Day Six

We will now continue our descent through the moorland to Mandara Hut.  This is the first stopping place on the Marangu route.  We continue our descent through the lush forest to the National Part gate at Marangu.  Those who successfully reached Uhuru Peak will receive a summit certificate.

Ms. Dewberry and Mr. Trejo are practicing their Swahili.

"Hello.  One language is not enough"

Day Five This is it!

This is it!

We will start our final and, by far, the steepest and most demanding part of the climb.  We'll be using our head laps to light our way as we begin around midnight.  At this altitude we will be going very slowly in the darkness on a switchback trail through loose volcanic scree to reach the crater rim at Gillman's Point (18,651ft.).  We will rest there for a short time to enjoy the spectacular sunrise over Mawenzi.  At this point we will access our condition and those who feel up to it will make the two hour climb Uhuru Peak (19,340ft.),  There we will pass close to the spectacular glaciers and ice cliffs that still occupy most of the summit area.

We can't spend too much time at the summit because we will need to descent to Kibo, which will be surprisingly fast, and after some refreshment we will continue the descent to reach our final campsite at Horomobo.

Day Four

This is the day we will cross the lunar desert of the "Saddle" between Mawenzi and Kibo (15,486ft.) at the bottom of the Kibo crater wall.  We will then spend the remainder of the day resting in preparation for the final ascent that will begin around midnight.

Day Three

Today we will ascend through grassy slopes up to an area with majestic views.

We will climb the steep trail towards the Mawenzi Tarn Camp (14,115ft.) through the wilderness and semi-desert habitat.  We will eventually exit the vegetation zone shortly before reaching camp in the afternoon.  If the altitude sickness hasn't affected us, we will want to explore the area around camp which will also help us to acclimate.

Day Two with Nurse West

Nurse West talks about altitude sickness:

Today we will continue ascending with superb views of the eastern ice fields.

We will leave Simba Camp in the morning with a steady ascent that's approximately 6 miles from Kikelewa Camp.  We will then arrive at the second cave around lunchtime and take in the views of Kibo and the Eastern ice fields.  After lunch, we will hike for 3-5 hours across the moorland off the main trail heading towards the peaks of Mawenzi.  When the day's hike is done, we will camp for the night in the sheltered valley of the Kikelewa Camp.

Day One of the Climb with Dr. Sanders

Today is the day we begin our climb.  Though I will continue to write daily entries in my blog, I will not be able to post them while on the mountain.  You will, however, be able to hear from some of the other BOMLA faculty because I have made short videos of them talking about Kilimanjaro and/or East Africa as it relates to their subject.  We will be starting with Dr. Sanders.  Lets see what she has to say about the various ecosystems I will be passing through on my way to the top of the mountain.

So, it's time to begin our climb up Mr. Kilimanjaro, Africa's highest peak!  The mountain is also know as Kili and is located just south of the equator.  It is made up of three volcanoes: Shira, Mawenzi, and Kibo, the tallest

I will be climbing up the less-visited northern slopes through varied ecosystems on the Rongai route.  I will follow a small path throught farmland from the village of Nalemoru (1950m, or 6397 ft).  I'll travel through pine forest mostly in the montane forest habitat, with a gentle but consistent incline.  I may even see some Colobus monkeys with their long white hair that looks like a cape.  We will then camp for the night at the edge of the moorland zone (2750m, or 9022ft). from here the forst thins considerably and there will be a great, wide view of Kenya's plains.

Day of Fun Before the Climb

We spent the day walking around the markets in Moshi and then lunch and swimming at the hot springs. 

In the evening we met the others who will be making the climb with us and backed our gear; ready to leave in the morning.