During winter break, Lloyd battled altitude sickness and temperatures both scalding and frigid as she, her mother and her brother hiked to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.
Some college students spent their winter breaks working, studying, or catching up on rest. Zoe Lloyd '09 climbed one of the highest mountains in the world.
During the New Year's holiday Lloyd, her mother Grace, and her brother Watson participated in a seven-day, six-night hiking excursion to the top of Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro, led by an organization called Adventures Within Reach. Lloyd and her family are no strangers to outdoor activities—just recently mother and daughter biked, hiked and rafted across Costa Rica—but this time, Grace Lloyd wanted a serious challenge.
“It's been her dream for 10 years,” says Lloyd of her mother.“She did it to feel more alive and prove to herself she was still capable of such a feat.”
Lloyd, who works out four or five times a week and played field hockey and lacrosse during her earlier Haverford years, stepped up her exercise routine to prepare for the climb. She lifted more weights and tried to run uphill as much as she could:“They say to train at high altitude, but that's not exactly possible around here.” She and her family were instructed to bring clothes suitable for temperatures both above 90 and below 20 (“I wore six layers at night”), as well as head lamps for seeing in the dark.
Lloyd found the climb to be easier than she had anticipated. Her biggest challenge proved to be altitude sickness, which struck her on the second day of the trip during a particularly brisk hike.“I felt lightheaded, tired, and lost my appetite,” she recalls.“All I wanted to do was sleep.” After a day of rest and plenty of fluids she recovered—only to see her mother become the next afflicted.
The most arduous hike was the last leg of the climb; it began at midnight and went straight up the mountain until dawn. As exhausted as Lloyd was, reaching the top made it all worthwhile.“The feeling is extraordinary,” she says.“The views of the mountain and glacier are unbelievable. I've never seen anything more beautiful in my life.”
Lloyd felt that the trip strengthened her already deep connection with her mother as well.“I stuck with her the whole time,” she says.“I had to push her along at the end because she was struggling and thought she wouldn't make it to the top.” When they reached the top, Lloyd says,“we cried together from joy, and because of the beauty of it all.”
A Growth and Structure of Cities major with an environmental studies minor, Lloyd was dismayed by the effects worldwide tourism has had on Kilimanjaro itself.“There was some garbage along the mountain,” she reports,“and there were hundreds of people climbing with us.
“But still,” she says,“it was an amazing experience.”
