KILIMANJARO-4
(Last updated 7/2/03)
After a short and restless "night,"
Day Five starts with us up and on the move before 1:00 AM - here
my camera flash lights up a short but well-deserved break on the
pumice cone (left) after an arduous climb up the steep, rocky
slopes by the light of our headlamps; a few hours later, a spectacular
sunrise over Mawenzi, far below (right)
Finally looking back, after beating
a hasty retreat from the pumice cone as the altitude (at about
18,600 ft) gets the better of my digestive tract, and my climbing
legs turn to spaghetti
In the rocks, and the remaining 3000
ft descent down the spine of the ridge to camp
A half hour at camp to recover and
pack, then we're on the move and heading down again (left); the
trail stretches down the ridge to the rising cloud banks below
(right)
Passing the marker for the trail junction
(left) with the Kibo Circuit Trail - which continues east to intersect
the Marangu route at the Horombo Hut - as we head down the steep
Mweka Trail; continuing our rapid descent down the Mweka towards
the green of the forest below (right)
Into the heather at last (left), with
brightly colored red proteas and pink-blooming groundsels, lower
left, to greet us; still great views of Kibo (right), but an unpleasant
surprise - no water in the usually reliable stream, so a very
dry camp amidst the heathers at the Mweka Hut to end Day Five
At the start of Day Six, all of the
others have gone on ahead and I'm the last one on the mountain
- but still under my own power, I slowly follow apprentice guide
Richard down into the forest (left); a spectacular African violet
along the trail (right)
Richard "poses" for his portrait
(left); flowering vines cover everything (right)
A highlight of the trip, thanks to
hiking on our own - a troop of Kili's amazing Colobus, or Diana,
monkeys (see tail at center of pic) pays us a visit (left); we
reach the Mweka Gate and our waiting vehicles just after noon,
back to civilization at last (right)
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