It is said that to climb up Kilimanjaro is to walk through four seasons in four days. It is true, of course, and nowhere is this phenomenon more apparent than in its flora. The variety of flora found on Kilimanjaro can be ascribed in part to the mountain's tremendous height and in part to its proximity to both the equator and the Indian Ocean. Add to this the variations in climate, solar radiation and temperature from the top of the mountain to the bottom and you end up with the ideal conditions for highly differentiated and distinctive vegetation zones. The distinct altitudinal vegetation zones are easy to identify, and these include from base upwards: cultivated; rain forest; heath and moorland; high desert; and arctic.

No surprise, the forest zone, along with the cultivated zone that lies below it, together receive the most rainfall of any part of the mountain. Naturally therefore, the forest zone also houses the greatest variety of both fauna and flora. The star of the montane forest zone is the beautiful flower Impatiens kilimanjari, an endemic fleck of dazzling red and yellow in the shape of an inch-long tuba. Very fortunately for us it was not raining, nor did it look like it had rained for a while. Truly it was the end of the dry season, just as we'd planned. So the dirt underfoot which looked like it would be slicker 'n snot in a rain barrel when wet, provided firm footing.

We'd only been on the trail about 30 minutes before an anonymous donor let rip with a seriously cheek-flapping fart. It startled the birds, never mind the crew. It did not take long before there was an answering cry further up the line. And so on. Personally I have no problems with cheek-flappers. Much more of a concern are what in middle school we used to call SBDs (Silent But Deadly). (Do guys really ever leave middle school?) Several folks gained a rapid reputation for SBDs (anonymity protected, but we know who you are) and while the rest of us learned not to follow the culprits too closely, SBD manufacturers also learned to stand aside (to leeward if you please) as a warning. This basically went on for the rest of the trip. In fact, had one been observant enough, one might have been able to calculate who had the runs by observing days when they stopped tooting. Reason #229 it was perhaps better that ladies were not present.

The swearing picked up at about the same time and the same rate. Thomson's Maturity Law: "The average mental age of a crowd of men is inversely proportional to the number of men who make up that crowd." This is why instructions to football crowds have to assume that everyone there has a mental age of about five. There is no doubt who the ring-leader was here: NYC-D effed and blinded his way through every conversation, and he seemed to be in every conversation. Reason #91 it was perhaps better that ladies were not present.

Photo courtesy and Copyright © 2010 Mick Lemmerman

For three very pleasant hours we made our way up and down (but mostly up of course) propelled by natural gas and a general sense of euphoria at finally being on the road. We were not alone on the trail. As well as occasional simba sightings, we're passed by and repass a group of about half a dozen Australians, of whom the female half were quite eye-catching. I noticed that there was a significant difference in the amount of time we were prepared to stand aside and wait to let them pass.

The Trekking Guide: "Your destination for this first stage is the campsite known officially (ie by nobody) as the Forest Camp and unofficially (ie by everybody) as Mti Mkubwa or The Big Tree Camp, for obvious reasons. [...] the shade of a wonderful spreading podocarpus"

As we entered the clearing where the camp was set up, a small crowd was there to greet us, and as the singing started, the crowd rapidly swelled until it seems the whole camp had turned out to celebrate our arrival. It was a wonderful, touching, warm-hearted scene, and despite my life-long aversion to home video, I had a sudden reversal of opinion. No still picture could possibly capture this moment. But a miracle happened. For the first time we're traveling in a bigger group, and others in the group were better prepared. If it is not already there, wave your mouse over the picture (or black box) below, and a start button should appear. Press it.

That's Calvin front and center. After a while Isaya (blue shorts with red decoration) does a lap around the front. In yellow on the left is Sunday. On the far left are glimpses of various members of the team, including Tracy, Nick, and yours truly. Finally, Wilson dances passed the camera and joins the group on the right.

Photo courtesy and Copyright © 2010 Wayne R Munns

I don't remember how Danken and the other personal porters managed to pick out their personal clients, but they did. He insisted on taking the pack off my back and led the way to the far side of the very crowded camp, where Wayne and I were introduced to our new home. It was on level ground, and was also very close to the latrine and our Thomson porta-potties. On reflection, this was probably a feature, since at this distance the smell was not bad, and the lack of trekking involved to get to it, and the ease of finding the tent on the way back, were definite features. The camp was so crowded that overlapping guy ropes were a significant hazard.

It was getting dark, and dinner was on the way, but with a few minutes to spare, I returned to the entrance to the camp, where another colony of Colobus monkeys were hanging out. As I was obstructing the path, gazing straight up into the trees, the Australian group came by. Of course they were curious about what I was looking at, but their reaction, "wow, monkeys!" was yet another reminder of the benefits of traveling with observant and well-informed companions. However even our experts did not spot the Tree Hyaxes that were supposed to inhabit the camp, but this was probably a blessing, because their screeching at night is said to resemble cats in heat, a sound I'll never forget, and one that is not sleep inducing.

Photo courtesy and Copyright © 2010 Mick Lemmerman

After supper there was a surprise dessert, which the cook delivered personally. A birthday cake for me! The already crowded tent filled to bursting with guides and porters, and then they sang some sort of birthday song. It was extremely touching, and showed serious attention to detail on Thomson's behalf. Our DOBs had come up but that was 14 months previously, when Brian and I had visited their Watertown office to commit to the trip. I cut the cake up and handed out pieces to everyone but there was a sizeable chunk left. I asked Andrew what the right protocol was. Clearly, every crumb needed to be consumed. But were we to show our appreciation by eating it all ourselves, or would it be okay to share it with the crew. Andrew: "Whatever is not eaten in the tent is eaten by the crew." I'll take that as a yes. I asked Isaya (now we can put a name to him), the maître d', waiter, busboy, and general problem solver, to help solve this problem. The cake disappeared in flash.

Wave your mouse over the picture (or black box) above, and a start button should appear. Press it.