We woke to crystal clear skies today at Machame Camp and so the team got their first views of Kibo, Kilimanjaro’s central peak. We could see the hanging glaciers and ice fields sparkling in the morning light. Way down below us, there were clouds, but they were minding their own business and didn’t seem capable of rising up to swallow us. After a fine breakfast, we hit the trail at 8 AM with Philibet leading the charge. It was a slow charge as the trail steepened and got a whole lot more rocky just out of camp. But we made good progress anyway, gaining altitude through a forest of giant heather. Directly behind us and out on the western horizon was the giant pyramid of Mt Meru, Tanzania’s third highest peak rising out of a sea of low cloud. We gained a ridge crest and traveled along it toward Kibo for a ways before banging a left turn and traversing a series of old lava ledges. Finally, at about 12,700 ft we turned a corner and walked onto the broad Shira Plateau. We finished up by dropping downhill briefly before coming into our new camp at 12,500 ft. We’d seen our first Senecios and Lobelias, some of the distinctive endemic plants of Kilimanjaro. We’d gotten the walking finished in about five hours which gave us plenty of time for a relaxing afternoon in Shira Camp. The team reviewed their Swahili vocabulary at 4:30 tea time and watched a fine sunset a few hours later out over the old volcanic towers of Shira. We filed into the big dining tent by headlight at 7:00 and were once again greatly impressed with the meal that Tosha had produced in his simple kitchen tent. It was another fabulous evening for stars and planets... and sleep as well. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map