Bermudian Summits Mount Kilimanjaro

Raygina Fox, a Bermudian living in California, recently reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa – the highest free standing mountain in the world — with the Bermudian flag making the trek with her.

Ms Fox attended East End Primary in Bermuda before moving to the United States, with family in St. David’s and St. George’s.

Ms. Fox told Bernews, “About 18 months ago, I heard of a group of trekkers from the Bay Area that were considering going to Africa to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and immediately my interest sparked! I reached out to the group and expressed my interest and that’s where it all began. My adrenaline kicked into high gear and I was off to putting a plan into effect.

“I started hiking about 15 years ago and fell in love with not only nature, but the challenge of reaching the top. I am a very competitive person. When I love to do something, I do it well. No complaints, no excuses: I just do it. Reap the benefits and rewards.

“To prepare for this particular hike, I would hike 3-4 times a week in general, and then four months prior to leaving for Kilimanjaro, I hired personal trainer Parrish Norfleet of Train the Brain Fit Club in San Ramon, CA to get me in the best shape possible to prepare for my journey aside from my weekly hikes. I would attend an hour 3-4 times a week for personal training sessions.”

When asked about how the pandemic affected the plan, she told Bernews, “We never knew if Covid was going to be a factor in stopping us from taking the trip all together. With numbers steadily climbing and/or decreasing in certain parts of the world, it was a roller coaster. The closer we got to our October 2nd date, the more confident we were feeling.

“Reaching the summit was one of the most invigorating feelings I had ever felt considering what I had been through the past six days to reach the it.

“I did experience Acute Mountain Sickness and had a loss of appetite from day two. Now we are into day two and I had been without food; water and hydration tablets are what kept me acclimated and driven to not stop. As long as my oxygen and pulse was fine, I felt the need to keep going.

“The feeling of accomplishment, overjoyed with excitement and then realizing I was somewhere on top of the world where very few make it. It was so quiet and breathtaking. There were big ice glaciers surrounding us above the clouds. For a moment, I felt as if I was on another planet. It was extraordinary.

“We trekked anywhere between 4-7 miles a day for a total of seven days. Took us six days to reach the summit and one day to come down. The importance of a route such as the Machame Route is to be sure your body gets acclimated to the altitude. We drove from Moshi to the Machame Gate where the habitat for that day would be the rainforest before we settled into damp that night. We settled into camp nightly as the porters would move much faster than us and have our tents set up for us as we reached base camps daily.

“The porters carried all our supplies such as tents, toilets and necessary gear. There were chefs that prepared our foods daily for us and there of course were our tour guides that led the way on a journey of a lifetime. The only thing we were pretty much responsible for was our day packs we would carry with layers of clothing, extra coats, water, snacks, etc.

“I met many people that had made an attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with very few that did succeed. I feel very honoured to be able to say I did something in my life that is quite the challenge for many.

“I would like to mention a special thank you to Sirikwa Travel of Moshi, Tanzania for putting together a well planned and thought out itinerary. Everything went according to plan without any delays or disruption.”

#GoodNews #Kilimanjaro

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