The Roof of Africa

     At the Kilasiya Waterfall

On March 19^th 2011 at 8:40 AM the Toronto Twilight Rotary Club reached the top of Kilimanjaro!  The 6 day climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro was a fundraiser for End Polio Now— Rotary’s $200 million challenge to eradicate polio.

Over the next few weeks I will be posting a day to day breakdown of this great accomplishment along with photos. 

The day before the trek started we had the honor of meeting with President Cynoc Martin of the Moshi Kilema Kati Rotary Club.  He took us on a tour of the Kilema Primary School, the Kilema hospital and HIV/AIDS clinic, and the Kilema Girls' vocational school.  We also made a quick stop at the Kilasiya Waterfalls in Tanzania!  Click here to see the photos from our daytrip.

Alice, Chrissy and Mary Catherine talking with Cynoc Martin at the Kilema Hospital

Its still not too late to make a donation to help us End Polio Now, please click the donation link and thanks in advance for your support!



The Final Countdown

For our final training trek we did back to back hikes; on Saturday we hiked along the Trans Canada Trail near Mary Catherine’s cottage.  It was sunny but very cold, and a great test of our base layers and other gear!

On Sunday we hiked along some new areas of the Rouge Trail.  It was very icy and we had several slips along the way.  At one point I was walking down the side of the trail to avoid some icy log stairs and I completely wiped out and started sliding down the hill full speed ahead on my bum!  I was fine, so I jumped up with much enthusiasm shouting at the girls to hurry up only to wipe out again!  Needless to say Chrissy and Alice were laughing at me so hard that they almost fell down the stairs.  I think that our group will be a great source of entertainment for everyone on the mountain next week…….

This will be the last post until we get back as we fly out in 3 days!  Thank you to everyone who has supported our trek so far.  It’s not too late to make a donation; please click on the link to the right.  Stay tuned for more updates when we return!

India on the front lines in the battle to eradicate polio

Only 3 days until we fly out!  Just wanted to share this article from the Globe and Mail with you:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/asia-pacific/india-on-the-front-lines-in-the-battle-to-eradicate-polio/article1929578/

Traipsing Along the Humber Trail



This past weekend we had a lovely sunny day for our hike!  We started out early morning near Alice’s and walked along the lakeshore on the way to the Humber Trail.  As usual we had several canine encounters; including one with an Irish Setter who stole a mitten!  We followed the path to the Old Mill where the trail became completely engulfed in ice and water- a true test of how waterproof our boots are.  After slipping and sliding (yes; one of us wiped out lol) we turned around and headed back.  Overall we hiked a total of 12km. 

This weekend we will be doing our longest hike yet; we will be trekking a total of 35 KM over 2 days!  More updates to come next week, only 16 more days to go! 

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Roaming the Rouge Trail

This past weekend the 4 of us met up early in the morning for a full day hike.  This time we decided to explore the east end; starting with the Colonel Danforth Park and Highland Creek. 
The day began bright and sunny but we were soon blown away with snow squalls!   Once we arrived to the beach the snow had cleared up and it was bright and sunny once again. 

After stopping for a quick lunch we then began our afternoon hike along the Rouge Trail which connects to the greenbelt.  The walk was nice and leisurely until one of us tripped over a large stick and fell on the trail!  The crisis was quickly averted (in other words everyone else laughed at them) and there were no injuries.  Overall we had a great day and hiked a total of 15 km! 

More updates to come next week; 26 days until we fly out!  If you would like to support our trek please click the donate button to the right.  Please note 100% of funds raised are going directly to the Rotary International Foundation (Canada) in support of the Polio Plus Campaign. Thank you to everyone who has already made a donation. 

Hike in High Park

On Sunday the whole team got together and we hiked along the trail in High Park.  After some friendly encounters in the leash free zone, we were able to finish the main trail in just under an hour. 

After that we headed over to the Kay Gardner Beltline and hiked the rest of the afternoon along there.  The beltline used to be a railway and is now part of Toronto’s Discovery Walks.  This was a great way to check out parts of the city that we hadn’t been to before. 

Our next hike will be next weekend along the Rouge Trail!  Stay tuned for more updates next week and thanks again to those who have already made donations.  Only 32 days to go!

Weekend Wandering

Our training continues!  This past weekend we all split up to do our own trekking.  In addition to meeting with her trainer, Mary Catherine hit some trails up near Bolton.  Alice hiked the trails in High Park, making sure to challenge herself by focusing on all of the hills while wearing her day pack filled with gear and weights!  Chrissy hit the treadmill hard for several hours until she couldn’t feel her legs.  I was able to make it to the gym for an intense workout on the cycle, elliptical and stepper.  I have to admit, the stair-mill scares me so I have been avoiding that one. 

The countdown continues with 38 days left until we fly out!  Thanks to everyone who has made a donation so far.  If you haven’t already; click to the right to make a donation via PayPal.  Thanks in advance for your support!

We will be doing another group trek this Sunday so stay tuned for more updates on our weekend adventures in training!