Five fun accessories that I cannot travel without came with me on my hike to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. These items included two cameras, my journal, my coach sunglasses, and my iPod.
I am a camera addict. I love taking pictures, photo editing, printing pictures, and framing them. I brought two types of cameras on my trek up Mount Kilimanjaro: a small digital camera and a D-SLR camera. I brought two cameras because I knew I wouldn’t be able to charge the batteries while on the hike. If you love snapping photos on trips, I would highly suggest buying an extra battery for your camera.
I used a small digital camera during the hike to snap quick pictures when we didn’t have time to stop and get the D-SLR out of my back pack. Because you don’t want to carry the D-SLR around your neck for the majority of the hike, having a digital camera that slips into your pocket is key to documenting the whole experience.
For the trek up Kilimanjaro I was using my four year old Sony Cybershot camera so the quality of picture wasn’t as good as I wish it had been. However, this Christmas I got a Nikon Coolpix S8100 and I love it! It’s perfect for on-the-go and although it’s compact, you don’t sacrifice the quality of the picture when it comes to this model.
Before my study abroad trip to Barcelona, I made a big time investment in a D-SLR camera. After browsing various models and asking around to friends and family, I decided that the Nikon D40 was perfect for me. While the price was incredibly steep at $700 after tax and warranty (you better believe I bought a warranty on it at that price!), I take incredibly good care of it. The unbelievable quality of pictures a D-SLR camera yields is worth every penny you pay.
Because I am not a dear diary kind of girl on an everyday basis, I wasn’t sure I would want to take the time to write in a journal on my Kilimanjaro hike. Each day though, I found myself more and more thankful I had my journal to record my experience in. It provided an outlet for my inner most thoughts and feelings on the most physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging experience of my life. I feel such a strong connection with my hike when I go back and read everything I wrote during that week. Even if you don’t find yourself having “Dear Journal” moments like Sue Sylvestor on Glee, you will be glad after your hike is over you forced yourself to write about your experience each day.
Really good sunglasses are a travel necessity, especially when it comes to hiking Mount Kilimanjaro. Because UVA/UVB rays are stronger at higher altitudes, protecting your peepers with sunglasses is essential. If you’re buying a new pair, consider polarized sunglasses to give you further protection. I wore black Coach sunglasses I already owned so I could stay cute while climbing.
While I was unable to use my iPod Touch frequently because of the inability to charge the battery, my iPod served as a great pick-me-up when we were trekking a particularly long stretch and I started going crazy because I had run out of thoughts to entertain myself. The six most played songs on my Kilimanjaro hike were:
1) Time by Hootie & the Blowfish-my favorite band of all time (they met at the University of South Carolina too!) and one of my favorite songs. This song always puts me in a good mood when I hear it, as do all Hootie songs.
2) Two Step by DMB-another upbeat 90’s hit. I am a 90’s music junkie and in my opinion no music compares to that of the 90’s! This song is a great pick-me-up and has one of my favorite song lyrics of all time, “Celebrate we will for life is short but sweet for certain.”
3) The Climb by Miley Cyrus-incredibly cheesy, I am aware, however this song truly spoke to what I was doing and it provided me the motivation I needed to get through the experience.
4) Babylon by David Grey-I love this song because of the lyrics “let go of your heart, let go of your head, and feel it now.” Sometimes all you can do is just let go in a situation and completely immerse yourself in everything you are feeling in that moment.
5) United States of Pop 2009 by DJ Earworm-a mash up of all the most popular songs from 2009. It’s upbeat and gives you a good pace to walk to or workout to. Definitely a pump up song!
6) My Wish by Rascal Flatts-this song always makes me think of my loved ones, especially my younger sister and brother. When I was missing my family and wished I could talk to them and tell them I was okay while on the mountain I played this song.
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| Nikon Coolpix S8100 |
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| Back side of the Nikon Coolpix S8100 |
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| Nikon D40 D-SLR camera-I LOVE this camera! |
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| My travel journal from Tanzania |
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| My black Coach sunglasses |
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| My beloved iPod Touch 3rd generation |
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