CRANBERRY TWP— Mount Kilimanjaro had been on Andy McIntyre's mind for three years.

The Cranberry Township man just had to climb the mountain nicknamed the roof of Africa. Why?

Because it was there.

"Ihad heard about the trip three years ago from a friend of mine whose son had done it,"McIntyre said. "He was explaining the whole trek to me. ... I told my wife I had to do this."

The highest peak of Mount Kilimanjaro, known as Kibo, is 19,340 feet. It takes five days of intense hiking to get there.

"I keep active, but I've never done any climbing or hiking before,"he said. "The thought of scaling the highest peak on the continent of Africa — I was intrigued by the challenge, mentally and physically."

McIntyre, 59, asked Jackson Township resident Tom Murray, a friend and longtime triathlete, if he wanted to join him.

Murray and his wife, Christine, opted in. So did Cranberry resident Bob Ball, a golfing buddy of McIntyre's.

The climb was planned through a travel agent a year in advance. Murray contracted an illness during the interim, was unable to get the required inoculations and couldn't make the trip.

But that didn't stop his wife.

"I was excited about it and we had already committed to Andy,"Christine Murray said. "I didn't want to back out."

A distance runner herself, Murray has competed in 43 marathons, including the Boston Marathon seven times during a 20-year stretch.

Like McIntyre, Ball has led an active lifestyle, "but I've never done anything this taxing on the body," he said.

Ball said he had done other hikes, including a 12-hour hike at Olympia National Park in Washington State.

"But that was a climb of 3,700 feet," he said. "Now we're talking 19,400 feet."

During the months leading up to the trip, McIntyre began swimming at the Cranberry YMCA two or three times a week. He also hiked four to six hours each Sunday with 30 pounds on his back.

Each weekend, he walked up and down the steps of the University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning, covering 36 stories.

"I reached the point where I could go up and down eight times. It took about 2Z\x hours,"McIntyre said.

On Jan. 30, the trio flew from Detroit to Amsterdam. They landed at Kilimanjaro International Airport in Tanzania the next day and began scaling the mountain Feb. 1.

Four others from the United States, two men from Orlando, Fla., one each from Allentown, Pa., and Potomac, Md., were part of the scheduled climb and nearly 40 porters carried supplies.

The climbers were told to drink three or four liters of water each day. Food, tents, cots, sleeping bags and clothing were also brought along.

"We added another layer of clothing or two each day,"Ball said.

The temperature was 93 degrees at the base of the mountain. At the summit, the temperature was in the teens.

"It was like walking through the four seasons in five days,"McIntyre said.

The climbers walked five to seven hours each day, including an hour or two past their overnight campsite, then coming back down to sleep.

"That helped us to deal with the altitude,"Murray said. "We kept hearing about altitude sickness and how it would get to us, but we were fine. Hiking higher and coming back down each day definitely helped."

Climbing the Machame Route, one of numerous routes available, helped combat the altitude change as well. The Machame Route takes a day longer to complete than some of the others.

"It gave us more time to acclimate to the altitude,"McIntyre said.

The route also enabled them to reach the summit without having to use ropes to get past any steep obstacles.

"I've done marathons, but I'm not a rock climber,"Murray said. "There were places along that journey where I wouldn't have minded having a rope tied to me."

During one stretch, the climbers hiked 16 hours on only three hours' rest.

Only one of the seven climbers, a 72-year-old man, had to turn back because of the altitude. He was three hours short of reaching the summit.

The other six reached the top.

"I got choked up when we made it,"McIntyre admitted. "It was such an exhilarating feeling. And we made it together.

"The six of us grew so close during those five days. We became a family."

About 100,000 people attempt to climb Mount Kilimanjaro each year. An estimated 65 percent reach the summit.

"Seven people starting out as strangers and becoming best friends,"Murray said. "That's what I'll remember the most. We grew so close. We'll be forever linked to each other."

It took 5Z\x days to climb up the mountain. It took 1Z\x days to climb down.

For McIntyre, Murray and Ball, it was a one-time event.

"It was a unique experience,"Murray said. "I'll do a distance bike ride, go on another hike, but I think I've climbed my last mountain."

"I'm glad we did it — but I'm sticking with golf," Ball said.