Legal eagles soar to top of Mount Kilimanjaro

"Then they began to climb and they were going to the East it seemed, and then it darkened and they were in a storm, the rain so thick it seemed like flying through a waterfall ... ahead, all he could see, as wide as the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro. And then he knew that there was where he was going." - Ernest Hemingway, "The Snows of Kilimanjaro"

Perhaps it was a bit late for a midlife crisis, but as his 60th birthday approached, Patrick Leston was in search of the ultimate adventure.

The DuPage County judge set his sights high - at 19,340 feet - on Africa's tallest peak.

For seven days and six nights in September, the avid world traveler and three attorneys called the fabled Mount Kilimanjaro home as they ascended above the clouds over the East African plains in a self-illuminating journey.

Kilimanjaro left them sunburned and disoriented, with blistered lips, aching knees, swollen feet, minus a few toenails and, in the end, a sense of renewal; they still could take on the world.

Real-life cowboys

The mountain, in Tanzania, is known to many as the common man's Mount Everest, as it is the highest that may be climbed without technical skills.

Still, it often leaves travelers quaking in their brand-new hiking boots with an average of at least eight hours of daily trekking, and another 18 hours on summit day, to push to the top by sunrise.

An estimated 25,000 people a year attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Less than half, depending on their route and the weather, actually make it to the top.

In fact, just last week, the "Today" show's Ann Curry stopped 3,000 feet short after battling fatigue, altitude sickness and forbidding weather. Curry and the NBC morning show's crew attempted the arduous climb to document Kilimanjaro's melting glaciers as part of its globe-trotting "Ends of the Earth" series.

For Leston, it was more of a personal journey. His 60th birthday was May 2.

"I wanted to challenge myself at age 60 to say, 'I'm not done yet,'" he said. "I wanted something that was an adventure, but that was doable."

The Glen Ellyn man researched tour groups before selecting Abercrombie & Kent, an Oak Brook luxury travel company that organizes even the most exotic of getaways.

Initially, about 30 people responded to the judge's flier last winter seeking interest.

In the end, he was joined by three brave souls - attorneys Leonard DeFranco, Jim McCluskey and Jim Raymond.

Picture Billy Crystal's "City Slickers," minus Norman, Curly and easy-to-breathe air.

They range in age from 55 to 60. None had ever climbed a mountain.

The oldest in the group, Leston, works out regularly at the gym, plays golf and scuba dives.

DeFranco, a tax attorney and business entrepreneur, often hikes and skis. Raymond, who specializes in workers' compensation law, is an avid biker.

McCluskey, the group's youngest, probably had the most physical prowess. He'd finished six marathons and two Iron Man Triathlons, the latter comprising a 2.4-mile swim, 112 miles of biking, and a 26.2-mile run.

"I'm one of those guys that if I say I'm going to do something, I have a hard time backing out," said McCluskey, a former DuPage County Bar Association president. "I talked myself into it. I thought, 'It's a once-in-a-lifetime trip.'"

Armed with a prescription drug to fight altitude sickness, the four real-life cowboys' sojourn to Africa began Sept. 3.

'Internet cafe'

Their group consisted of 10 travelers and 65 local guides and porters, who hike ahead to set up camp and cook while carrying water, food, tents and other basic necessities.

The travelers hauled their own daypacks, which weigh up to 10 pounds, and hiking poles.

The climb actually begins at 6,000 feet, at the national park gate. They trekked the Machame route, which is the most scenic but also steeper along the ascent. In certain spots, the route is so steep, hikers must zigzag the slope, which slows their progress.

The altitude sickness kicked in at about 10,000 feet. They began in summer clothing but ended up layered in thick polar fleece and parkas as they hiked through dramatically changing landscape such as dense tropical rain forest to ice cliffs, volcanic cones and snowfields.

The temperatures went from 80 degrees in the lower slopes to below zero as they continued up the iconic mountain. Their water bottles even froze solid.

The tour group brought along portable altitude chambers and oxygen bottles, but none of the men suffered bad enough nausea, fatigue or headaches requiring their use.

The group rose at dawn, about 6 a.m., and trekked all day between short breaks, then turned in exhausted at about 8 p.m., sleeping two in each 9-by-9 tent. They'd drink up to six liters of water daily.

"We'd talk about how much we missed good food," Leston said, "but we'd talk more about how much we were looking forward to a hot shower. You could only wash with a washcloth so, by Day 7, it got a little gamy."

Another unpleasant fact about life on a mountain is the lack of facilities.

Instead of stopping the entire group to announce your bathroom break, they jokingly referred to it as the "Internet cafe."

"You were more or less looking for a rock," Leston said. "But you didn't want to find the biggest rock because you'd soon find about 200 people had been there before you."

No easy feat

On the fifth day, the group pushed through to the top of the mountain just as the sun came up over the clouds. One hour later, they reached Uhuru Peak, Kilimanjaro's summit, and hung out for about 45 minutes snapping photos, looking down into the dormant volcano and taking in the majestic glaciers.

Though sharing a feeling of accomplishment and exhilaration, the trail-weary men realized they still had to go back down the mountain. It took them two more days before they were done.

"This is seven days of total mental and physical exhaustion," McCluskey said. "There isn't a level spot on that mountain. It was tougher than any of us thought."

The men made it home Sept. 13.

Leston said he doubts any of the men will return to Kilimanjaro. Still, the test of will power helped him and the others realize they have plenty of living left in them.

But, for Leston's next adventure, the judge is thinking a luxury island in the South Pacific, say Tahiti or Bora Bora.

"I don't know yet, but it's going to involve a decent shower."