Segment 3, July 8, 2023

Each year approximately 30,000 climbers take on the highest peak on the continent of Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro. This mountain that juts out of the tundra, reaching 19,341 ft. above sea level.

It’s a bucket list climb for many but an area Charlotte-man has just climbed this mountain for the 50^th time.  He’s been a contributor on the Carolina Outdoors for the past 25 years & has spoken to several groups at Jesse Browns about outfitting for Kilimanjaro.

Macon Dunnagan joins the program & shares his lure of Africa & its highest peak, Kilimanjaro.

Dunnagan’s travels began as he worked in the airline industry for thirty years.  It allowed him to travel the world & allowed him to win his first trip.  He became aware of the mountain after another Charlottean, Hugh McColl, banking executive & civic leader, summitted the mountain.

He also talks about climbing to raise money for non-profit organizations like Rotary Clubs & Ovarian Cancer Society.  However, he shares that is the people and their positive energy is what keeps him going back to Tanzania & climbing Kilimanjaro.

Macon Dunnagan took his first trip in 2000 to Kilimanjaro & describes it as like “going from the equator to the North Pole” in four days.  It is a less technical climb than the Himalayas but the altitude is definitely the challenge.  Dunnagan describes “pole, pole” as the mantra for the climb.  This means “slowly, slowly” in Swahili.

Overall summit rates on Kilimanjaro (across all routes & climbers) are estimated to fall between 45% and 65%. The Rongai route is what Macon has done the most.  This is mainly due to his higher success rate.

The changes are many in the past twenty years.  Now there are more paved roads and even bathrooms that are available to people taking on the mountain. One thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of good hiking boots.  Although light hiking boots have become better at supporting and protecting people & appropriate for the mountain.  The most important part of the lightweight hiking boots is the fit.  Bartee while interviewing Dunnagan interjects the boot fitting available at the hiking store in Charlotte, Jesse Brown’s.

The host wore Salomon shoes from Jesse Brown’s along with his Simms Goretex waders.

Congratulations to Macon Dunnagan on his fiftieth successful summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.  He’s going back February 12, 2024 for summit number fifty-one and a basecamp climb on March 24, 2024.