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A view of the Cordillera Real from Isla del Sol on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia.The gps track of a 200-km trek down the length of Bolivia’s Cordillera Real (Royal Range). We came down the west side; the classic route on the east side of the range has seen a big increase in mining activity. https://wp.me/p25mXk-7MHLate evening at Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda- the crowds are gone and it is cool and quiet on a full- moon evening. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYRevered monk with nuns and lay followers at Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda on an auspicious full moon evening - it was magical! https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk meditating below statue of Siddhartha Gautama in the “touching the earth” mudra - the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Myanmar. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk in front of candle table at the Shwe Dagon in Rangoon, Burma - that is, Yangon. Myanmar. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYBurmese Nuns arriving on the terrace of Yangon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda for dusk service. https://wp.me/p25mXk-6qYMonk studying the Buddha’s teachings at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda - https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puBurmese monk outside of Rangoon’s Shwe Dagon Pagoda. See here for more- https://wp.me/p25mXk-6pu“Everybody is looking for something!” Photographer and monk at the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon ... https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puThe floor plan of Myanmar’s most sacred space, the Shwe Dagon Pagoda in Yangon (formerly Rangoon). See here for more pix - https://wp.me/p25mXk-6puApproaching our Rodolphu campsite after a tough day on the Snowman trek in the Bhutanese Himalayas.Yaks coming our way. We were going to Lunana; they were heading to Garza...Bhutanese Himalayas October 2019A lake view from the trail to Rerethang after we crossed Tempe La, our last high pass.Donkeys from Thanza approaching Chozo to carry our gear down to Sephu on the Snowman Trek.A view of the Bhutanese-Tibet border on the way down to Tarina campsite in the Bhutanese Himalayas.A load-free yak caravan crossing the 5100-meter high Rinchen Zoe La ...heading from Thanza down to Sephu. See here for more pics - https://wp.me/p25mXk-8KTThe resident monk at the Dzong in Chozo in the Bhutanese Himalayas.The remnants of an old bridge used by loggers years ago. We dragged our canoe across and continued down the headwaters of the Lady Evelyn River in Ontario’s Temagami region - day 2 of our 11-day canoe trip in September of 2020. The ultimate in physical distancing! See here for more - https://wp.me/p25mXk-9JxLooking west across Sucker Gut Lake at Maple Mountain ridge and a just discernible fire tower. We were on our way to Mowat Landing. See this site for more info and maps - https://wp.me/p25mXk-9XVramblinboy
Moshi's Parkview Inn - after seven nights in a tent a very luxurious place to chill after our Kilimanjaro climb. The next day I would head to Arusha and arrange a last-minute two-day safari to Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire National Park. Just like the hike up Kili, that too would prove to be an awesome experience!The end of the Kilimanjaro trek at Mweka Gate. Our Popote bus was waiting for us and it was a one hour ride back to Moshi and the hotel used by Popote for its guests. It is known as the Parkview Inn, a decent place in the $75. range. with a restaurant, a swimming pool, and a stored luggage room and 24-hour security and watchman at the entry gates of the inn. There are cheaper - and much more expensive - options available but I found the Parkview to be a great spot before and after our climb.It takes a village to move five mzungu (Swahili for white people) up the mountain. We took a group shot a High camp after our mid-afternoon arrival from Barafu. Three guides, 15 porters, and two cooks made sure we were taken care of and in shape to fulfil the mission! I booked my trip with a company in Moshi, the base camp town for Kilimanjaro. I did it all over the internet and by email - and I must say I found one great small and not really expensive company. See TripAdvisor for other trekkers' opinions. Maybe in 20222 when we are travelling again, you'll be able to check off Kilimanjaro from your "to do" list!We've begun our descent. I turn around and look back to Stella Point up on top of the ridge. Other members of our crew are coming down. The dust that we kick up as we descent is bad. I decide that I am going to make sure I am at the front of the one and not at the end so that I have cleaner air to breathe! In any case, the walking is very easy. 5 1/2 hrs. to get up and maybe 2 1/2 to get down!Our lead guide Dixon, a veteran of more than 150 ascents, and our crew coming down from Uhuru Peak in the background. It is about 6:45 a.m. By 9:30 I will be crawling into my tent for a brief siesta before we head down the mountain to our Day 7 campsite at High (Millenium) Camp at 3827 meters. That is a drop of over 2000 meters after having climbed about 1300 in the pre-dawn hours. Definitely the biggest energy expenditure day of the trek!The Snows of Kilimanjaro is now just the name of a book. Up on top, the glacier that once covered the entire summit and then some is all but gone. Instead of the streams I imagined would be pouring down the slopes as the ice melts, the ice just vaporizes. Poof - and it's gone!Trekkers approaching Uhuru Peak from Stella Point at dawn. We were the second group to get to the top and got to watch as other groups made their way toward us. Even as we were going down below the crater rim there were still a few trekkers and guides heading up!Our five=person crew at Uhuru Peak at about 6:30 a.m. Three of us from Canada and two from the U.S. We established very early on that US politics would not be discussed in the dining tent! The two old guys in the front - a guy from Cali and I - were both 68, with me being the older by 3 months. The two other Canadians were in their mid-40s and the other American was in her 20s. It was our local trekking agency in Moshi - highly recommended Popote - that put us all together for the climb.the only photo I took from our midnight departure from Barafu to our dawn celebration on Uhuru Peak. It was about 3:30 a.m. and we still had about two hours to go. The wind was blowing hard and it was maybe -10ºC. For 3 1/2 hours we had been walking in the dark with only our headlights making visible the person ahead of us.Kilimanjaro is actually a massive mountain with three extinct volcanoes on the top plateau. We had walked across the crater of the lowest one - Shira - on Days 2 and 3. This satellite image shows the other two - Mawenza, a less high but more technical climb done by very few and Uhuru Peak, at 5895 meters the highest single point on the Kili massif and in all of Africa. Uhuru Peak is on the rim of the ancient crater and is approached via Stella Point, the spot where the trail from Barafu meets the crater rim.Barafu Camp on the slopes of Kilimanjaro is the last stop before the climb to the top. Behind the sign are the ranger's cabin and the sign-in book. I did a quick scan of the names, countries of origin, and age of this day's Barafu campers. I had to smile when I noticed that at 68 I was the oldest guy in camp - and would, for a day - be the oldest guy up on Uhuru Peak. However, still to come was a six-hour ascent starting at midnight up the final section to the trail to the top.Day 6 and we are approaching our final campsite before the summit - Barafu Camp. It is up there on the ridge. We'd set up camp on the left side of the image and get ready for our midnight departure for the final ascent to the rim of the ancient crater. Barafu is at 4662, about the same altitude as Lava Tower, where we stopped for lunch a couple of days before. It is 1300 meters of altitude gain from Barafu to Uhuru Peak.Our Day 5 campsite on the slopes of Kilimanjaro. In the background is Mount Meru. I had climbed it the week before as an acclimatization exercise. While it is only 4600 meters it turned out to be more difficult than Kilimanjaro! Whenever I looked back at Meru as we made our way up the slopes of Kili, I felt like I was looking at an old friend!the porters keep on truckin' to the next campsite as we take some time to get a group shot at the top of the Barranco Wall. Camp 5 coming up - we are getting closer to the night of our Kilimanjaro ascent!the Barranco Wall and the other people in my group coming up a famous short stretch that includes the Kissing Rock, Kilimanjaro's equivalent of the Blarney Stone. There is Mary about to give it a hug!My four fellow trekkers and one of our guides as we begin our "climb" of the Barranco Wall, the closest thing to mountaineering on the hike to the top. No harnesses or ropes required - just some careful stepping as we make our way up the wall of the gorge to the plateau on top.Day 4 of the Lemosho Route is the one where it joins with another trail. From this point onward, the volume of trekkers increases dramatically. The campsite at Barranco would be proof of that, with dozens of trekking parties filling up all the available space. The Kilimanjaro is not a wilderness walk; it is more like a pilgrimage!Looking back at our lunch spot behind Lava Tower @4627 meters. We were now on our way to Barranco Camp at 3966m. Since we had started the day at about 3900, going up to the Tower made for an excellent acclimatization exercise. The climber's mantra is - Walk high, sleep low. Day 4 did that for our bodies adapting to the thinner air.A satellite view of the Leomosho Route that has you on Uhuru Peak at dawn of Day 7. The success rate is about 90%; the four-day ascent has a success rate of about 50%. the more time you spent getting to the top, the more likely you will. I did make use of Diamox to help my body acclimatize faster to the thinning oxygen. Up top you have to inhale twice the amount of air to get the same amount of oxygen as down below.Our Shira 1 camp on Day 2 of our Kilimanjaro hike. There were five of us - and twenty locals to make sure we got up the mountain! 3 guides, 14 porters, a couple of cooks...The base camp town of Moshi is one of the most well to do in Tanzania! One green tent is the dining tent, the other is the cook tent. The outhouse tent is the beige one.
Category Archives: Africa
Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 8 – High Camp To Mweka Gate
Previous Post: Day 7 – From Barafu To Uhuru Peak And Down To High Camp High Camp (3827 m) was apparently established in 1999 when an emergency trail for those suffering from altitude sickness passed through here from Karanga (4034 … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 7 – To Uhuru Peak
Previous Post: Day 6 – Karanga To Barafu distance to the summit from Barafu Camp: 5.1 km. time: 6 hrs. 15 minutes to the summit; 2 hr. 35 min. back to Barafu Camp altitude gain: 1225m/4019ft. It was the climax … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 6 – Karanga To Barafu
Previous Post: Day 5 – Barranco To Karanga The red line on the satellite image below is the track we took on Day 6 of our Kili trek. Over the three-kilometer distance that we walked, we would gain 600 meters in … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 5 – Barranco To Karanga
Previous Post: Day 4 – Shira 2 To Barranco Overview: On Day 4 we had walked a bit over ten kilometers on our most demanding day so far. This day would see us scale back on the distance by almost half – … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 4 – Shira 2 To Barranco
Previous Post: Day 3 – Shira 1 to Shira 2 Another day on the slopes of Kilimanjaro – and another clear early morning view of the summit of Kibo. There was frost on the tent exterior when we got up … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 3 – Shira 1 to Shira 2
Previous Post: Day 2 – From Mti Mkubwa To Shira 1 Our Day 2 had ended with a walk down from the ridge onto the Shira plateau and to our Shira 1 campsite (3504 meters). This day would see us … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 2 – Mti Mkubwa to Shira 1
Previous Post: Day 1 – From Lemosho Glades To Mti Mkubwa Camp Elevation Gain: 2785 m to 3504 m/9,137 ft to 11,496 ft Distance: just under 8 km/ 5 miles Hiking Time: about 5 hours Habitat: Rain forest/Heath/Moorland My Polar … Continue reading
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Kilimanjaro Via The Lemosho Route: Day 1 – Lemosho Glades To Mti Mkubwa
Previous Post: A Walk To the Top of Meru -Tanzania’s Second Highest Mountain I returned from my Meru trek looking forward to a day’s rest before we set off on the main event of my Tanzania visit, an eight-day trek via the … Continue reading
Moshi & Arusha: Tanzania’s Gateway Towns to Kilimanjaro And The Northern Safari Circuit
Previous Post: Planning A Visit To Tanzania To Climb Kilimanjaro If a safari or a climb of Kilimanjaro in northern Tanzania are in your plans, then you will be spending some time in Arusha and/or Moshi, the two gateway towns … Continue reading
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On Safari In Tanzania: A Morning In Ngorongoro Crater
Previous Post – An Afternoon In Tarangire National Park We left Tarangire National Park shortly after 4 p.m., amazed at the number of animals we had seen. As the map below shows, Tarangire is the southernmost of a sequence of … Continue reading
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