Locals take on Mt. Kilimanjaro
By: By Meghan Backus
Updated: March 12, 2008
Many of them battle cancer, and now they have conquered the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. A group of hikers have returned from their trip to
“We all had that sense of, ‘Will I make it?',” said Matt Flanigan of the local chapter of the American Cancer Society. “We didn't know."
A group of more than 40 local people set out to take on
“We were in these tour buses that were going up these winding mountain roads and they were kind of pitching all over the place,” he said.
He says that was just the start of a challenge not unlike the battle with cancer. He lost his father to cancer and has a brother in recovery.
“When we’re finally at the trail head, we're met by fresh signs that elephants had been through and you can kind of hear them off in the distance," Flanigan said.
The wildlife and the terrain inspired awe and posed obstacles along the way.
“For some of us, getting acclimated and living in a tent or somebody else maybe the food -- it was a bit different,” he said. “Some way, some how folks dealt with challenges.”
Most of the hikers know what it is to fight. About 25 are survivors of cancer. Over the six-day climb, they each carried 40-pound backpacks and endured all sorts of weather. By the time they were reaching summit, the wind was blowing and temperatures had dropped to 15 degrees.
“Right about the time you think you really can't make it, and you really think this is it, and I have to turn around,” Flanigan said, “the guides yell out 20 minutes! 20 minutes to summit!”
The group stood atop the highest point in
“Just when you're catching your breath and saying my gosh I made it, you look over the horizon and there's the dawn of a new day on the African plains and the sun was coming up,” he said. “It was spectacular."
Flanigan says the journey was life changing and he hopes people fighting cancer will be able to join them on the trip next year.
“There's 25 people who've done so, who've stood at the top of
