Trekking photos
Our first view of
Kili - just above the tree in the clouds
We arrive at the mountain – looks like
we are expected
A
welcoming party
A few last minute preparations
Looks as if a few other people
had
the same idea for New year's eve!
The porters preparing the gear – notice the North face gear on the left versus the
baskets and plastic buckets
The
gnarly route through the jungle to our first base camp - only got a few
shots since it started pouring rain
Leaving
from our first camp
Our
second camp - tent city - note the lone outhouse on the right
Conrad
and Dave caught in a candid moment
Alex
having a reflective moment
The
porters basking in the morning sun in front of the summit of Kilimanjaro
Panoramic
shots from camp 2
More
panoramic shots
Another
panoramic shot
As
we were hiking suddenly the clouds came in and the scenery was transformed
to a rocky moonscape
Shots
from camp 3 - some people were starting to get signs and symptoms of
altitude sickness, we are now at 13,000-14,000 feet
Camp
4 is where I started feeling the full effects of the altitude - walking to
the toilet was a tiring experience accompanied by rest breaks for shortness
of breath - it was maybe 50 feet up a gentle slope!
As
we were leaving the camp I unintentionally got a shot of a porter being carried out for altitude
sickness
We
are now heading to our last camp which is where we will sleep for a few
hours before we leave at 1130 pm for the summit
Dusten,Chris,Conrad
and Stacey (in the back with the yellow and blue jacket)
The
last camp before the summit venture
We lay down
around 3:30 pm and tossed and turned until our 11 pm wake up call. As we were packing up our gear around midnight
I had the most wonderful
moment – above me the sky was asparkle and crystal clear with the stars of the
southern hemisphere, coming up towards me was a sea of headlamps with sparklers
and banging pots with people shouting happy new year. and
ahead of me was the biggest challenge of my life.
And, oh yeah, it was the turn of the century. Everything for a moment was captured in an indelible memory.
(thanks
for the photo Josh)
The
climb was tough, switchbacks in the dark - cold and endless. The last
little bit of the trail before the rim was skree which is like walking in loose
gravel at a 45 degree angle. I think for around 200 metres it took me at
least half an hour. Once you reach the top you have to hike about a 1/4
mile along the rim to Uhuru peak. That is when I shut down. I
started freezing (thanks for the jacket Todd) and felt like I had all the energy
sapped out of me. I plodded along slowly with Josh until we reached this
marker. I didn't even have the energy to smile and I think my headlamp may
still be on. what's funny is I look as if I am alone but there were at
least 20 other people milling about waiting to take their photo at the top of
Africa - 19,340 feet.
