April 1st. Six of us headed up Mt. Kenya.

We arrived at the park gate at 1pm to see the threatening rain clouds ahead

The Sirimon Gate to Mt. Kenya National Park

Our porters arrived and started distributing loads

Our paperwork wasn't done, so Elias sent us ahead with Charles, the second guide.

We came to the equator before too long

Who says the Equator isn't a physical line?

The hike starts in the alpine forest

and proceeds through the moorlands

Until we reached Old Moses Camp at 3400 metres

The other groups got their supper before us, but it was worth the wait!

As the clouds cleared at dusk, Batian and Nelion cleared for us to see.

After a hearty breakfast we set out up the moorlands

Looking back at Old Moses camp

Lobelia, heather and tussock grass of the moorlands

We threaded our way down and up several valleys

until we reached MacKinder's Valley, where the clouds started rolling in

We had time for lunch in the fog before the rain started.

and continued right up until Shipton's Camp

Shortly after we reached Shipton's camp the rain changed to snow.

The rain stopped and the sun came out for a few short minutes before it set behind a ridge.

The Hyrax tried to catch some sun to dry off as well

Supper and Chai was amazing considering we'd hiked 20 km up a mountain.

At 3am we headed up the steep scree towards Point Lenana

We were rewarded by a beautiful sunrise at 6am -- but we were still tired and gasping for breath.

The sun rose through the mist as we approached the point

the final steps to the summit took ages. Any walking at 5000 metres does.

From Point Lenana the sun shone on the eastern face of Nelion

We looked down the Lewis Glacier towards Austrian Hut and the Teleki valley.

Dan was the last to the top, but he made it!

The MacKinder valley from which we had climbed

The early morning sun on Nelion

Looking east towards Chogoria and the Gorges valley

Our team at the top.

We had walked past Harris Tarn on our way up, but we actually saw it on the way down.

the scree was very steep, and a bit slippery

Returning from Lenana

Rocks and Snow -- That just about describes the upper stretches of Mt. Kenya

Elias heads down as we see the sun just appearing at Shipton's camp.

The MacKinder valley

Some plants seem to live anywhere!

The north face of Batian

The scree went on forever

and even got steeper

The camp was a very welcome sight

Dave had to see if he could get bitten by a hyrax. He had already succeeded with a pinching ant.

A quick breakfast, packing, and head on down the mountain. We stopped to see a very fresh leopard track.

Six hours of slogging though the rain and mud.

But we finally arrived back at Old Moses, very tired.

As we prepared to leave the next morning the peaks showed for one last glimpse.

Our cook managed to add some artistry to the fresh fruit course of breakfast.

And we headed into the forest once again

As we neared the gate, one of the porters passed us carrying a 10kg cooking gas cylinder.

And a final group photo at the park gate

Before we did some car maintenance

Lamar reattached the skid plate.

And we drove over the equator one last time on our way home.