Day SEVEN: Uhuru Peak

                Finally, 45 minutes after Stella Point we reached the highest point in Africa! This trail from Stella Point to Uhuru Peak was technically very simple. However the faces making the way to this final point (including mine!) looked miserable. I for one was dealing with a pounding headache and nausea from altitude sickness, kept at bay until halfway up the summit climb. Others in my group were dealing with nausea, stomach issues, and even a sinus infection so the altitude was hitting us all (except for one!) like a ton of bricks. Other climbers I passed on the way down looked as miserable as I felt too. One poor woman could not stand up straight and was swaying side to side as her poor guide was leading her along the path.

                As I was walking up to the peak, feeling that all my strength had been used up about 2 hours ago and wondering how in the world I would even have the power to descend to base camp, I noticed that the hikers coming back from Uhuru seemed to have a little spring in their step. They were smiling, and telling me I was almost there. I couldn't imagine where this energy was coming from.

                But, you know what? Getting to this sign, knowing you have made it this far, your ultimate goal being reached after all that time, preparation, money, focus, and HELP (from our guides, cooks, and porters!), it really did put a smile on my face as I walked back down to Stella Point. :) (It did not, however, put a spring in my step as I sprained my ankle on the way here so no springing for me for a while!)

Made it to the top!!

Two of our awesome guides, I would not have made it if it weren't for these guys!

Glaciers and clouds at Uhuru Peak

Looking out to the crater and ridge

Mt. Meru from Uhuru Peak

The descent – looks harmless but was full of sandy gravel, I felt like I was skiing most of the way as every step brought a few inches of sliding through the sand. 

A welcome sight – Barafu Camp! We ate lunch here, rested for an hour and proceeded 4 more hours to Mweka Camp (5,400 ft. = so much oxygen!)

                 By the time we got to Mweka my knees and ankles were killing me but… my headache was almost gone and I could keep down food again. And the accomplishment of having made it to the TOP was still fresh in everyone’s minds.

Day SEVEN: The Summit

We were awakened at 11pm to prepare for our midnight summit hike. We had a small meal and hot tea (our fourth hot meal of the day). It was hard to choke down more food, but we knew we would need it on this long day of hiking. We went back to our tents to pack, and as per usual… we were a half hour late in getting started. The result was that many teams left before us, and the trail up to the summit lit up with head lamps in the night, almost like luminarios lighting the way to the top. It was beautiful, informative, and daunting to see our path lit up before us. Especially as I looked up at 4:30am, four hours into the climb, and saw lights slowly moving up the trail so far away and realizing I was not almost there.

During the night, you could not see where you were going except for the small spot of light illuminated by our headlights, directly in front of us. Therefore, it was uncertain whether if we were to slip and fall, we would fall into some sand, a small drop off, or perhaps a steep gravelly hill taking us down a dangerous path and serious injury. So, instead of thinking about that too much, we trudged forward, focusing on the next step, the next scramble, and the next glimpse of the marching headlights above, showing us where we were to go.

Perhaps 2 hours in we came to an exposed area of the route. I am assuming this because as I said, we could not see a change in our geography but we could tell that something changed. It got windy… really windy. And the wind did not stop. For the remainder of our hike, a relentless, strong wind barreled through our bodies, faces, and minds. Many times as we trudged I had to wait for the person in front of me to proceed, and almost got toppled over by the strong gusts of wind. During breaks I had to huddle behind rocks to avoid facing the gusts head on.

At 5:37am (yep, it was a long five hours and I remember the exact time!) the sun began to peak over the African horizon. With the light, a spectacular sunrise appeared and colored the sky and clouds below us in brilliant colors. This is when I found out that my camera had ceased to work in the cold so I don’t have any evidence of this beautiful morning. However, because of that I put my camera in an inner pocket and it was warm enough to work at the top by the time we got there (yay!).

            Also with the entrance of the light, we began to see where we were going. The floating lights crisscrossing the horizon became rooted in the ground, and the other climbers’ destination became clear, as did their end point. About 1 hour later, we even saw a glimpse of a bright green sign. We knew our first destination was Stella Point. At 5,756 AMSL, it was about 45 minutes from the very summit we were aiming for, Uhuru Peak. Around 6:30am, we reached Stella Point and a large green and yellow sign congratulating us on our accomplishment. I took few pictures, concerned my camera would not make it another 45 minutes but was able to capture some views from our first encounter of the crater rim.

The progressing sunrise captured with my warmer camera from Stella Point.

Looking into the crater from Stella Point

Stella Point – glaciers and clouds

Day SIX: Karanga to Barafu

          In the morning, we had a beautiful view of Mt. Meru, a nearby mountain and more technical climb than Mt. Kilimajaro. 

But, this is the one I had to climb!

Hiking up to Barafu Camp, we were already above the clouds.

          Reaching one of the ridges close to the Barafu campsite we stopped and looked over where we had been. No these photos have not been altered to just black and white… this is just how desolate and empty this part of the trek appeared.

Made it to Barafu!

At the campsite there was another beautiful mountain in our sights, Mawenzi, the second dormant crater we’ve seen on our journey to the top. Our final destination is on the third volcano cone, Kibo. 

Close-up of Mawenzi 

The view from my tent at the Barafu campsite.

Day FIVE: The Barranco Wall

                Today we tackled the 1.5 hour ascent of the “Barranco Wall.” We knew this would be a challenge but it became all the more real when we saw the early morning climbers make their ascent before us, and highlight the steep climb up to the ridge.

An early morning shot of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the Barranco Wall, to the right.

Close up off the infamous Barranco Wall.

Our guide, Damian, and in the background you can see the climbers and porters making their way up the wall.

          Most of our hike was full of different alpine plant live. But we reached a small section of the path that looked like a desolate wasteland. You can’t tell here but it was also a fairly steep slant. So much so that when we started walking across the path, it appeared that we were leaning over as we walked.

Another photographer captured the “lean”… :) (Photo Credit)

Found the Karanga camp!

Day FOUR: Shira 2 to Barranco Camp

                Today we hiked up to the Lava Tower. At the base we had lunch at 15,000 ft. and were supposed to continue on from there to Barranco Camp. During lunch though, we asked… is that it? All this talk of the tower and we don’t even get to climb to the top? It turns out the top was another 300 ft. so three of us set off to the top while the other three went to base camp.

View from Shira 2 Camp – Mt. Meru in the background

Trekking across the lava field – The porter in the foreground was a normal site. These men took our tents, food, and luggage from site to site, often on their head! They packed up after we had left and arrived and set up before we got there. The true masters of this trail...

Many of my photos show breathtaking views of the landscapes below us and afar. Most of the time however, we were covered in a dense fog that surrounded us and made visibility quite low.

          Our journey up to the Lava Tower was a little more intensive that we had expected. A little rock climbing prowess was needed! And yes, though I have been rock climbing before, no rope and the possible fall made be entirely dependent on the sage advice of our experienced guides!

Climbing up the tower

But we made it to the top! Standing with our guides Damian and Evans.

As we shimmied down a steep passage, Damian took action shots of our descent… 

Dendrosenecio Kilimanjari: A very distinctive plant which is commonly seen between Lava Tower and Barranco Camp. It can grow up to 5m in height. (Ref: Climb Kili Information Guide)

Standing next to the Dendrosenecio Kilimanjari for some perspective, these things were pretty big!

The campground is finally in sight! Looks like it is super close. Unfortunately for us there was a large gorge between us and our afternoon of rest. About an hour and a half of steep descent and climbing still remained.

Made it! Barranco Camp: 12,950 ft.

Not a great photographic capture but this was truly a beautiful moment. The moonlight reflected in the glacial ice of Mt. Kilimanjaro and the tent lights glowing down below.

Day THREE: Setting Sun

Two pictures I loved of the waning sun on day three at Shira 2 Camp.

Day THREE: Flowers of Kilimanjaro

We also utilized our time to take some pictures of the flora in the Heath and Moorland Zones.

Carduus Keniensis: A “giant rosette thistle” that was abundant on much of our climb. It is native to African alpine regions on Mt. Kenya, Mt. Elgon, Kilimanjaro, and the Aberdares. 

Lobelia Deckenii: A giant lobelia plant that lives in the Alpine regions in East Africa. It begins as a small round plant, pictured here, but can grow to 3m high.

Each rosette produced can take decades to flower after which it dies. Each plant can have between 1 and 18 rosettes.

I thought this small alpine plant was quite striking – alas, as of now its name remains a mystery to me! Searching for small, white flowering plant oddly is not specific enough to identify this gem.

Day THREE: Optional Hike to the Caves

                We arrived to Shira 2 Camp and had the option a couple of hours later to see some caves. Having seen the numerous signs prohibiting sleeping in caves, two of us out of the group felt an obvious need to photograph ourselves sleeping in caves. :)

                This hike was a nice leisurely one which ventured over to another campsite along the route and enabled us to take lots of fun photos of the plant live without slowing down the rest of the group on our main hikes. It also led to us getting better mattress pads to sleep on so all in all a VERY productive trip! 

Photo Credit: ArcherVision

  

First, we must establish that since the beginning of our trek, we have been warned extensively through ubiquitous signage that we are not allowed to sleep in the caves. We never saw a cave on our hike, except for at a great distance. So upon learning there were some to visit, we jumped at the chance.

And took a nap! :-P

Day THREE: Shira's Cathedra and Shira's Plateau

                Today we were supposed to go to Moir camp. This would have taken us to the Shira plateau and sleep at Moir camp, at the edge of a dormant lava flow of Shira, one of the three dormant volcanos (Kibo, Mawenzi, Shira).  However, the night before we changed our plans. We went instead to “Shira’s Cathedral” one of the summits of the Shira crater (12,800 ft.) at the edge of the Shira plateau.  This used to be Shira’s crater until it collapsed and was filled in by lava flow from Kibo. It was an added acclimatization hike for us and gave us some practice at the steep scrambling that we would need later for the Barranco Wall and for the summit itself.

The view from my tent in the morning, hard to believe I was going to the top!

A favorite landscape picture on Shira's plateau.

Kilimanjaro -- making us all feel so small! 

Favorite landscape picture #2 - Shira's Plateau.

Adding a rock to Shira's Cathedral.

This is "grandfather moss" which was on most of the trees and gave a bright shock of orange color to a sometimes desolate landscape.

Favorite landscape picture #3! - Looking out to Shira's Plateau from Shira Cathedral climb.