Kilimanjaro in aid of Happy Feet Happy Minds

Hi everyone,

My name is Kerry and next month I’m attempting to summit Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, also known as the “roof of Africa” and one of the world’s Seven Summits standing at 5,895m!

This will be my first climb to extreme altitude and naturally I’ve already got jitters and excitement about the unknown and the great adventure it’s going to be!

While being physically fit is of great importance on the mountain, it’s not everything and climbing to such high altitude is unpredictable for everyone - there’s no telling how it will go whether you’re a marathon runner or couch potato! We will climb high and sleep low for multiple days, exposing ourselves to the altitude a few times before we eventually make the final push on Summit Night.

High above the clouds, people say Kilimanjaro is one of the hardest things they’ve ever done, and this really is down to summit night. Rising from camp at midnight and making the long and arduous trek in the freezing (-15C to -20C) mountain air, to hopefully reach Uhuru Peak for sunrise around 6:30/7am. Fingers crossed I’ll make it to that euphoric, once in a lifetime moment!

Without a doubt mental strength and resilience is what’s going to be the greatest challenge of this trek. Keeping quiet determination and positive thoughts in my mind during those tough moments will be everything. In all honesty, I wouldn’t have any of those skills and simply wouldn’t be here writing this without access to mental health services when I really needed them in my younger years.

Happy Feet Happy Minds are known in our community for putting on Midnight Walks, this time I’ll just be doing it on the darkest night of the month in October. The 14th will be the New Moon, when the moon barely shines and all that I’ll see are the stars, the head torch beam ahead, and hopefully the sunrise upon summiting.

Happy Feet Happy Minds bring these crucial services a step closer to those needing them here in West Clare. While I’m funding 100% of my own trek, I thought I could do a little bit of good and shine a light on Happy Feet Happy Minds and hopefully raise some much needed funds so they can continue to provide services to our community.

Every euro will help, please share to spread the word and thank you all so much in advance!