Kili Climb--Day 7--Final Descent

View on the descent

All along, I surmised that the trip down would be far worse than the trip up. Our second day of descent was a total bitch. No other way to phrase that. After descending 3400' to Kosovo Camp and another 3500' to Millenium Camp in scree and dirt, we awoke early the next morning to tackle the final 7000 vertical feet down to the Mweka Gate. The trail was horrendous--first caked in ice and then just gummy, slippery, treacherous mud. In spots, it was quite steep (picture walking down a riverbed, a riverbed with a waterfall). There were very few spots with dirt that could be trusted.

I fell seven times, every which way--knees bent back, my butt straddling one of my poles--and kept puncturing the heel of my left hand. My friend Bobbie's voice echoed in my head: "Keep the tread side down, keep the tread side down." No such luck. AJ suggested that it can sometimes be better to battle your instinct and just let yourself fall instead of fighting it. Hah! In addition, I entertained fellow climbers with a couple figure skating-worthy graceful saves. It was an exercise in persistence, all the while tensing every muscle to tiptoe down the slopes, arms weighted heavily on both poles. The only fun part of that descent was stopping to observe exotic Colobus monkeys performing spectacular leaps from tree to tree in the forest canopy.

Over four hours later, we reached the celebratory group at the gate. We were presented with leis and a cold glass of juice, and our porters sang and danced for us one more time. And then the peddlers descended upon us. We did our best to avoid them while enjoying a last buffet lunch on the mountain. I dug out my umbrella and poncho and gave them to Abraham, our Camp Manager. I saw him walk a little ways away to shyly open the umbrella, just like a little kid. I hope he puts it to good use.

The Tanzanians added such depth to the climb. Their mishmash of clothing, often brightly colored, adorned the trail. I remember seeing one porter with hot pink track pants dash past me every day. Another sported a UCLA sweatshirt. Most didn't have boots, gaiters, rain gear, or even any synthetic clothing. To stay warm, they slept like sardines in large tents at night. Not only were they extremely diligent and hard working, but they also continuously motivated us with their cheerfulness, knowledge, and courtesy. All day long, we heard jambo (hello), not only from our porters but also from all the porters and guides from other expeditions. Asante sana (thank you very much) to all of them.

Our guides and porters (78 in all)