In the first half of October ’24, six of us friends took a giant leap of faith by attempting to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. What follows is a day by day account of our trek, which for many of us was the climb of a lifetime.

Asante Sana to guides Michael, Vincent, and Pascal. To the cooks, servers and the innumerable porters, who’s names we never even got to know. Without every single one of you, we could never have done it.

In memory of my Sister. A tribute to my maternal Grandfather.

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Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp

Twende Twende, Michael exclaims. We’ll pick up more than a smattering of Swahili by the end of our trek, but for now this is an important one. It’s our guide’s way of urging us to get a move on. It’s 1130 am local time and as we begin our hike, we leave the relative comforts of Machame Gate (5900 ft / 1800 m) behind. Ahead of us lies a magical canopy of ferns, lichens and clinging mosses; giant Camphorwood trees, and the occasional sighting of a Colobus Monkey. Through it all, seven grueling miles of a relentless uphill ascent. The Rainforest is the first of four distinct ecosystems we will experience over the course of our climb, and as beautiful as it is, we can hardly do it any justice; focussing instead on the drudgery of the first day’s incline, and the hours of walking that lie ahead. A break for lunch couldn’t be more welcome.

Continue reading “Pole Pole, to the summit we go” →