Day 9: Climb to Mweka Gate

We all slept deeply, still buzzing with the emotions of what we’d accomplished. By morning, the group was more than ready to make our way to the gate. Fittingly, we ended the climb the same way we began- winding through the lush forest, this time treated to an abundance of monkeys swinging through the trees and putting on a show for us!!! 

At the exit gate, we enjoyed a special lunch together before the hardest part of the day: saying goodbye to our new friends and family. The porters had touched our hearts in more ways than we could have imagined, and parting with them was really touch for us all.

Back at the hotel, there was a unanimous agreement- a real bed had never looked so good.

Our climbers are waking up to their last day on the mountain. They’ll have their last breakfast in the mess tent and then start their trek. They’ll descend through the rainforest past towering trees and lush ferns to a hot lunch at Mweka Gate – where they’ll end their adventure on Mount Kilimanjaro.

MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS

Starting elevation 13,000 feet

Ending elevation 6,000 feet

Elevation gain 7,000 feet

Distance hiked 7 miles

Average hiking time 5 hours