Kilmanjaro #1 of many!

So, in order to give a sense of our excursion, I'll pick some pictures that will hopefully share the story. In the end, we all made it to the summit, and got up and down with no major injuries. Some of us got sick and others dealt with other pains, but we did it!

Loading up the cars to drive to the Lemosho trailhead on the west side

 Driving towards the mountain. Ecosystem: High Desert

 Jake and Dad at the entry gate for the ranger station

 Jake reminds us of the safety and courtesy rules

 Simon, in yellow (one of our two African guides) oversees the porters who were weighing their carrying loads. They carried a lot of gear, often on their heads, to ensure that we had a comfortable and safe eight-day trek.

This was a sample of the road that we drove part-way up to the trailhead. Based on logistics, working vehicles and potato trucks that fell off the road in front of us, we had 14 people in/on our 4X4. Two guys hanging off the back, two guys on top, us 8 in the car along with one driver and a guide. In the end, one porter fell off the car, got smashed into an embankment and broke his ankle- then tried to run on it to get out of the way of the car that almost rolled back on him. He didn't make it on the trip and this paragraph is a dedication to him. I never met him, but I hope he gets better soon and can earn money for his family.



After a WILD ride on a muddy road (track) we pulled off and unloaded so we could start the hike. Whoo!