Summit Day is a wrap! We started our day with a midnight wakeup and a lite 'breakfast' of cakes and cookies. Everyone was ready quickly and we hit the trail at 12:45. The moonless night gave us great stargazing as we ascended the many twists and turns of the summit route and while there was no wind it was very chilly before sunrise. As we neared the crater rim a crescent moon, Venus and Mercury all came up just before the sun. That was a spectacular sight. Everyone went on to Uhuru Peak (19,340') where we had several waves of summit photos. The descent of the summit cone was as smooth as can be and everyone was back in camp before 10 AM. Now we have reached Mweka, our last camp on Kilimanjaro. The team did great coming down in what turned out to be tough conditions. Sunny skies gave way to thunder showers as soon as we left Barafu. This turned the trail slick with mud and wet stones but everyone just buckled down and dispatched with the task of getting down. We made good time and have just finished a great lunch in camp. Tomorrow we hit the trail for the final leg of our trip. We will drop down to the national park gate, check out, and head back to the Dik Dik Hotel for the night. Everyone is looking forward to starting the next phase of our adventure... safari! RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map