Three hours later George and I arrived at Kibo Hut. Paul, Wil, and Jerry were still on their way down. Dad, Rich, Don, and Jeff were in the hut waiting for the rest of the group. I changed into a dry shirt (my last one) and rested. We had some lunch (I think I was able to eat a biscuit), and then gathered our stuff and prepared to leave for Horombo Hut. I was so tired at that point - I just wanted to get to Horombo and go to bed. When Paul, Jerry, and Wil showed up we got ready to leave for Horombo. The one British couple we shared our bunks with made it to Gilman’s Point, but the guy was feeling really sick and was throwing up. I was glad to not be feeling like that.

George said it would take about three hours to get to the hut. I hiked mostly with Wil, and then with Richard and Jeff. I don't think we stopped at all, and we made it to the hut at 4 PM. I was so so so tired at Horombo. We were all trying to stay awake for dinner at 5 PM. I fell asleep at 6 PM, and literally did not move until 6 AM when George woke us up for morning tea. It was the best night’s sleep of my life!

  "Clear and Copious'96," from left (rear):
  Richard, Don, Jerry, me, Paul, Jeff, Dad and Wil
I think everyone was anxious to get off the mountain the next morning. The topic of conversation hung around showering and good food (mainly pizza). We had breakfast at Horombo and then had George take some group photos before we were on our way. We left Horombo at 8 AM, and I arrived at the park gate at 3:30 PM that afternoon. My body wasn’t allowing me to hurry, so I took my time and took a lot of pictures of flowers and plants. The trail seemed so dusty and dirty - I think I ate a 1/2 pound of dirt from Horombo to Mandara. We took a detour to Maundi Crater on the way down to Mandara, and stopped at Mandara Hut for lunch. Rich was there waiting for us; Paul, Jeff, and Don were already on their way down so Paul could call his wife and tell her the good news. I had some toast with butter and tomato for lunch. I was dehydrated from the climb, but I was trying to ration my water to get me down to the gate. After lunch Dad and Rich went ahead, and I hiked with Jerry and Wil. Jerry had a lot of blisters on his feet so he was hurtin’. We passed a lot of people heading up - they all seemed so clean. We were all so filthy and our faces were sun and wind-burned. Some people asked if we made it to the top. It felt so good to say “yes.”

Pizza on the brain

Signing the logbook  

When I finally got to the park gate, Dad and Rich were there waiting for me. They were talking to a reporter from German public radio. He asked me some questions too and said I looked pale. Well no shit after 6 days of strenuous hell! Anyway, I signed the logbook so I could get my Uhuru Peak certificate, and then we headed back to the Marangu Hotel for the celebration party.

George, me and Dad