Wow. We are a little overwhelmed by all the comments on yesterday's post. Thank you all so much.
You would think we would have slept like a rock on our final night after the marathon of hiking we had done the day before. And I think we did sleep well... until one of the nearby camps started making noise at about 3:30am.
We had wanted to get up early... but not that early! We still had an 11 km (6.8 mile) downhill hike to get to the exit gate where a van and a nice lunch would be waiting for us. But we still managed to toss and turn a bit until we finally got up around 6:00am.
We had overnighted at Millenium Camp, and got a couple of photos of the sign at that camp...
High Camp has been renamed "Millenium Camp".
They haven't changed the sign yet!
The heavy rain we had overnight would have been snow on the mountain, and it sure looks like there is some fresh snow up there.
Kevin, Ruth, Kobby, and Shalali.
Heading downhill.
It wasn't long and we were back in the rainforest.
Love the thick green vegetation.
We made it to the Mweka Gate at 12:30pm. Our trip was officially over, but we weren't done spending time with the guys!
At the congratulatory sign.
What a great bunch of guys!
Just us.
Us, with Kobby.
A van drove us around the corner to where our cook Martin had one final meal waiting for us. And an opportunity to buy a Kilimanjaro beer, which I gladly took advantage of!
Final lunch.
After lunch, we offered to take the whole group out for beers. We ended up at a local bar in the town of Moshi where we sorted through our rental gear that had to be returned and chatted with the guys.
We were sitting outside when it began to rain. And rain. And rain harder. It poured buckets. We finally got into a waiting vehicle that would bring us back to Arusha. I got a few photos of the rivers that the rain had created.
What an adventure that was!
From the Machame entrance gate, we hiked 37 kms (23 miles) up 4,068 meters (13,350 feet) to Uhuru Peak.... the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro... the Roof of Africa.
From the top, we then hiked another 20 kms (12.5 miles) down 4,244 meters (13,920 feet) down to Mweka exit gate.
A total of 57 kms (35.5 miles) in six days.
Yes, I bought the t-shirt!
And we each received an official certificate!
We have more beautiful Tanzanian scenery coming up for you soon. Stay tuned to see what we've got in store next!
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Just awesome,glad you both persevered &what an accomplishment-& you should be proud. Really appreciated the way you interacted with the Crew,really showed in their faces.All the very best.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteWe did both persevered and we got the job done and yes, we are very proud of ourselves, especially from those that we saw on the mountain we were the oldest. Our team was amazing from the guides right down to the porters, we couldn't have asked for a better bunch of guys! :-)
Congratulations on an amazing adventure. So wonderful that Ruth was able to join you at the top! "You go girl."
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! It certainly was an amazing adventure and it will be one that we will not repeat. Glad that we did it once but once was enough. :-)
Deletecongratulations! what an accomplishment! proud of you both.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteWe are so proud of ourselves too, as you said it is quite an accomplishment. :-)
Congratulations and celebrations!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! :-)
DeleteJust awesome, and of course you MUST have a shirt to proudly (and deservingly) boast where most of us will never venture!! Congrats again!
ReplyDeleteThank you Tina!
DeleteGetting the t-shirt was Kevin's second priority after having his beer first! :-)
Well, I would put a frame around those certificates and hang them in your new RV! Yippee!
ReplyDeleteLol, we probably won't keep the certificates but we did take pictures of them. We would rather frame the picture of the two of us up at the summit of Kilimanjaro instead. :-)
DeleteCongratulations, quite the feat! How much weight did you lose?
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteWe have no idea how much weight we lost between the two hikes but we know that our pants are definitely a lot baggier then they were, and that was with trying to eat as much as we could while we were up hiking on the mountains.
What a fantastic trip you took us on. Congratulations on your accomplishment.
ReplyDeleteAnd great job guys!!! Thank you ❤️
Thank you very much!
DeleteWe are glad that you enjoyed reading about our adventures up on Kilimanjaro. I hope that we are able to keep things just as interesting as we move forward on this trip through Tanzania.
What an amazing feat. Couldn’t wait to read each day. The flower photo is a protea. It is the official flower of South Africa. They also grow here in Maui. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteWe are so glad that you enjoyed reading about hike up Kilimanjaro, it is certainly a hike we will never forget.
Yes, that flower is a protea and this particular type is one that is endemic to Kilimanjaro apparently. They also attract the sunbird, which we could hear but never caught sight of.
What a great bunch of guys - friends for life - fun memories to last a life time - you just can’t beat that!!!👏💕👍
ReplyDeleteThey sure were, we were happy to have them all on our team and we could not have done this hike without their help. :-)
DeleteSo proud of you both!! What an opportunity!! What a wonderful crew that took care of you!! The food looked great!! Cannot wait to see your next adventure!! Take Care!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, we are pretty proud of ourselves as well!
DeleteWe had an amazing crew to help get us up that mountain and we won't forget them, we would never have made it with everyone of them.
The food was good and there was always way too much of it. They really get mad at you if you aren't eating enough and as much as we tried we could never finish all the food that they gave us.
That rain with flooded streets reminds me of some of the downpours in Mexico! Thank you for allowing your fans to follow along on your incredible adventure(s). This one was one for the books!
ReplyDeleteI bet it would! Surprisingly enough, it doesn't seem to take long to dry up.
DeleteWe are so happy to be able to share our adventures and to see how many of our readers have really enjoyed this particular adventure of ours, it was our pleasure. :-)
Such endurance & commitment!
ReplyDeleteYou can tick that off the Bucket List! & have a few more Kilimanjaro beers to Celebrate!
Yep, lots of commitment and endurance but to be honest, it really was only our summit day that was so difficult.
DeleteWe are so happy to tick off this item from our "bucket list", not that we really have one but it certainly was something that I (Ruth) have always wanted to do.
Kevin, really enjoyed his beer once we got down from the mountain! :-)
I didn't get a comment in before, but really enjoyed following you on your trek! I would never have tried what you accomplished, even in my younger days! Great job!
ReplyDeleteThank you for taking the time to comment, and we are so glad that you really enjoyed reading about our adventurous trek. We enjoyed bringing it to you and all our readers. :-)
DeleteCongratulations!! What an achievement. Ruth, you pushed through girl (clapping)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Esther! I am still not sure how I managed to do it but somehow I did. :-)
DeleteBTW, kudos to you guides(more clapping) seeing that rain, you must have been so relieved to be off the mountain!
ReplyDeleteOur guides were amazing, we can't thank them enough and I know if it wasn't for them, I am sure that I would not have reached the summit.
DeleteYes, we were very relieve that we weren't on the mountain when that rain came down!
Congratulations!! I totally enjoyed reading your adventure. You are very inspiring!!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! :-)
DeleteCongratulations! What a trip. I would've bought the T-shirt as well. Wear it proudly.
ReplyDeleteThank you! It certainly was quite the trip. :-)
DeleteKevin is definitely wearing that t-shirt with pride!
You 2 are very good at Chiming Mountains,and I'll bet the 2 of you will never forget being on that mountain! That's quite an achievement! Congratulations to Kiven & Ruth! Take care, Rawn Stone
ReplyDeleteThank you very much!
DeleteWe love hiking and hiking up mountains, so for us this was just an extra big mountain but we weren't going to let that stop us! :-)
What an adventure! I did a binge read of the entire adventure and am so amazed at what you accomplished! You should be so proud and a very hearty congratulations to Ruth for keeping on when her body was demanding to stop. And to Kevin for turning around to summit once again with her. This was the experience of a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was an adventure and we were beginning to think that maybe we bit off more than we could chew but in the end we got it done!
DeleteThank you Croft, I am still to this day not sure how I managed to come up with the energy that I needed to reach the summit but I did and I really have Shalali and Kobby to thank, neither one of them gave up on me. I was so happy to meet Kevin as he was coming back from the summit and that he didn't really have too far to back track with me to make it back up to the summit for a picture of us both together. It is a hike that neither one of us will ever forget.
I would've bought a shirt, too. (you deserved it!)
ReplyDeleteKevin loves his t-shirt! :-)
DeleteCongratulations on your Mt. Kilimanjaro climb. you won't cross paths with too many others that will have accomplished such a feat.
ReplyDeleteHad to go back to catch up on your adventure. Glad Ruth made the final push to achieve her goal.
Be Safe and Enjoy!
It's about time.
Thank you very much! No, I am sure that we won't come across too many people that have completed that summit also a friend of my Dad's did it at the age of 70!
DeleteI am also very glad that I made that final push to reach the summit, I know I would have been upset with myself if I hadn't!
My awe and admiration for you two grows each day I read about your accomplishments. This Kili trekk is definitely one for the books and you should seriously think about putting it to print for others to enjoy and be inspired to do. CONGRATULATIONS and more power to you both! Safe travels!
ReplyDeleteThank you Lynnette! It was definitely one for the books and also one hike that we will not repeat, lol but we are so glad that we did it. :-)
DeleteWe already have the "story" of our trek in print, right here in our blog for all to read, it just isn't in a book!
A journey of a lifetime thanks for sharing as this brought back so many memories for me although we did the Rongai Route. So pleased that Ruth was also able to summit those guides are amazing guys. Now going to catch up on the rest of your posts.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is! Glad that we could rekindle some great memories for you. The Rongai Route sounds like an interesting route with less people on it and with the possibility of seeing some bigger wild animals. We are not going to go back and do it again though, lol!
DeleteI am so happy that I made it to the summit as well, and yes we had great guides and if it weren't for their support and faith in me, I am not sure that I would have made it. :-)