Man makes unexpected discovery while climbing Mount Kilimanjaro

    MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Imagine crossing an ocean and a continent, then climbing more than 19,000 feet above sea level and finding something from your hometown.

Brian King from Inver Grove Heights had that experience scaling Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro last month.

It's the fourth-tallest mountain in the world.

King watched the sunrise from the summit, which is above the clouds.

"You start looking around and taking it all in, almost feel like you're on Mars," he said. "It was emotional because you put in all this time. You've heard many things about that specific mountain and then to see the sign at the top that says, 'Congratulations, you're at the tallest point of a freestanding mountain in Africa.' It takes it out of you."

Guides helped King and three of his friends make the climb over the course of one week.

But before reaching the summit, King says he saw something that stunned him.

"It broke my brain," he said.

A Tanzanian man working on the mountain and carrying gear and supplies had a very familiar T-shirt on.

"He was wearing the Simley [High School] Spartans track and field shirt," King said.

Simley is King's alma mater in Inver Grove Heights — 8,275 miles away from Kilimanjaro.

"[He] couldn't speak a lick of English, but I was like, 'Sir, I need to see this,' and he gave me the thumbs up and [posed for a] photo," King said. "It doesn't compute. It mentally did not make sense to me."

That little piece of home was like the cherry on top of an experience King says meant more than just a cool thing to do.

"It was about setting a goal," he said. "I got sober a year ago and wanted to set something that would be a little more challenging. I've done other mountains, but nothing quite at that altitude."

King says he's not interested in climbing Mount Everest, but his next undertaking will be a half-ironman race in Hawaii.