Mandy Moore’s Mount Kilimanjaro photo diary will inspire you to climb over your tallest obstacles

Putting something on your bucket list can feel like creating a wish list of things you’d do if you had more time, money, or if science caught up with your imagination (I, for one, would like to vacation on Mars in my lifetime). And while climbing Africa’s tallest mountain requires more physical and emotional prep work than, say, taking a restorative and dreamy poolside vacay in a totally bucket-list-worthy locale, the adventurous plan is hardly out of the realm of possibility. Entire squads of backpack-toting women are hitting the trails in droves these days, after all. And last week, healthy-travel expert Mandy Moore successfully joined the lady-hiker Hall of Fame by summiting Mount Kilimanjaro, making good on what she said via Instagram has been her top bucket list item since she was 18 years old.

The actress, whose mountain-climbing escapade doubled as a mini digital detox, recently shared the photos of her journey on Instagram. Scroll through the eye candy of her mountain adventure to get some travel inspiration for your next extreme vacation.

Keep scrolling to see Moore’s inspiring journey.

I have dreamed the dream of climbing Mt Kilimanjaro since the age of 18. Thanks to @eddiebauer, my partner in this adventure, this past week saw #1 on my bucket list come to fruition and I lived out one of the most rewarding and challenging experiences of my life with a few of my best friends. There was no reception on the mountain so I’m going to dole out some pics of our trip over the next few days. Stay tuned-it’s worth it! #liveyouradventure #ebcontributer #whyihike #sponsered

A post shared by Mandy Moore (@mandymooremm) on Mar 30, 2018 at 10:40am PDT

Meet @lynseydyer: @EddieBauer athlete, artist and philanthropist (and new friend). She helped guide us to the top of this beautiful mountain; an integral part of this climb and this team. She’s an absolute bad-ass in all things big mountain freeskiing and in life. Get to know her. I sure do feel lucky that this trip brought us in to each other’s lives. #EBContributor #LiveYourAdventure #sponsored

A post shared by Mandy Moore (@mandymooremm) on Mar 31, 2018 at 9:24am PDT

On the night of our ascent to the summit, we woke up at 11pm (after a few hours of napping) to enjoy a couple of nervous minutes together with a cup of coffee before it was time to gear up in my our warmest layers and start the nearly 8 hour trek to highest point in Africa- 19,341 ft. In total darkness, we took it pole pole (slow slow) and trudged through rain, sleet and snow, where seemingly everything on our person managed to freeze (water bottles, backpacks, our eyelashes, hair, fingers, toes, etc…) Oddly, I’ve never felt more determined to tackle such a physical challenge before and yet the combined elements of exhaustion and extremely cold weather made it much trickier than any of us were prepared for. All of that aside, ultimately reaching the threshold of the true summit was more emotional and overwhelming than I had thought possible. Kilimanjaro demands a lot from those who traverse her trails. You have no choice but to show up. And we did. There’s nothing more empowering than realizing that we are all capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. #whyihike #liveyouradventure #sponsored

A post shared by Mandy Moore (@mandymooremm) on Mar 31, 2018 at 9:40am PDT

Let Mandy Moore inspire you to embrace CBD oil…for your feet and also the encompassing powers of self-love.