Day 42 2/25/99: Uhuru Peak (19,340')

We woke up early at 4:00a.m. I slept okay, all things considered since we were at 18,500' and it was darn cold. I kept all my clothes on, except the Gore-Tex jacket, and tried to stay warm in the sleeping bag. The sleeping bags that Wilderness Travel rented to us were supposedly rated to -10'F--I was not convinced at all. Fortunately by wiggling my toes and my fingers, I checked that I can feel them still attached to my body. Theresa slept poorly as she was awaken by all the commotion in camp and especially by the porters and cook early in the morning--probably 3a.m. Anyway we were glad that it was 4:00 a.m. After getting prepared and having a quick breakfast, we started our ascent at 6:00a.m. exactly.

At 6:24 a.m. we were still hiking in semi-darkness.

At 6:31 a.m. the sky started to brighten with the rising sun. Can you see our camp? Look for the green dining tent toward the center-left. Furtwangler Glacier is in the background. This was a relatively dry year so there were no snow other than the glacier. It would have been fun but cold to camp on snow. At this point our water bottles were mostly frozen. For the past several days we have been drinking iodine rather than filtered water.  Since we added Gatorade powder, we were not bothered by the iodine taste.

At 6:48 a.m. we were making good progress of ascending the final 800' to the summit. After the Western Breach Wall yesterday, this was a piece of cake. Or was it? I was having a great time. I was excited that I was about to get to the top of Africa. On the other hand, Theresa was having an extremely difficult time. At the time she did not say anything. She just hiked and hiked. Long after the trip she admitted that she was having a terrible time as her toes and fingers were numb from cold. It was so cold that she had tears in her eyes. I did not even know. She was a trooper, though.

At 6:51 a.m. the sun had risen. You can just barely see the camp.

At 7:09 a.m. I could see both the Furtwangler Glacier at the right-front and the Northern Icefield at the right-back.

At the same time I could also see our trestle old friend, Mt. Meru.

  At 7:15 a.m. we had climbed the steepest part; the worst was over! Uhuru peak was now just beyond toward the left after a short and relatively flat walk.

  [REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] We were getting close to the top! I brought along a REI disposable panoramic camera both as a backup to my digital camera as well as an easy way to take panoramic shots. I highly recommended it. However, I was disappointed by its resolution. For my next trip I hope to buy a higher quality panoramic camera. Well, what did I expect out of a disposable camera, anyway?

Close up of the dramatic Snow of Kilimanjaro that had been sculpted by the sun and wind. Mt. Meru is on the right.

  [REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] We had a great view of the Southern Icefield.

[REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] Looking west one was greeted by Mt. Meru. It was a pity that there was low cloud cover, so we could not see the cities and towns below. I was disappointed that I could not see any elephant. :-)

At 7:33 a.m. February 25, 1999, Theresa and I have officially reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro! Yes, we made it!

Prior to the trip I was not presumptuous about being able to make it all the way to the top when I made this sign to celebrate this occasion. Thus, instead of "I reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro,"  I opted for "I Survived Mt. Kilimanjaro."

Reflecting right now, I think I have jinxed ourselves by showing this sign on the top of the mountain. I must have angered the gods or the spirits of the Mountain. You just have to read the rest of the story to see why we really should have celebrated having survived the Mountain AFTER we were off the mountain rather than still on top of it. The trip down turned out to be much harder that we ever thought it was possible. I promise you, before we get back to the Mweka gate you will see blood and experience pain!

For now we reveled in our achievement, as Wilderness Travel's brochure promised.

What was the most surprising thing on the top of the mountain? Was it the view? Was it the glacier? Was it the cold? The thing that surprised Theresa and I the most was the horde of people on top of the mountain! Where did they come from?

[REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] Look at all these other people who have made it to the top by taking the Marangu, Mweka, or the Western Breach (without camping at the Inner Crater camp though) routes. They started their hiking early in the mornings (like 1-2 a.m.), and the ones who were fortunate and were very fit had made it to Uhuru Peak early in the morning. The not so fortunate ones (perhaps 50% to 60%) would not make it at all or only go as far as Gillman's Point. The fortunate but not so fit hikers would slowly make their way up to the summit for the rest of the morning.

[REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] After hiking with just our small group and with the porters, we were not used to all the other people. There were a lot of people all speaking different languages. So the most challenging part of the last part of the Kili summit experience was not the cold, not the last few steps, but it was standing in line to get our picture taken while holding the following pathetic sign! At least I was happy to help a few lone hikers take pictures of themselves. At one point I even discovered that one camera had ran out of film without its owner's knowledge--can you imagine going home after this big hike, developing the pictures, and then finding no pictures to prove that you were at the summit! That guy can thank me for saving him another trip up Kili :-)

[Photo by Liza] I was more fortunate. Lois took a picture of Theresa and I. I also thank Liza for snapping this picture with my digital camera. A trip to Uhuru Peak would have not have been complete without taking a picture with this dilapidated sign:

On the Internet you will find many pictures of this pathetic sign. However, each and every one who has ever held or touched this sign was darn happy and proud to do so. This sign is the Holy Grail on top of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Look at the big smile on Liza's face and you know what I mean about happy and proud hikers who have reached the top.

[Doyle's camera] From left to right were Bruce, Alice, Greg, Ede, Brad, Lesley, and Doyle celebrating their summit experience. Except for Greg (New York/England), they were all from Houston, Texas.

[Doyle's camera] They even had a cool banner to celebrate the occasion.

On  top of Kili I even took a picture of an Intel key chain that has a Pentium II processor on it. This is the original Pentium II (233/266/300Mhz) that is known as Klamath. So instead of "Intel Inside," we have "Intel On Top!" (Maybe when I return to work after my sabbatical I'll be working in marketing instead of design engineering. I wonder also if there is an opening in the Intel Travel department; I'll run the African operation. :-)

 [REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] At 8:00 a.m. we reluctantly left the peak and headed down because Alex (the person on the right) was very anxious to get us down the mountain--only later on we understand why. We certainly were in no hurry. Remember, we spent thousands of dollars, hiked for seven days, endured altitude sickness to varying degrees, camped in cold and tents with zippers that did not always work, so we certainly wanted to enjoy the mountain for more than thirty minutes! Alas, that was not to be. Alex insisted, so we headed down. We thought the challenge was over, and we just needed to coast down easily to our hot shower after two days of walking down the mountain. Well, Theresa and I were about to experience the two toughest days of hiking in our life. To follow us, I suggest that you hold on to everything and tighten your boot laces, because the going is going to get tough. Really tough!

[REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] Before we headed down I quickly took out my REI disposable panoramic camera one more time and snapped my last two pictures on top of Africa. Here was the Southern Icefield.

[REI Disposable Panoramic Camera] It was only appropriate that I said farewell to my good old friend Mt. Meru from the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro. I'm going to miss these two mountains...

Starting at 8:00 a.m., everything went downhill--in more ways than you can imagine ... :-) Like I said, I had promised you blood, sweat, and tears...

Click here for the rest ot today's adventure and find out how much blood was shed and by whom