Climb Kilimanjaro For OIF

Ashley Curry:

Anna and I have intensified the training regimen. We are concentrating on actual hiking and stadium steps. Last Saturday we completed a ten mile hike at Oak Mountain State Park near Birmingham. This hike included some fairly difficult terrain up and down several mountain ridges. Keep in mind that these are Alabama mountains (nothing like Colorado or Kilimanjaro for that matter). However, ten miles (with a backpack) was a good wokout for us. On Monday, we climbed stadium steps for about one hour. Whereas the calf muscles used to be extremely sore after such a workout, now there is little soreness. Hence, this exercise must be helping. We will shorten our effort this Saturday with a five mile hike.

Our plan is to continue training until September 20th. After that we will relax, finalize our equipment checklists, and start packing.

I came across another quote that I wanted to share. This one is attributed to Sir Edmund Hillary, who is credited with being the first person to climb Mt. Everest.

"It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves."

Anna and I have enjoyed hearing comments from old friends and the new ones that have responded. Thanks to all of you.