Krakauer and Me

On my flight back to Nairobi earlier this week I spent the majority of my time reading. I read Into the Wild and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. If you haven't read them read them, even though they are both tragic they sum up so perfectly what I want give to my experience here. TJ recommended them both to me when I told her I was thinking of climbing Mt.Kilamanjaro and after reading both books I want to do it more.In Into Thin Air, Krakauer recounts his experience climbing Mt. Everest in 1996. During the climb five people end up dying and the way he describes the real effort, anguish and pain it took out of everyone is spellbinding. When he talks about all the mistakes and oversights that lead to their deaths he doesn't make excuses for anyone not even himself in explaining what really happened. (Dont worry I didnt give anything away, it says people die on the back of the book.) I never really gave any thought to what climbing Mt. Everest or any mountain really actually intails but in order to climb it you have to dedicate two months out of your life! Once you are at base camp for the first couple weeks you are just making round trips to the camps higher up the mountain so you can slowly acclimate to the elevation. The elevation could kill you, oxygen is thin every single step is a huge effort and exhausting. When I was reading it I was completely transfixed and amazed. How can someone want to push themselves so hard? They get pushed beyond the limit not only physically but mentally as well. I just loved and respected how those people risked everything to test themselves in ways I cant even imagine. Seriously, Mt. Everest is 29,029 feet. Before Kraukaur landed in Nepal he was looking out the window in his plane and he was thinking about how he was going to end up climbing to an elevation that is as high as the plane he was in. After reading it you can see how everything no matter how small and insignificant you think it is can really add up on Everest everything is a balance. I wish that I can have some of those guts while I am here. To be able to push myself and go out of my comfort zone. Now I am slightly worried that Natasha is leaving and I am going to be by myself that I will get to comfortable and complacent, and being in Kenya will turn into Hayward 2.0.

In Into the Wild (they made a movie out of it which I haven't seen but want to) Krakauer tells the true story of Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp who grew up in a wealthy D.C family and decided after graduating college to leave everything behind and travel across America. When I say everything I mean everything, he burns his money, abandons his car, cuts off all contact with family and starts hitchhiking. With nothing between the open road and himself he is able to really get out there and really experience nature with nothing filtering it and watering it down. He let nothing get in his way from experiencing everything truthfully. He wasn't looking for things to be easy he was looking for them to be honest and test him in such a way his true character was revealed. After reading it I immediately felt guilty for bringing back so much stuff to Kenya. When I was home I packed a huge suitcase full of clothes to bring back. I also brought back a bunch of book which I do not feel guilty about. People can come to Kenya, stay in some fancy hotel, not meet any of the people, see some animals and leave. Just spend a bunch of money but never experience what Kenya really has to offer and I don't want that. I want to actually get off the beaten path and see parts of Kenya that most people don't get to. I can't let fear get in the way.