'An amazing trip': Gurnee dad, daughter scale Mt. Kilimanjaro and back in time for Father's Day
Gurnee business owner Layne Pollard and his daughter, Jorie, scaled the 19,341-foot summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania in the past week and celebrated Layne's 60th birthday on the way down.
Their epic adventure, which began last Sunday, ended this weekend just in time for Pollard to be back home for Father's Day.
"It was an amazing trip," Pollard said in a message from his hotel room in Tanzania. "Our fellow climbers will be friends for life. The staff of 31 guides, porters, cooks and everyone else were the nicest people who did anything to make our climb successful."
It took five days to trek the mountain and a day and a half for the return. The duo reached the summit Thursday.
The journey wasn't without its hardships.
The first four acclimation hikes were hard but manageable, yet the summit night hike was brutal, Pollard said.
"We were hiking at a rate of less than 1 kilometer an hour," he said.
The trip down the mountain was made in two hikes that were "knee smashers," Pollard said.
"Overall, the week was fantastic, but I have decided there will not be another hike above 19K feet," said Pollard, who this month celebrated his 10th year as operator of Central Bark doggy day care in Gurnee.
Pollard will post photos of his trek on the Facebook page, facebook.com/CentralBarkGurnee.