BY CHERILYN PURSEL, Online Reporter

Central Washington University recreation and tourism professor Robert Perkins kicked off the Outdoor Speaker series with his inspiring story about his journey climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in the Student Union and Recreation Center room 202 on Feb. 6.

Perkins began his presentation by welcoming the crowd in the Swahili language, and by giving a brief history on Mount Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kilimanjaro is the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, measuring 19,341 feet above sea level.

The presentation was full of photos from his climbing adventure that he embarked on with his wife in Tanzania, South Africa.

Perkins’ trip began with a lengthy safari quest, where they encountered a variety of wildlife, including elephants, lions, water buffalo, baboons, lions, cheetahs, etc.

While climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, Perkins and his wife experienced multiple climate zones, explored glaciers, and bonded with the crew that accompanied them up the mountain.

“This was a remarkable trip, and probably one of the best mountains I’ve gone up,” Perkins said, “I highly recommend [climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro] if you ever get the chance.”

Perkins and his wife had to endure extensive endurance training, and also dedicated themselves to do 50 trips up the ridge in 50 days to better prepare themselves.

Recreation and tourism major Daniel Hanfling was very inspired by Perkins’ adventure.

“First off, I have Dr. Perkins as one of my teachers and he’s an amazing professor,” Hanfling said. “I came here to find out about what he does in his off time, and hearing his story was simply amazing.”

Perkins also revealed that the trip itself was fairly inexpensive for what it amounted to. The trip up the mountain itself was a mere $1800, although this does not include airfare, the safari, and tipping the crew.

“This whole adventure was just incredible, the experience he had with this wife, all the training he had to do, everything, it was so stunning,” Hanfling said.