Kilimanjaro: Hahn and Team Reach Uhuru
Today was big in every way. We woke at 11 last night and got climbing at midnight, as planned. It was a beautiful night with a big moon and not much wind. There were plenty of other climbing teams on the move at the same time. It looked like a big Christmas parade with all the headlights. Thomas, our lead guide, did a wonderful job weaving our team through the traffic on the route.
It was progressively colder as we got higher and closer to dawn, so of course we were interested in keeping moving. We took short rest breaks to add more clothing and to take in food and water. It was still dark as we hit Stella Point on the crater rim a few minutes after 6 AM, but the sunrise was imminent. We enjoyed the victory lap along the rim over to Uhuru (the true summit) as morning broke.
The team hit Uhuru at 7:05 AM. We took pictures and gazed around in wonder from the continental high point. By 7:30 we were headed down. About three hours later, we were back in Barafu being serenaded by our staff as they sang a few traditional Kilimanjaro songs. We repacked and ate a great lunch before taking on one of the bigger challenges of the day - dropping another 5,000 vertical feet to reach Mweka Camp.
It would be a rough hike on fresh legs, which ours were not. But by 5 PM, we'd all made it. Life is considerably easier way down here at 10K.Especially with the excellent dinner our team put together. Quality sleep is next.
Best Regards, Dave
