Update 19 Oct: Wow, what a fantastic experience, walking through the Rainforest in a torrential rainstorm & getting to our first camp & having to sleep in wet sleeping bags on top of wet mattresses??!! But it never dampened my spirits. Every day was different & I enjoyed every step of the way. One thing I could not master was getting in & out of the tent, which was comical in itself & also getting into my sleeping bag. I had a couple of tough days with a really bad cough, my chest & throat felt like they were on fire & coughing gave me really bad headaches, but I put my head down & did it one step at a time.
Summit night was amazing left base camp on 10 Oct at 5 past midnight, on the way to the top my water tube froze & I was biting at the mouthpiece trying to get rid of the ice so I could have drink, luckily I had a flask with water & so did the guides.
During the climb I watched the sun start to rise, I’d been walking for about 6 hours at this point & still had a long way to go but it felt great with the sun on it's way & lifted my spirits, nearly two hours later I arrived at Stella Point (Africa's second highest point 5756mtrs) I was so happy & pleased with myself.
When came into view it was amazing because I’d seen this so many times on the internet & in books & here I was, looking at the amazing views of the glaciers it was unbelievable. I tied 's bookmark to the post of Africa's highest mountain & felt wonderful that I hadn't let anyone down especially but it was a very emotional day for me too.
I was so driven for Gary, the girls, family, friends the RAF Benevelovent Fund with all the generous donations & words of support I never felt stronger so thank you all so much.
To Jana & Charlie what wonderful 3 Musketeers we made I miss you both so much you made a difficult journey a walk in the park & an absolute pleasure you were both rays of sunshine & wonderful company to be with thank you.
To Steve & Jana, thank you both for your never ending love & support, without you both I would never have gained this fantastic experience of a lifetime, my love to you both Jacqui.
To everyone, thank you all so much for your generosity, your incredible words of support & your belief in me, my heartfelt thanks Jacqui xx
Update 1 Oct: I am feeling absolutely terrified about the climb I am about to undertake, in a few hours I will be flying out to Tanzania arriving there tomorrow morning in time to start the most physical & mental challenge of life. Gary is my reason for doing this which intensifies my feelings even more because every challenge Gary ever set himself he always achieved, i'm stepping into the biggest boots of my life. My daughters, family & friends know how much I love & adore them but they'll have no idea how much i desparately miss them all already. I'm hoping to keep the site updated while I'm away. Lots of love Jacqui xx
Update 9 Sept: Firstly, can i just say, well i don't how to say it, just how incredibly generous you've all been, your words of support have meant so much to me & has really helped to keep me motiavated, so to each & everyone of you thank you all so much.
Told you i was doing Kilimanjaro it would be nice for you to know a few of the details.
Sat 3 Oct Start 9 day climb via Lemosho Route.
Sun 4 Oct: 7-8 hour trek to camp at Shira One.
Mon 5 Oct: Trek to Shira Plateau Camp at G&M Two Or Shira Hut.
Tue 6 Oct: Trek North West FLank to Moir Hut.
Wed 7 Oct: Trek 7hrs to Barranco Valley to camp at Barranco Wall
Thur 08 Oct: Climb up Barranco Wall to Karanga Valley Camp
Fri 09 Oct: Take the traverse route to Barafu Ridge Camp, moving slowly because of the altitude.
Sat 10 Oct: Around Midnight commence the climb to Stella Point - then continue to highest point Uhuru Point 19340ft/5895mtrs. acent & descent of this climb will take between 12 to 15 hours.
I have mixed emotions fear, fear, excitement and oh yes more FEAR?!?
Update 25 Aug: When i first wrote this i couldn't write about Gary because it's still too hard & my reasons for doing this climb just re-inforce all the pain & sense of loss. If i was to tell of his numerous qualities you'd probably think it's his wife saying nice things about her husband but to be honest I couldn't begin to do him justice, and anyone who knew him, knew us knows exactly what we've lost. I'm blessed to have spent over 20 years with him & his five daughters have their dad's qualities & i see a piece of him in all of them.
Gary was 51 and a Reservist and proud to serve in RAF, he was deployed to Afganistan in February 2008 and on the 13th April our lives were blown apart & irrevocably changed forever when he & his collegue were killed, when their vehicle hit a landmine.
16 Aug - I wish I could put into words how much this means to me, my family & friends that you've taken time out of your busy day & donating your hard earned cash.
Whatever amount you decide to donate I want you to know that you are making a difference to the lives of a family whose lives will never be the same again, I know this only too well.
The RAF Benevolent fund sent 's family money within a couple of weeks, I didn't ask for it. The RAF Benevolent Fund didn't ask me to fill out forms, there wasn't any terms & conditions, they just knew that unfortunately life still goes on & everyday living expenses have to be met. I would have been too proud to ask for anything I would have felt that I was letting down, mercifully The RAF Benevolent Fund let me hold my head up high.
I want you to know that every single penny you donate will go straight the RAF Benevolent Fund, Gary's wonderful cousin Steve & his wife Jana (from Telkom International Ltd) have very kindly & generously paid the cost of the trip for me, thank you both so much.
Now, thanks to my husband Gary I find myself climbing Kilimanjaro this is something I would never ever do but I know if Gary was here he would be doing it, so as in true Thompson tradition never to let a challenge pass us by I find myself in walking boots & probably cursing him all the way to the top.
If you can imagine Bridget Jones training to climb Kilimanjaro then that's me, but I know I have all the love & support of my daughters, family & friends and of course Gary pushing me up that mountain I can't see how I can possibly fail.
I will keep the page updated, I just want our Military Personnel & especially those presently serving in to know that 'we're thinking of them, that they have all our support & what a great job they all do'.
Most of all thank you for your support.
