KILIMANJARO-2
(Last updated 7/2/03)

Day Three starts with a spectacular view of the crags of Shira, glowing in the first direct rays of the sun (left); porters silhouetted against the layer of clouds that blankets the montane forest of Kili (right), with 15,000 ft Mt. Meru, just north of Arusha (about 70 miles west), poking above the clouds

Looking back at porters from a French party that camped to the west at the Shira Cave as they scramble to beat the rising clouds (left); as we climb eastward up the slope of the Kibo massif, the moorland quickly gives way to the stark highland desert above 13,500 ft (right)

Heading further east onto the southern flanks of Kibo, with a cold, damp fog blanketing the mountain (left); descending almost straight down into one of the many north-south valleys that cut the southern flank of Kili (right)

Crossing a stream on the floor of one of the valleys (left); looking back at the trail, stretching across yet another valley, from our lunch stop on a ridge top at about 15,500 ft (right)

After several more valleys and many miles, we reach the marker for the Kibo Circuit Trail below the Lava Dome and turn south (left); after another long traverse, we arrive on the edge of the Barranco Valley, formed by a huge landslide about 100,000 years ago - the Breach Wall looms on our left as we descend past the Senecios (right)

Alex (in red), one of our guides, heads down the final pitch (left) through the tussock sedges into the Barranco to camp (at 12,800 ft) at the end of Day Three (right)

Awakening to a new blanket of snow (left) at the start of Day Four; but clear skies and a spectacular view of Kibo's Lava Dome and the Arrow Glacier (right) raise our spirits as we approach the 3000 ft high Breach Wall (also called the "Breakfast Wall" by trekkers) after a hike down and across the valley

Climbing the Wall, still covered with snow and ice in the morning shadows (left); looking down on some of our porters as they climb rapidly towards us (right)

More views of the lava dome and glacier past the edge of the Wall (left) as we climb; a lady porter climbs effortlessly by as she gracefully balances a camp box full of supplies, and more (right)

A great view of the ice-covered Kibo dome and the glacier climbing route as we approach the top of the wall (left); at last the silhouette of a porter on the skyline marks the point where the trail crests the rim ahead (right)

Back onto the highland plateau and trekking above the clouds (left); spectacular views of Kibo as we trek southeast through the lesser valleys (right)

Approaching the Karanga Valley (left) and yet another steep descent (right)

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