfilling to know that we climbed to the highest point in the contiguous United States and back. I'd say we earned our t-shirts!

Rich, Michelle, Me and Chance with our Mt.Whitney t-shirts after summitting.