Hi all. My name is Tarryn Rudnick, and I'm a scout at the 1st Hermanus Sea Scout Troop (yes, I'm the one in the pic - no, not that one, the one on the right!). My connection with the Kili team is through Thomas and the 3rd Pinelands Scout Troop - my only connection with them is the fact that I was randomly placed in their hiking team on a scout adventure 2 years ago, and they haven't managed to shake me off yet...
Why do I want to climb Kili? It's something that's been at the back of my mind for years, along with the dream of kayaking around Madagascar and walking the Cape to Cairo. It must be a combination of my love of mountains and hiking, my passion for the outdoors, and my absolute inability to back down from a challenge that causes me to do the crazy things I do...
Anyway, when I heard at the beginning of the year that Thomas was getting a team together to climb Kili, I was immediately interested...who wouldn't be? It's the opportunity of a lifetime, to do something awesome and see amazing places and things. But after several long discussions, my mom convinced me that it just wouldn't be possible for me to join the team. Maybe one day, when I'm older (and earning my own cash....).
Nevertheless, I followed the team on as many of the training hikes as I could, simply for the love of hiking with a great bunch of people, all as crazy as me. Very lucky... because on my birthday, a full 7 months after I'd tried to sign up, my mom broke the news to me - I was on the team! (And had been since the beginning). Thereafter followed a mad rush to gather equipment, but I've pretty much got that sorted.
I'm not sure the fact that I'm going to climb Kilimanjaro has really sunk in yet - no doubt it'll hit me as the plane takes off for Tanzania! In any case, I can't wait for what I know is going to be one of the most amazing experiences of my life!
