Conversations with Critters
Walk with the animals. Talk with the animals. And the Equinox Edition both North and South…
Today, Critters, we celebrate two personal naturalist milestones on the path unwinding.
First! This one said Hooman is about to embark on the certification studies for the Oregon Naturalist Program with the syllabus in hand.
And then! CwC is also celebrating the Equinox with the 15th Anniversary of a charity climb of Mt Kilimanjaro. On September 21, 2009, on the Spring Equinox, trekking the Machame Route for a week, I made it to the top of Kili at 5895m, also known in the vernacular as 19,341 feet, at the Uhuru Summit.
Kilimanjaro, also called the Roof of Africa, is the world’s largest free standing mountain above sea level. Uhuru means freedom and the summit is named for it accordingly. Trust your boots.
Please, whether you are North or whether you are South, join us now in excellent equinox critter conversation.
Heidi: Hello, Friends! Welcome welcome to our Furever Friday Post in celebration of the Equinox! As I reflect on my climb and summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro fifteen years ago, I have to admit that it was a trip of a lifetime because it was so hard to be at extreme high altitude, I’ll never do it again. The end. Did I have supplemental oxygen? No, I did not. However, I was a happy camper when I got back down to 11,000 feet. Furthermore and most of all! I helped raise several thousand dollars for a small grassroots international medical organization, Medicine in Action, that provided care for women and children in Tanzania and Jamaica.
Jasper: Hello, Critters! Thank you for being here to celebrate our Hooman’s 15th Anniversary of summiting the world’s biggest, tallest and really huge mountain, Kilimanjaro!
Chris: Hello, Dear Gentle Readers and Dear Gentle Critters! We are also celebrating the big kick off for the Oregon Naturalist Program. So there’s that, too! The end.
Jasper: Correct, Chris. So, Happy Equinox, Critters! Whether you are North or whether you are South of the Equator, we wish you a happy shift of seasons.
Chris: Here at the Condo, generally, and here on the Couch, specifically, we are welcoming in sweater weather on the 45th Parallel North.
Jasper: Correct, Chris. We are mid-way between the Equator and the North Pole.
Chris: Well said on the geography, Jasper. And we are also mid-way to my next nap. The end.
Jasper: Circling back in our conversation on the incredible charity climb of Kilimanjaro, this super huge mountain is located in Tanzania, close to the Equator in the Southern Hemisphere. Chris, would you kindly do us the honors with your tapping tapping toebeans and google the GPS coordinates of the world’s largest freestanding mountain above sea level in the entire world?
Chris: Of course of course. I would be honored, Jasper. Thank you for asking. Thank you very much. By the way, Critters, we will not be discussing the world’s largest freestanding mountain below sea level, Mauna Kea. Because. That would involve water and we’re not going there.
Jasper: Thank you, Chris.
Chris: You’re welcome!
Jasper: I’m all ears on the Kili GPS coordinates.
Chris: The GPS coordinates of Mt. Kilimanjaro are 3.0674 degrees South, latitude and 37.3556 degrees East, longitude. Full stop.
Jasper: That is a full stop. The end. Furthermore, what are we to make of the receding glaciers on Kili and the fact that the equatorial ice is melting?
Chris: It is cause for concern for the climate in my humble opinion.
Jasper: Yes, it is humbling.
Chris: The mountain is so big, and I do mean huge, that it creates its own weather.
Jasper: Furthermore, to manage proper oxygenation on the climb, the expression is walk slowly slowly lest you feel poorly poorly.
Chris: Thank you for expressing this expression, Jasper. The term in Swahili for slowly slowly is pole pole. In fact, this method of locomotion works quite well for me at sea level as well. Just an FYI on that.
Jasper: Excellent, Chris. Let’s share a photo of our Hooman’s slowly slowly outdoor award for the edification and enjoyment of our Readers. We present Climber 71419 and the certificate issued by Kilimanjaro National Park and Tanzania National Parks:
Chris: I like the Outdoors when I look at it from the window and, furthermore, I like the Outdoors from the window when I’m on the Couch.
Jasper: Ditto, Chris.
Chris: I feel rather hypoxic just thinking about extreme high altitude.
Kermit: Helloooo, Critters!
Jasper: Oh, Kermit! You’ve made the descent to The Valley from your home in the Mountain Forest!
Chris: Kermit, welcome welcome! Please, tell us! Are you oxygenated?
Kermit: My highly esteemed and I do mean oxygenated colleagues! The answer is yes! But first! Breathe in deep deep, hold it and then exhale all the way out.
Chris: Oh, Kermit! Thank you. Thank you very much.
Kermit: You’re welcome!
Jasper: Thank you for sharing your incredible knowledge of altitude and oxygenation with us, Kermit.
Kermit: Of course of course, Jasper Kitten. As always, the pleasure is all mine, living as I do almost a Mile High. Full stop. The end.
Chris: Kermit, Kilimanjaro is much higher than a mile high, however.
Kermit: Correct, Chris.
Chris: Kilimanjaro is considered Extreme High Altitude.
Kermit: All true. All true.
Chris: Critters, this calls for extreme measures. I must take my next nap.
Jasper: So, we wish all of you a Happy Equinox wherever you are! Until next time, stay safe, walk slowly slowly, and we’ll see you next time!
Kermit: Excellent. And exhale.
Chris: The. End.
🐾🐾🐾🐾🐾
Poetry with Pets
Raise your spirits high
Luvluvluv the wilderness
Seven one four one nine
By Jasper Kitten, Chris & Kermit in Celebration of the Equinox
Congrats Heidi, that must have been some experience!! And the memories... It is a couple of weeks of my 20th anniversary of trailrunning around a much lower volcano, Mt. Hood, with the legendary Cindy M. We used the Timberline Trail and did the circumnavigation in one day! No certificate but oh what a sense of accomplishment and lifetime memories!
Arya and I congratulate you on such a climbing accomplishment, to the summit of the highest point in Africa. It must have been quite a sight, one only birds like the Rüppell’s griffon vulture can view. Arya says he is highly impressed.