Mount Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Peak) via the Machame Route | Tanzania Trek Report

Mount Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa and one of the famed Seven Summits. Rising 19,341 feet above Tanzania, the mountain offers a unique trekking experience that passes through rainforest, heath, alpine desert, and glaciated summit terrain. In January 2026, Sophia and I joined a group on the Machame Route and spent six days climbing to Uhuru Peak before celebrating with a safari in Tarangire National Park. What followed was far more than a summit attempt. It was an unforgettable adventure filled with new friendships, Tanzanian hospitality, wildlife, and the shared experience of reaching the Roof of Africa together.

Mount Kilimanjaro
Elevation: 19,341’
Mileage: ~40
Trailhead: Machame Gate
Agency: Mount Kilimanjaro National Park
Date Hiked: 01/15/2026 to 01/27/2026
Peakbagger.com Page

The Origin Story
I was scanning my Amazon Wish List and noticed that I had added a book on Kilimanjaro in January 2013, so it had been on my mind for a long time.

Looks like I had been thinking about Kilimanjaro for years

In February 2025, my backpacking friend Jeff Hester signed up for a trip to Mount Kilimanjaro through his company Social Hikers. I clicked on it and was intrigued. If I signed up early, it would only be $2,850 for 10 days of travel, with nine nights (hotel & tent), all meals, and guides to take us up Mount Kilimanjaro. That seemed like a deal for a trip of a lifetime.

Then in May 2025, after my 53rd birthday and support from my wife, I signed up. I was excited. I was visiting a country, and continent, that I hadn’t been to. I was going to be climbing to the top of Africa, one of the seven summits, with guides and porters to carry most of my things. And I would be doing it with a long-time friend, Jeff.

Once Sophia heard that I was going, she clearly stated that she wanted to go, too. However, it was during her school year, so I told her “Not this time.”

Upon discussing it, my wife convinced me that Sophia should go, and that this experience will be richer than anything school could give. I was in agreement. By June 1, Sophia was in.

Before we left, we sprayed our clothes with permethrin, took meds for Typhoid Fever and Malaria, and had our Diamox ready to go while on the mountain.

The Trip to Mount Kilimanjaro
01/15/2026 - 01/16/2026

My wife dropped Sophia and I off at LAX and started the 20-hour trip from Los Angeles to Moshi, Tanzania, via Amsterdam. It was fairly uneventful and we arrived at Moshi late in the evening, dazed and excited to be there. We already had our visas, so we got into the immigration line. We hopped into one that was moving quickly until that one ground to a halt. We ended up being the last ones through the windows and went to collect our luggage.

Which wasn’t there.

We had booked our flight through one carrier to ensure that we would have our things. We had arrived early at Amsterdam, though our connection was relatively short. We had no idea how KLM got it wrong. Our luggage simply wasn’t there, which was also true for two others of our group.

All of our outdoor gear was in those suitcases, so we were wondering what was going to happen. Luckily, we had a full day and night before we departed for Kilimanjaro, so we were hopeful an airline as large as KLM would be able to solve the problem before then.

They had another flight arriving at the same time tomorrow, so we crossed our fingers and headed outside to the rest of our group.

It can be a bit overwhelming to step off a 20-hour flight and immediately be immersed in a group of new friends, but we made introductions and got on the hour-or-so long bus ride to the hotel. Chatting along the way and getting to know each other.

We arrived at the hotel, passing through the closed markets in Moshi and into the gate of the Springlands Hotel. We got our room assignments one by one and settled in. We went to the market to get some toiletries, as some of our stuff was in the lost suitcases.

Mozzy bed net at the Springland Hotel in Moshi

Sophia and I had cold showers, as our water heater had been turned off.

We slept well.

01/17/2026
Today was meant to be a relaxing day to get used to the time difference and recover from the long flights. We also had a trip debrief scheduled at 5PM.

I spent the morning having breakfast with some of the group, buying water for our room and enjoying the grounds. Sophia hadn’t slept as well as me, so she relaxed in the room while I walked around.

I was immediately struck by how friendly everyone at the hotel was. Every worker, and every interaction was great. I was in a great mood and ready for the trip tomorrow. If our luggage could just show up.

We had a nice dinner with most of the group, as one was flying in later in the evening and got to know each other even more. Sophia had met Jeff a few times and had even backpacked with him last fall during our Grand Sawtooth Loop trip. I had been backpacking with Jeff at least 5 times before and had been on several day hikes as well, so it was nice to be with a friend.

A lovely patio at the Springlands Hotel in Moshi

While Sophia relaxed in the room for the evening, I walked the grounds at night, waiting for the buses to show up from this evening’s flights, hopefully carrying our luggage. The final member of the group showed up and I sat with him for a bit while he recovered from his flights. We saw some movement by our feet and stood up to check it out.

A hedgehog was scurrying away from us. It was very cute and it disappeared into the bushes. He called it an evening and I stayed up, strolling along the grounds, moving to the front gate whenever I heard it open.

At around 1:45AM, I heard a strange sound and looked up into the trees to see what was causing it. It was then I realized that it was coming from the bushes at my feet. Two hedgehogs were racing around each other in circles, making little chirping noises. I summoned Sophia and she came out to enjoy them. We spent the next hour or so together outside, enjoying the grounds and watching the geckos all over the walls.

I had been messaging the luggage support staff at the Moshi Airport after chatting with a shuttle driver and was told that our luggage was at the airport and would arrive this evening. I was sent a photo and I did not see one of our group’s bags.

I am not sure how they made the mistake, as we were together and entered our information correctly, but they hadn’t realized she was in our group, and the bag did not make it onto the last shuttle for the evening. The group member would not be getting her bag until the morning that we left for Kilimanjaro.

Finally, at about 2:15AM, the shuttle finally arrived at the hotel. We took our bags and the one for the other group member and took them into our room. We packed everything for the trip and got to bed at around 4:30AM. Breakfast was to be at 6:30AM.

01/18/2026
Day 1: Machame Gate to Machame Camp
7 Miles - ~4,000’ of gain
6,000 to 10,000’

Up early, we had breakfast while we waited for the final bag to arrive. We checked in our long term bags into their luggage room and watched our crew load our duffels onto the roof of the bus.

I messaged the Airport luggage help and they said the bus was on the way, but there was a truck that was blocking the road. It took over two hours for the bus to get to our hotel. We were told not to worry, we would wait and she would get her things.

We learned that a traveler had arrived the night before without his gear and had to rent his entire kit. We were grateful that this wasn’t the case.

We were urged to take a step outside the hotel, since there was a good view of Mount Kilimanjaro, so we stepped outside and I scanned the horizon above the trees, not seeing anything. Confused, I looked up. Mount Kilimanjaro was the most prominent mountain I have ever seen. It looked immense. It loomed over 16,000’ above us, with nothing in sight coming even close. Excitement ran through me, even above the amount that was already there.

In five days, we’d be standing at the top of Africa, if everything went as planned.

At around 9:15AM, we made our way out of the hotel grounds into Moshi, our first time seeing it in the daytime. It was a bustling mixture of rustic markets and urban growth. We made it out of town and saw the beauty of Tanzania.

Bananas and coffee are the two main crops we could see. We passed universities and research facilities, but mainly could see small roadside businesses, making a living selling anything people could want.

The drive to Machame Gate took longer than expected, closer to three hours with traffic. What should have been a quick transfer turned into a slow crawl at times, and it was a reminder that things move at a different pace here.

Our driver was very convincing and had cars move aside so we could drive the shoulder to the turn up ahead. It likely shaved off at least 30 minutes parked on the road.

We arrived at the parking lot at Machame Gate and could see crews of porters waiting to head up the mountain. As our stuff was unloaded from the roof, we checked into the National Park and had a quick lunch in a picnic area. What would be a theme for the trip, we were provided with much more food than we could actually eat.

We then headed to the gate itself and, after a brief introduction to the rules by a very friendly ranger and a visit by a blue monkey, we headed up the paved road that led into the jungle.

Our daily guide on the trail was a man named Ahmed. His gentle leadership made the trip flow perfectly. The overall leader of the entire crew was a man named Mndeme. He was older than most of the crew and had seen the top of Kilimanjaro over 500 times, per his estimation.

Pole pole is a Swahili term that I learned while I was researching this trek. It means, slowly slowly. While also meaning, “no rush” or “take it easy,” it is a deliberate, unhurried way of life, focusing on enjoying the moment and managing energy.

We started the trek slow, and stayed slow. It was something that took a little getting used to, but, with only two hours of sleep, I was grateful for the pace.

We got introduced to some of the trail etiquette, which is to move aside for porters, who are carrying immense loads of items, including chairs, watermelons, and eggs. Their pace was not as pole pole as ours.

We climbed and climbed. I started really feeling not only the elevation, but the lack of sleep. There was likely a little bit of jet lag mixed in there, too.

The trail got muddy and we were able to use some of the few pit toilets that exist on the trail.

We made it to camp, likely a little later than usual, since we had to wait for the luggage and got caught in traffic. We got introduced to the process:

The tents were already up (including three small private toilet tents for our group), so we got inside our sleeping tents to get a little rest and change out of hiking clothes.

We were presented with bowls of warm water to wash up in our vestibules.

More warm water was available outside the mess tent.

On normal days, tea and popcorn would be available in the afternoons in the mess tent.

Then it was dinner time in the mess tent, where we were presented with different courses under the gas lanterns that also warmed the tent.

A headcount was taken as to how much fresh water was needed and we left our empty water bottles with them.

A wake-up time was announced.

Bed time.

During dinner, several of us were falling asleep in our chairs, so most of us headed off to bed early. I slept great and was plenty warm. I did have to get up to use the restroom several times throughout the night. But I took the opportunity to walk around and enjoy the stars.

01/19/2026
Day 2: Machame Camp to Shira Camp
4 Miles - ~2,600’ of gain
9,900’ to 12,500’

We woke up to a clear morning. I had started taking diamox the night before, so we were at the acclimation portion of the trek. Today was going to have fewer miles, but with gain in the middle section of the hike.

As I have learned from my hikes to Greenland, Chile, and Japan, people around the world don’t make trails like we do in the Sierra Nevada, where switchbacks help to alleviate some of the steepness during a climb.

We had a great hot breakfast and began the climb. Mount Kilimanjaro was visible from the camp, and was making me curious as to how we’d get up there. I mean, I studied the route, but I started scanning for lines up the side. It reminded me a little bit of the Wonderland Trail, where we could see Mount Rainier from all angles. But this time we’d be getting to the top. Hopefully.

We headed out at around 7:20AM, having woken up at 6:30AM. The pace again was slow as our bodies warmed up in the light of the day. We emerged from the jungle into a new zone.

It was a little dryer as we followed the granite trail steeply up the mountain, entering the heath and moorland zone. Since the trail was narrower, we had to move aside more frequently for the porters.

As we ascended, we had a better view of the valley below and Mount Meru across the plains. It was steep with high-stepping, but the granite path was solid and it was nice knowing the mileage would be shorter.

We ascended into the clouds as we arrived at camp around noon. We rested in our tents until a hot lunch was served in the tent. Mndeme invited us for a hike to the Shira Cave, a cave used by previous climbers and a place for hiding during some of the battles.

Sophia and I opted out as the rain started hitting our tent. We had a wonderful nap and rested in the tent until dinner time, as our evening process was repeated.

The clouds gave way and we had an excellent view of Moshi’s lights far below, and the stars above.

We headed to bed early and slept well. Even at the highest camp I’ve ever slept in.

01/20/2026
Day 3: Shira Camp to Barranco Camp
7 Miles - ~2,700’ of gain/2,200’ of loss
12,500’ to 13,000’ - Attaining 15,000’ at Lava Tower

This day was pivotal in our acclimation process. We climbed about 2,700 feet up to Lava Tower before descending to Barranco Camp, ending the day only about 500 feet higher than where we started.

Once more, we rose at 6:30AM and were on the trail at around 7:30AM. We were all a little excited, as this day would bring us higher than Mount Whitney, the highest that most of us had ever been.

A sunny morning with Meru in the background

After our usual morning, we headed up and up, watching our GPS and celebrating when we got over 14,505’. Topping our previous elevation “record” was a feat in itself. We had gotten into our rhythm of hiking in a tight line, all together. No one was ever left behind and we all got used to pole pole.

Jeff asked some great questions of the group as we all chatted along the way.

The terrain became more and more volcanic as we left the juniper-looking bushes behind. The sun flirted with us, but mostly stayed hidden on this chilly day. We enjoyed the Celine Dion songs being played on a speaker by one of the porters, and sometimes we sang along.

We could see the Lava Tower ahead of us, the high point of the day at 15,000’. We again hiked into the clouds as we could see the trails converge from different routes. It felt like a bazaar at the top, with mess tents erected all over. It started to rain as we headed into our tent, happy for the warmth of the lanterns.

Into the clouds over 15,000', almost to Lava Tower

I was having lunch at the highest I had ever been and I felt fine. The route was working. I was ready to start descending, though.

Be careful what you wish for.

We dropped immediately after camp and the route was a lot busier, now that routes had converged. We made our way down, back into the heath, as our legs were challenged by the steep descent. More attention needed to be paid to the constant stream of porters.

As we neared Barranco Camp, we could see tents scattered over the hillside from all of the guide companies vying for the best spots.

We got into the 13,000’ camp at around 4PM. I was tired. Three days of trekking at high elevation can do that. Jet lag likely didn’t help, either. Other than some fatigue, however, I felt fine, so the Diamox was doing its job well.

It was chilly, but my system was working well. I loaned my silk sleeping bag liner to one of our group which ended up working well to keep him warm in the evenings.

Once more, we were in bed by 8PM.

01/21/2026
Day 4: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp
3 Miles - ~1,000’ of gain/1,000’ of loss
13,000’ to 13,000’

Good moring from Barranco Camp, Musa in the foreground collecting our water bottles

Sophia and I were excited about the Barranco Wall. Not only did it look fun, it was nice to have a new variety of terrain. It also marked most of the gain for the day. And perhaps we’d had more experience with exposure over the years than many others.

We woke up at 6AM to get an early start. The idea was to start climbing the wall before a traffic jam started. As we started hiking at 7AM, it was pretty chilly on the approach to the wall, but warmed up quickly as we scrambled up. It was slow going and our guides did an amazing job to make sure there was support in all the sections that may have needed it.

It was as fun as we hoped it would be. We took a few small breaks, since the top of the wall was near 14,000’; we were simply gassed at times. We made it to the top and into the sun and had an amazing view from Lookout Rock. We had a nice long break while we prepared for the rest of the short day.

In the sky above Barranco Wall at Lookout Rock

Soph and me atop Barranco Wall with Kilimanjaro behind us

Since the trail was easy, Sophia and I were in front of the pack chatting with Ahmed. We learned that he spoke three languages: Swahili, English, and his tribal language. He went home to visit his family, when running on his days off, and liked to read. We also shared some of our experiences.

It was a pleasant day as we hiked the gently undulating trail. We were above the treeline, reminiscent of High Sierra scree. In the distance, we could already see Karanga Camp. Ahmed stopped us for a break, which was lovely in the sun. I wondered why he stopped us so close to the camp.

The answer revealed itself as we approached. A deep gorge appeared between us and the camp. We would have to descend steeply on one side and back up the other side, losing 500’ and needing to gain 300’ in less than a mile.

We scrambled down the loose trail and rested at the bottom of the gorge before heading back up. It was here I noticed that I started getting double-vision. I had no idea what was going on, but would bring it to Mndeme’s attention later to see if he thought it was related to elevation.

We made it steeply up the edge of the gorge and settled into another camp on the edge of the mountain. We could see the stars above and we settled into our evening rhythm.

01/22/2026
Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp
2 Miles - ~1,970’ of gain
~13,000’ to 15,200’

Today would be a short day and everyone was in great spirits. The sun was shining and we were allowed to sleep in a little bit. We still got up at around 6:30AM, but left the camp at around 8:30AM.

We were excited to get to the highest camp on our trip. I had been worried about how elevation would affect me, but so far, nothing out of the ordinary was occurring. It was a pretty steep day, but we knew the mileage was short.

We stopped for one long break and spent more time chatting with Ahmed and Rashidi. The time spent with our guides was really becoming one of the highlights of the trip.

After a final steep slope into the camp area, we turned left and continued up and up, aiming for our camp that the other guides had brought up earlier in the morning. We got to our camp well before noon. We were offered a hot lunch and were told to get some rest.

The high trail at the same height as Mount Whitney.

The recommendation was to sleep as much now, get up for dinner, and then sleep until about 10:00AM to get ready for the summit push to start at 11:00PM.

The air was thin, as this was the highest camp I had ever been. The diamox was working. Any elevation issues that had appeared in other locations were absent. I was excited. I knew that the summit push may be one of the hardest things I will have ever done, I was feeling OK and had confidence in our group and the guides to encourage each other to the top.

I napped here and there, but I had to chuckle to myself as I had become aware of the cultural differences of Tanzanian guides. They are constantly communicating with each other over distances by shouting. I lay back and dozed off with a smile to the constant shouting, singing, and clapping.

We woke up for dinner and forced ourselves to eat. We all had some nerves, a reasonable expectation, given the circumstances. We all found ourselves looking repeatedly at the looming mountain above us, trying to determine what line we would follow. It was clear we would be following the rocky ridge that towered above the camp, but, above that, only the guides knew.

We settled into our tents for 4 hours of sleep, and surprisingly, I slept great.

01/23/2026
Day 6: Barafu Camp to Kilimanjaro (Uhuru Peak) to Mweka Camp
~10 Miles - ~4,000’ of gain/~9,100’ of loss
15,200’ to 19,341’ to 10,000’

We woke up into the cold night and layered up. I could already see lines of headlamps making their way up into the dark night. It was chilly, but I had on enough layers and knew that the effort would warm us momentarily.

Headlamps ascending Kilimanjaro from Barafu Camp

In order to save battery and not blind anyone, Sophia and I turned our headlamps to red. It was plenty. We had brought double layer mountaineering gloves that were instantly too hot to climb in, and it was also hard to fit into our trekking pole straps.

We instantly started climbing steeply, and quickly, hoping to get ahead of another group starting to ascend. At over 15,000’, anything other than pole pole left us gasping. To be fair, so did pole pole.

Once we passed the extremely steep section, it then got merely very steep. For the next few hours, we would get into the rhythm of hiking up loose sand and scree, occasionally stepping over some boulders. Mndeme would send a guide to find a spot for us to sit momentarily while we were served hot ginger tea. There was a comical moment when one of the guides accidentally spilled scalding tea onto Sophia’s glove and it froze before it touched the glove. It was colder than we perceived, but the effort kept us plenty warm. That was the conundrum for these hours: the rest felt great, but we cooled down quickly.

The diamox made my fingertips tingle, and I was taking time while climbing to dial in my gloves. If I didn’t use my trekking poles, my hands were plenty warm, even without gloves at all. Once I started using the trekking poles, since I was using them for stability on the steep sandy slope, my hands would start freezing. I finally was able to use my liners and my poles, occasionally holding the poles in one hand while the other was warming in a pocket.

Over the next 6 hours, I drifted in and out of reality. The shadows cast by my red headlamp started drifting up and dancing in front of me. I sometimes would feel like I snapped back into myself, wondering where I had been for the past few minutes. I stumbled here and there, catching myself with my trekking poles, my muscle memory working overtime.

Many hours in, suddenly a guide’s face was in mine, “Are you all right?”

It took me a moment to register what was happening. Evidently, I was stumbling more than I was aware. They asked around for some more Diamox and gave me some more and we continued on.

I looked up, hoping to somehow see the crater rim in the darkness, but I could only see a line of headlamps stretching ever upward.

A guide was assigned to me. His name was Salim and he was wearing bright red pants. He went in line between Sophia and me. I fixated on those pants as I struggled in the last hour of the climb.

Suddenly, all around us, the guides started singing a climbing song in Swahili. It was infectious; they even slowly shuffled their feet in a muted dance. Their voices in the darkness buoyed our spirits, making the impossible seem possible.

After around 7 hours of steeply climbing, we reached the crater rim at Stella Point. Tears burst out of all of us, elated that the steep ordeal was finally complete. We knew that there was still some way to go to the proper summit, but the hardest part was over. I was at a loss for words, and was exhausted, but felt OK.

We had a few moments before we continued on the edge of the rim. We still had about 450’ more to gain in about a half a mile, so it wasn’t nothing, but it was slow. Everyone else seemed to be pumped with adrenaline to reach the peak, but I felt a little like a zombie and slowly trudged along the volcanic scree.

I was the last of the group to make it within sight of the summit. The sky was glowing with the new day and the feeling was magical. My eyes were wide as the clouds and ice sheets came into view.

I could see Sophia standing in the middle of a lava field. My brain wasn’t working right. A field of rocks that should have been routine seemed like an obstacle course. I slowly made my way to her and she asked me if I was all right. I stared at her and simply could not speak. I didn’t know what was wrong. I mentally backed up and made another run at it.

“I. Am. Finding. It. Hard. To. Speak.”

She asked if I was ok and I nodded yes. She grabbed Mndeme and he came over and said I had to immediately descend.

I was able to blurt out, “Let me take a picture and I’ll drop.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded.

He guided me to the front of the line, where the rest of the group was waiting to take a picture at the iconic summit sign, with many other groups of summiters with their guides waiting their turn.

It became our turn and we went up as a group. I could see for miles in all directions as we took our celebratory summit photo.

Our group photo at the top of Mount Kilimanjaro

Mndeme motioned to the group, “Just Derek and Sophia now,” and we took a couple of photos.

Sophia and Derek on the Summit of Kilimanjaro

Mndeme called Salim over and instructed him to escort me down the mountain. The rest of the team was continuing to take photos and celebrate, but it was time for me to go. I was ready. I didn’t like the way my mind was working and knew the only solution was to descend.

I am no stranger to steep descents, such as Paso de Virginia on the Dientes de Navarino trek, so we dropped quickly, ultimately skiing in the scree. In my strange mental state, I scanned around, taking in the alien landscape around me. As much as I knew I had to descend quickly, I tried to take it all in.

Descending back to Barafu Camp after summiting Kilimanjaro

As the sun rose higher, we stopped to stow our jackets and continued on, after dropping 4,000’ back to Barafu Camp. My legs were shaking, but my mind was a little clearer. I was still seeing double, but I ate lunch and had a soda and waited for the rest of the group. With my legs already tired from skiing in the scree, I was wondering how I was going to do for the rest of the 5,000’ of drop for the day.

As a group, we headed out down the mountain, dropping quickly on the volcanic, dusty ridge. Since we had made the summit, all 13 of us, pole pole was off the table. Our guide sped down the mountain.

After dropping another 2,000’, I asked for a break. We stopped by a large rock outcrop and chatted for a bit. We all snacked and hydrated. We had dropped 6,000’ already and still had 3,000’ to go.

We continued to descend until we reached Millenium Camp, which looked like it might have burnt at some point, but was completely empty. I took another break, as my legs were shaking now.

We then entered a more vegetative area and continued steeply down the trail. I dropped a bit step in a dry creek and my knee gave out. I needed another break. Mndeme, his guide friend, and Jeff waited with me for my legs to get back underneath me.

The side of the mountain on the way to Mweka Camp

After a time, we headed down and down. The trail became full of large steps that put a lot of pressure on my already tired knees. I relied upon my trekking poles as I zig-zagged around the trail, choosing routes that didn’t require large steps, but many times it was impossible.

Jeff stayed with me as we slowly made our way into the dense African forest.

We got into camp and realized we weren’t really that far behind the rest. We checked into the hut and got washed up and ready for dinner. There was an air or celebration. No more real climbing for the trip for us, or the guides.

We had a lovely dinner, everyone recounting their experience. We were happy and ready to be back into the comforts of civilization tomorrow.

01/24/2026
Day 7: Mweka Camp to Mweka Gate
~5.28 Miles - ~4,500’ of loss
10,060’ to 5,351’

We slept nicely. It was a lot warmer and everyone was tired. We headed out around 7:30AM and continued downward. My legs were still tired, so I took it slowly while Salim kept me company. It was then that I realized that his English was not as good as I thought. All those times he smiled and nodded, I don’t think he understood me. I started speaking more slowly and simply and we understood each other just fine.

We passed more people descending the steep trail. We went in and out of shade and the whole route became more of a jungle, with monkeys and birds in the trees. When we would reach a flat part of the trail, I would find much relief, but when the steep downhill started again, I would wince with the effort.

We reached the bottom of the hill, where there was a flurry of activity. We were treated with cold drinks and a lovely snack. After a long rest and many smiles, we signed out of the National Park and headed back on our bus back to the hotel.

We checked back into our respective rooms and enjoyed a well-deserved shower and rest before we met back into the outdoor garden for our post-summit celebration. We had to knock on some doors to get some people awake for dinner.

We passed a man who said hello, and Sophia and I were shocked that Buli Buli was as small as he was. Since we only saw him either when we were in our tents and he was handing us warm bowls of water, or delivering food in the mess tent when we were seated, we had thought he was much taller than us. He ended up being way shorter than us, but we could not misrecognize that smile. He joined us for the celebration.

Mndeme congratulated us and handed out our official certificates for a summit of Kilimanjaro. They offered us a roasted goat and we all danced and partook in the joyous event. It was bittersweet, as we wouldn’t be seeing the guides again.

Their effort and spirit was a huge part of the success and enjoyment of our trip. We continued to eat and settled in for the night. Some would fly out that evening or early in the morning, but some of us were scheduled for a safari the next day.

01/25/2026
Tarangire Safari
12 Hours

We left the hotel at around 6AM and traveled southwest out of Moshi, almost immediately seeing the plains of Tanzania spread out into the distance. We were honored to be able to see the Maasai culture, front and center, with children in charge of herding goats and cattle. And the occasional Maasai warrior all in black, symbolizing their transition into adulthood.

We stopped by a modern cafe and had some wonderful coffee and food before we continued on. Looking out of the window of the bus at the wildness of Africa was one of the best parts of the trip.

We made it to the entrance of Tarangire National Park and stretched our legs after the long drive. Every bird was an amazing riot of color and sound.

We got back into the bus and had a wonderful three hours of almost nonstop wildlife, culminating in a lion eating an oryx.

We then had a long drive back to the hotel. This would be our last view into Tanzania before flying home the next day, so we spent the time enjoying each other’s company and absorbing the view around us.

When we got back to the hotel, Sophia and I showered and packed everything up for the flight. We got into our respective beds until I felt antsy. I wanted to enjoy Tanzania a little more, so I got up and had a beer in the courtyard, watching futbol with the locals on a mild African night. It was a wonderful way to end the trip.

01/26/2026
Home

The trip wasn’t quite over yet. We asked Zara for a ride into town. We wanted to do a little shopping before our flight and get some good Tanzanian food. We had a guide drive us to a store owned by Zara Tours, which ended up having a huge selection of locally-made items, and then we were whisked off to a restaurant, where we were the only non-Tanzanian people in there.

It was the best food of the entire trip. We were both completely satisfied.

The best meal of the trip, Chicken Sekela

We headed off to the airport, said goodbye to the remaining people in our group, and made the long trip back home.

Kilimanjaro ended up being much more than a climb to the highest point in Africa. Sophia and I arrived in Tanzania excited, tired from the long journey, and not entirely sure what to expect.

Over the next week, life became wonderfully simple. Wake up, eat, hike, rest, and repeat. Pole pole. Slowly, the mountain worked its magic. We spent our days moving through entirely different worlds, from dense rainforest to alpine desert to glaciers above the clouds.

Along the way, we shared meals, stories, and laughter with an incredible group of climbers, guides, and porters who made the experience far richer than the summit itself. By the time we stood on Uhuru Peak, I realized the mountain was only part of the story.

Watching Sophia thrive in a challenging environment, experiencing the warmth and generosity of the Tanzanian people, and sharing an adventure that neither of us will ever forget meant even more than reaching 19,341 feet.

The summit was spectacular, but when I think back on Kilimanjaro, what I remember most are the people, the conversations, the songs in the darkness, and the privilege of experiencing it all with my daughter.

Kilimanjaro taught us that great accomplishments are rarely achieved through strength alone, but through patience, trust, and the support of the people around us.

Hi.

Come on in to Burger Bench

Most Recent Posts

Hi.

Jun 12 Mount Kilimanjaro - Climbing to the Roof of Africa

Dec 16 Jacumba Mountain Hike – A Cross-Country Trek Above Azna-Borego (Peak #97)