Day 8--the way home

We had a fantastic time heading down the newly regraded Mweka route today. The route was little more than a slipperly root-covered mudslide before improvements were undertaken in 2003.

The new Park building at the Mweka camp, Kilimanjaro in the background


Hiking through the rainforest

It's about a 2-1/2 hour descent, if your knees and quadriceps allow for it, to the gate at Mweka town. Our van was waiting for us and we hit the road after signing out and getting our summit certificates proudly showing that we had reached 19,341 feet.

We were back at the hotel around noon for a shower and a brief bit of relaxing before we headed for town and a beer with the crew...which turned into quite a few beers and a good number of laughs. It's great when you have a good group that gels together on the climb, and E expressed her sincere appreciation for all the help the crew gave her in her accomplishment.

Day 7-to the summit

The night started clear and not too cold--we had to stop almost right away to take off some layers!

The climb from Barafu is long and slow. It's not so much the physical distance, which is moderate by some mountain standards, but the lack of oxygen. As one climbs higher and higher, the pace slows more and more. E found that she could proceed effectively by taking two breaths for each step.

After leaving around 1 AM, we reached Stella Point on the summit crest just after sunrise. From there it took us another hour and some to reach the true summit, Uhuru Peak.


Sunrise behind Mawenzi


The last few hundred feet before Stella Point


It looks close, but the summit (the highest point in the distance) is an hour away...


Finally there

All grins on the roof of Africa


Congratulations to E and many thanks to Goodluck and the other three assistant guides/porters who accompanied us to the summit (for their first time to the top!)

The way down is much easier--you don't need nearly as much oxygen to descend--but also very hard on your legs. We stopped at Barafu for a quick lunch, then kept going down until we reached Mweka camp at 3,100 meters. For those of you who are counting, that's around 9,000 feet of descent! E was glad to see the camp when we finally arrived.

Day 6

It was another very short day today as we moved camp to Barafu, which is Kiswahili for 'ice' and should give an idea of the temperature. It took about 2-1/2 hours to make the trek, but there was little free time as we hurried off to bed--tonight is our summit night and we'll be getting up at midnight to climb!

It clouded up and hailed on us a bit today but by evening everything was clear.

Day 5

We started our day with "breakfast," which is what the wagumu (literally, 'strong men'--porters) like to call the Barranco Wall. Many trekkers make a huge deal about how hard/steep/scary the Barranco Wall is, but it's really just a steep trail with a few sections of easy (class 3-) rock scrambling with very low consequences (the porters mostly climb up it with one hand on their loads). E climbed up like a mountain goat and we were on our way across to the Karanga Valley.

The mountain was in clouds, so we missed the scenery of the southern glaciers, but it was a pretty day nonetheless.

Karanga Camp is a bit desolate, as the camp is located above the valley itself; however, the mountain was out for dinner and it was a beautiful sight.

Day 4

Today we left the Moir Hut campsite (the hut is in total disrepair; no-one sleeps there) for Barranco camp, via the Lava Tower.

E poses in front of the Lava Tower.

This was a great acclimatization day, as the Lava Tower is at 4,600 meters (about 15,000 feet) and we descend to just under 4,000 meters to sleep at Barranco camp.

Day 3

The route travels upward from the Shira 2 camp, which is perched at the edge of the Shira Plateau. We climbed up for a couple of hours to the Moir Hut at an elevation of 4,200 meters (13,900 feet), where we can start feeling the lack of air a bit.

We spent the afternoon taking photos of the entire group, which I'll print out for them on our return. The men are happy to sit for portraits, though very serious about having their photos taken.

E shares a moment with the crew

Goodluck, our lead Tanzanian guide

A little time for R and R

Moir Hut camp with the Lent Group and Kilimanjaro in the background

While E took a nap, Goodluck and I explored the nearby Lent Group, a series of volcanic towers. We got up to about 4,500 meters or so and stood on top of some interesting cliffs before heading back to camp for dinner.

Day 2

Today we had a short hike from Shira 1 camp to Shira 2 camp. E wants the best chance to acclimatize so we are doing an eight-day itinerary, which means that we have relatively short hiking days and lots of time in camp.


Shira 1 camp at sunrise

Hiking across the Shira plateau

To make our trip a little longer, we took a side trip to Fischer Camp, established by the late Scott Fischer, who died on Everest in the infamous "Into Thin Air" storm. There are a couple memorials to Scott placed on rocks near the camp.

The view from Shira 2, of Shira Cathedral (Goodluck and I scrambled up it this afternoon).

Day 1 - Shira route

Today we started our climb. We met our African guide, Goodluck, and many of the climb staff at our hotel. We then drove to Londorossi Gate, which is one of the more remote starting points for a Kilimanjaro climb.

We registered at Londorossi, then drove a short distance up the 4X4 track to start our climb. The first part of the hike goes along the rough road through alpine moorland.

Porters sort their loads by weight.

When we reach Moram Barrier Gate, we start traversing the Shira Plateau to Shira 1 camp. The Shira Plateau is quite beautiful.

Today hasn't been too much of a hike, perhaps three hours.

E is excited to be on the mountain and is looking forward to the adventure!

In Arusha

I'm in Arusha, Tanzania--and wow is it easier to travel in Africa than India! My luggage beat me through the airport and within half an hour I had hired a cab to catch the last shuttle (it had left already) at a gas station, where I was on my merry way to Tanzania.

It's strange being back in Arusha, as I have many memories of this town from the last seven years. The town has grown enormously in the last few years, bringing bad traffic (which would have seemed unbelievable a few years ago) but it is also much cleaner.

We start up the mountain tomorrow morning--the skies were cloudy this moring but now we are back to brilliant blue African skies.