Breaking 'Em In: My Mountain Climbing Gear Woes

Talk about a reality check: I'm climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro in a less than a month (eeek!!). Training and getting ready physically and mentally is crucial, and I'll talk about that once I get closer to the trip, but it is just as important to have the right gear.

The group we're going with sent me a Kit List, so that I can mark off each item once I've gotten it. Handy, but incredibly daunting. When I pulled the list out of the packet, I gasped and hid under the couch for about 30 seconds. Then I remembered that I'm an adult (sort of?), dusted myself off and tried to wade through it all.  Some things are listed as simply Recommended or Optional, but the majority of items are Essential. My dad has done this before, so he has a few things that I will be able to use like walking poles, sunglasses and a lot of fleece.

Kili kit list. Wouldn't you freak out, too, if you saw this? But look at all my check marks. #responsible 

The "right stuff" includes equipment like boots, fleece jackets, fleece pants, actually just a whole lot of fleece, gloves, backpack, duffle bag, sleeping bag, sleeping bag liner, wool socks, mountain socks, sock liners, gaiters, waterproof shell jacket and pants, a down jacket, insect repellant, hiking pants, floppy hat for the sun, wool hat for the cold, head lamp for summit day, mittens, tshirts not made of cotton, underwear not made of cotton, travel pillow and towel, trekking poles, sun glasses that block out the sun on both sides, hand and feet warmers... Not to mention the copious amounts of Advil I'll probably be taking on a daily basis, snacks, energy gels or bars, a camera and phone... and I could keep going.

Many stores around North Texas are uniquely suited to equip people for trips like these, and of course there's my friend, the internet. The REI store in Plano was a tremendous help, and I recently drove over to Backwoods in Fort Worth to try to find a few things that I am still missing. I'm having problems finding hiking pants and waterproof over-pants for summit day. The rest of the things I don't have I'm pretty sure I can find at Academy here in Abilene. They're things that I have never thought of in my life, like a floppy hat and hiking pants. Also, aren't hiking pants just regular pants? and why does this list say 4-5 season sleeping bag? Is there a 5th season on mountains that I'm not aware of? Let's just say that no class in college educated me about all this.

Have any tips for hiking/mountain climbing/Kilimanjaro? I'd love to hear them!