Kilimanjaro

KILIMANJARO

November 2011

The Tallest Peak in Africa

On the first night, I managed to catch the peak in a time exposure under the moonlight. The afternoon had been cold and very rainy. As you can see, near the peak, it had cleared up.
Unfortunately, what had cleared the clouds was a very strong wind. And taking this picture was an experience in enduring cold.

The next morning dawned bright and clear, promising a beautiful day. This was deceptive. Notice the layer of clouds in the valley between the camp and Maru Peak, the other volcano in the distance.
As the day warmed, the clouds rose, and drenched us in rain.

Every morning and evening, a bowl of warm water was set out for washing.
Then the food was set out. The food was good.Generally plain and simple, but hearty. By the fourth day, it was actually hard to eat more because of the effects of altitude.

It was unusual to see a the mountain, since there were often clouds. I did not see the iconic picture of Kilimanjaro rising above the flat plains until after I had taken off in the airplane from Nairobi
and, half an hour later, flew over the area. Even then, I only saw a part of the famious shot.

As we hiked the last night, I was moving slower and slower. I knew I would make it, but I knew it would be a struggle. Kilimanjaro is a volcano. It is very steep on the last night, as one struggles in
the cold (about 5 or 10 degrees, Farenheit) and dark (one starts at midnight to reach the summit and greet the sun). It is uphill for about four thousand feet to past the 19000 foot level. Then, it flattens out as you walk along the rim of the crater. In other words, if you can make it to near the top (Stella Point), it gets somewhat easier. For three hours, my Guide, Steve, was encouraging me to keep on, and offering to take my camera bag. Finally, we got to Stella Point, and broke for tea. And I let Steve take the bag. We continued on. But it was not as easy as I had been told. ("Just get to Stella Point and it all flattens out.") We were walking silently through the fog, occasionally seeing other hikers. Usually they were passing me, and occasionally, coming back down. Finally, I looked up at a group of people standing around a sign. It was the sign I had seen in pictures of people reaching the top, but I did not know why it was here. Then, I realized, I had actually made it to the sign that marked the top. I had done something I had promised myself I would do forty years ago, before getting married, having kids, working a lifetime, and finally----I was there.

As I flaked out at the sign, Steve had taken my camera to take pictures of me at the sign. And then he took a few others, including the sun trying to break through the fog and clouds at the top.

We were surrounded by a fog, but on the way down, just five minutes from the top, it suddenly cleared. I grabbed this picture of a magnificent glacier. It just glowed under the bright sun. I shot a few exposures, and reached into the camera bag to change lenses. In the thirty seconds that took, the clouds returned. But the view was stunning while it lasted.

The crew of porters and my Guide Steve took excellent care of me. This is us on the last evening. Afterward, Steve told me that they had, as usual, discussed on the first night whether I would make it. They had decided I would not. They were wrong. But happy about it.

Judy was very proud of my having achieved a goal that I had set before I married her. On hearing I made it, she rushed out to the t-shirt shop and put them to work. Here we are at afternoon tea at the Victoria Falls Hotel a few weeks later.