References, research, reading...

The fun starts when you realise that you basically know nothing about how to do this trek, where to start, which decision to make first etc. You are overwhelmed with the excitement and you just know you want to do it but nothing else. So you go and Google "Kilimanjaro trek" and get millions of links and you're none the wiser. In our case the first point of reference was a book by Henry Stedman called simply "Kilimanjaro (the trekking guide to Africa's highest mountain)" and the related website www.climbmountkilimanjaro.com. We have accumulated several more books about Kili, Tanzania and Zanzibar since then, Henry Stedman's book still remains the main source though. Through his website we were also able to read blogs of people who have already climbed Kili, one of them being Chris (as already mentioned by Paul), our other main source of information and inspiration.

The agency through which we have booked our trip - ATR - has also provided a list of useful information although the suggested kit list sometimes makes you wonder (as per Paul's post about the kit list, especially the part about underwear :-)).

After collecting some essential data and sorting the initial stuff (route, time, who with etc.), the shopping phase began. Even though I consider myself being a fairly active person and open to all kinds of sports activities, trekking has not been on my activities list for a very long time. The lack of trekking clothing was directly proportional to this fact, meaning I had nothing that could be used for our trip. So the budget expanded further more. And a slight panic and thousands of questions - what shall I get, is it going to be warm/cooling enough, are the shoes going to be supportive enough, is the jacket really waterproof, do I need warm trousers or will I be ok in thinner trousers and thermals, will I look stupid in balaclava, what does it matter (???), is sunscreen SPF 50 going to be enough (with my skin, the higher the better), shall I get a straw hat or is baseball cap ok, where will I be able to buy Camelbak with insulated pipe and at least 3 litre bladder, do I need a new camera and so on and so on.

Then I realised I wasn't alone in all this so after a few discussions with Paul I managed to reduce the list of questions (and the amount of panic) in my head to about half. I would like to express my admiration to all the people who have decided to do this alone - either because they simply wanted or because they weren't able to find another person to go with. I mean, you're not going to climb the mountain alone but all the preparations and the things you need to think about and all those ambivalent emotions you're experiencing, it's so much better if there is somebody to share with!