Lists & Lists & Lists...Oh My!

"To be prepared is half the victory." ~Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

So now that I was approved parentally, I began officially planning my Kilimanjaro adventure of 2010. Planning is everything and can definitely make or break this experience! Do yourself a big favor and start planning early. I committed to hiking Mount Kilimanjaro 4 months before departing for Tanzania. Now came the lists. Oh so many lists. Packing lists, equipment lists, pricing lists. Lists of routes, of weather, of conditions.  You might consider it over-planning, but I consider it being prepared. This would have gotten incredibly confusing if I hadn’t kept myself super organized. One of the best tips I could offer is find yourself a really cute travel notebook. I kept my planning notes, my numerous lists, and my travel journal in it! 

The first round of lists was about the company I would be traveling with. Some people who have hiked Mount Kilimanjaro would recommend waiting until you arrive in Arusha or Moshi to find an expedition company. The only situation in which I would suggest not finding a travel company until you get there is if you’re very experienced with hiking expeditions and you know with a high degree of accuracy what to expect. 

I, however, am way too much of a planner to wait until the last minute to find a company. I also knew this kind of spontaneity, while acceptable and encouraged for other more common types of travel, would not be the best idea in terms of hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. Because I was inexperienced with backpacking and hiking week long expeditions, I felt the strong need to over-plan. Had I not been very detailed in the planning and preparation process I can see myself helplessly stranded on the side of a mountain in the pouring rain wishing I had my Burt’s Bees lip balm and broken in hiking boots instead of tennis shoes. Well, maybe that’s a bit dramatic but when I envision myself helpless on Kilimanjaro that’s what I see.

My Tanzania Travel Journal!