Day 8: Uhuru Summit and Mweka Camp Kilimanjaro Trek

Horne Kili Trek

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We got up in the crater at 5am, had a perfunctory wash, and still in darkness joined Fredy in the mess tent for breakfast, prepared by Ray, since Ramisha had left the party at Arrow Glacier. Greg managed some porridge, and we both had tea. Greg was very thirsty but otherwise felt fine; Barney was groggy, but started to feel better as we set off for the final climb to the summit at about 6:30am.

For an hour we zigzagged up the steep slope, over loose rocks and snow and some patches of fine ash, with a little rock scrambling thrown in. The views were spectacular, but we had only one thought in mind now: getting to the top. At last, after a final rocky section we could see the goal. The signpost we had seen in photographs - and dreamed about - was just a few hundred yards in front of us, across a gentle rounded slope covered in thin snow.

One last walk to the summit marker, and we are on the "Roof of Africa" at 8am on the 24th of June. There was one party already at the summit ahead of us. We took each others' group pictures, then the other party departed and we had the summit to ourselves. Fredy explained that most of the day's parties would have summitted already, at dawn, following an ascent that had started at midnight or 1am. This did not sound like fun.

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!

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We spent 20-30 minutes at the top admiring the view and enjoying the moment. Ray pointed out the features in the crater below, including the distant smoking fumarole that shows that Kilimanjaro, while dormant, is not extinct. Then we began our descent - over rocks and snow at first, then down a long slope of ash and scree.

Here our trekking poles really came into play. Barney tried some screeing/skiing moves and soon was out ahead of Greg, who after falling a couple of times, decided to stick to walking. He drank regularly, but as would become evident the next morning, the damage had been done: he was severely dehydrated, and his daylong descent seemed very long indeed.

We met again for lunch at Barafu Hut. This is much more than just a hut: there were numerous tents in the camp and several "long-drop" toilets - "long" appears to be a relative term. Once again, we were very pleased that we took our route - Barafu is not a place we would relish staying.

As we descended - more than 9,000 feet in total - the climate zone transitions of our ascent were repeated in reverse: small plants appeared first, then heather that grew higher and denser, eventually interspersed with small trees.

On the final descent into Mweka Camp, Ray (who had to get to camp in daylight to prepare dinner) went ahead with Barney, while Fredy walked with Greg. They arrived in camp after dark, and Greg immediately drank 1 1/2 litres of water. (Only a cupful of this reappeared by morning, looking very odd indeed.) We both managed a hearty dinner, called Anna and Kathy with the good news, and retired for the night.