By Mark Ambrogi
Ann Craig-Cinnamon and her husband John Cinnamon call themselves travel junkies.
They’ve run with the bulls in Spain, spent Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
“There is no education in the world like travel,” Ann said.
So now the couple has set its sights on climbing Kilimanjaro.
“It’s not a technical climb. It’s just a really hard hike,” Ann said. “The altitude is the issue.”
The couple will leave for the climb on June 12. Ann, 59, an ex-editor for Current in Fishers, and John, 54, were Indianapolis radio personalities for 30 years. They own a CruiseOne travel franchise.
“Last summer we hiked Petra, which is 17 miles in one day, with lots of climbing,” Ann said of an ancient city in Jordan. “It just about killed me. We’re going to hike five or six hours a day.”
On the final day of the climb, they will have to get up at midnight and climb five to seven hours to get to the summit to be there for sunrise.
“You only stay for 15 to 20 minutes because the altitude hits you hard there,” Ann said. “Then you go back down almost all the way down in one day. It’s really long day.”
John said it’s not like anything either of them have ever done.
“We’ve done warm weather trips and cold weather trips, but this trek up Kilimanjaro may be the first time we’ve gone from shorts to winter coats in the space of five days,” John said. “And all on foot. We’ve read that the hike will cover four different climate zones, from equatorial rain forest to glaciers and sub-freezing temperatures at 19,000 feet and everything in between.”
They will each have two porters to carry their camping gear and clothes. A cook and a guide also will join them. Ann said they made the decision to do this while they are still fit to do so.
“We’ve walked every day for 15 years,” she said. “We lift weights and do have a workout regimen we follow but we’ve added to it for this climb. This is getting us in better shape than we were in. Not everyone makes the summit so I’m keeping our fingers crossed we make it.”
Ann said a doctor gave them medications to help combat altitude issues.
“We’re as prepared as we possibly can be,” Ann said. “Of all our travels, this has been the most intense because of preparation because we had to buy gear we didn’t have the need for before.”
Ten years ago, Ann and John went to Kenya and raised money for clothing and medical supplies for an orphanage in Nairobi. Ann and John, who will be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary during the trip on June 24, are raising money with the climb for the Community Health Network Foundation. Indy Eleven is another sponsor. They are calling the fundraiser Climbing to Kick Cancer. A pledge can be made for every thousand feet they climb, which goes to the oncology patient assistance program.
To donate, visit firstgiving.com/387966/climbing-to-kick-cancer.
