Just before midnight I make a visit to the latrine and am treated to a crystal clear night sky with more stars than you can imagine. Despite the frigid temperatures I go back for my camera and tripod to make several long exposures with Kibo as a backdrop. Unfortuanately, the small camera I am using for this trip does not do well with this type of photography and you will have to trust me when I say that you could see millions of stars on this evening.

We stand at the entrace to the cave which bears the name of our camp site for the evening.

The idea of an acclimatization walk is that you climb with no pack several hundred meters higher than you will sleep that evening and stay there for at least 15 minutes. This helps your body adapt to the higher altitudes by adjsuting the consistency of your blood so that it can carry more oxygen.

Nico is exhausted after today’s climb and collapses in the tent for a brief nap before we begin our afternoon acclimitization walk. At this altitude we are again bathed in a cloud.

Our camp today is filled with bird song mostly attributeable to this little fellow and his many friends. Our guides called them Tennis Ball birds for reasons not entirely clear to me.

Nico saw an opportunity for an interesting photo and asked me to hold still while he captured this image of my zipper pulls. Throughout the journey I was impressed by many of the photos Nicolai took.

Everywhere we turn there are wonderful creatures and plant life. We spend a lot of time looking at the path to make sure we don’t twist an ankle making it easy to spot this little fellow.

The temperature continues to drop as we ascend and the vegetation continues to diminish in stature.

On the trail Nicolai notices unique paw print tracks. According to our guide these are from a Black Leopard which he judges to be about 6 foot in length. They hunt by night lying in wait by the side of the trail to ambush prey which make use of the well worn path. Also in this photo is another unique foot print, the circular mark made by Nico’s crutch tip, one, which I dare say, is even more rare on this mountain than the leopards.

As it turned out, most of today’s 6-hour climb was literally inside the clouds. We ascended 1000m and descended 200m making camp at Second Cave. Nicolai remains strong but it becomes apparent to us that when he runs out of energy, he must be fed before he can start moving again, just like a car that runs out of gas. Fortunately, we have plenty of supplies with us and Nico has been demonstrating an openness to all sorts of new foods.

The sun can be very strong here, just three degrees off the equator, and I insist that Nico wears good protective covering at all times.

Nico and I are up in time to enjoy the surise as it illuminates distant Mawenzi, the 5149m smaller brother to 5895m (19,341 ft) Kibo which is the main Kilimanjaro peak.

As the sun sets, the clouds clear and we get our first look at the jagged peaks of Mawenzi in the background.

Charles with Nico as we arrive at our first camp. This tent is where Nico and I will spend the next seven days when we are not climbing. It is just the right size for the two of us and the foam mats under our sleeping bags offer a small measure of comfort. Nico is able to sleep for ten hours a night exhausted by each days treking. For the first five days I am lucky to get three hours a night.

We encounter beautiful flowers at every turn. When time permits I may come back and try to identify some of these.

The trail begins in the lush forest zone. Our starting elevation is 1950m and we climb for a total of 6 hours today including an acclimitization walk to 2800m and down to camp at 2600m. It was cooler than I had expected but we were fortunate to avoid any rain which sometimes makes this part of the trail difficult to pass.

I was really hoping to encounter some Colobus monkeys having read about them in a description of the Rongai trail. Although our guides were really good at spotting wildlife for us, it was I who heard a rustling in the trees and paused long enough to identify the source. The reward was a great opportunity to photograph three monkeys. Unfortuantely, I was unable to get a good shot including their massive white tails which exceed their body size in length. These creatures are absolutely spectacular.

Here she darts away to join her two brothers.

This little girl possessed a wonderful spirit which I think translates into her photo.

As we commence the climb, we encounter several village children along the way. These are some of my favorite photos of the trip.

Our guide, Charles, takes this photo commemorating the start of our climb. It becomes immediately obvious that he is a talented photographer in addition to a skilled climber and knowledgeable naturalist and historian. We are very fortunate that he will be leading us. Although the signs indicates this is the Nalemuru Route, it is still commonly referred to as the Rongai route which was the original village from which it started before the trail head was moved several years ago.

One last hug before we hit the trail.

When we arrive at the gate, our porters are busy gathering the supplies we will need to sustain our 7 day trek. Our team includes a main guide, two assistant guides, a cook, and eleven porters. The three guides will remain with us at all times. The cook and porters will setup, tear-down, and transport our camp each day. The porters carry all of the food, water, tents, and equipment from site to site. Each day after we have started treking, they will tear down the camp, pack it up and move it to the next site. They typically leave each day an hour after we start, pass us on the trail, and have camp set up by the time we arrive. I carry my own pack and camera equipment while one of the guides will carry Nico’s pack in an effort to protect his hands which will suffer the most wear and tear on the journey.

Along the ride we pass through several small villages and get an up close look at the difficult living conditions faced by most Tanzanians. The driving, once again, provided enough of an adrenaline rush to qualify for a Six Flags feature attraction. Thankfully, we were able to locate operable seat belts.

This morning we are finally ready to begin our ascent of Kilimanjaro. Because we have elected to use the sparsely traveled Rongai route, we begin with a two and a half hour 4×4 ride around the base of the mountain to the north side gate. Nicolai’s decision to avoid the very popular “Coca Cola” and “Whiskey” routes afforded us a true wilderness experience and intimate contact with nature. At least three quarters of the week we will spend on the mountain is spent without encountering a single other climbing party.

During our return to the lodge we make use of public transit, a minivan the size of our Honda which is carrying no less than 33 passengers, many hanging out the doors. After John learns of Nico’s fundraising for wheelchairs he asks his uncle, Roman Nyaki, who is in need of one to meet with us. We will make every effort to ensure that Roman is one of the recipients. To those who donated to the cause, rest assured that the need here is enormous. Virtually everyone we met knew of someone that was in need of a wheelchair.

It is very difficult to imagine that we will both be standing on top of this behemoth in the snow before the week is out. Click the photo for a larger view and notice Nico in the foreground next to the little tree.

Here from a distance of perhaps 20 miles we are able to take in both the Kibo (left) and Mawenzi peaks (right). When I tell Nico we will be traversing the saddle between these two ancient volcanoes in a single day he looks at me as if I am out of my mind. As I stood there beside him, I questioned as much myself.

Our patience at the top of the hill is rewarded as a break in the clouds briefly reveals our destination. I was unable to capture a single photograph which does justice to the scale of this mountain. At this point, Nicolai and I looked at each other and without words questioned what the hell we were doing.

These creatures are spectacular and as I get close for a macro shot, I discover that they have very small teeth even though their diet consists mostly of small insects which they snare with their long tongues.

Our next destination is Ngangu Hill from where we hope to gain a nice view of Kilimanjaro from a distance. Along the way we find a chameleon and coax it onto a branch for some portraits.