Uhuru: Climb Day 7: January 2 Descent from Millennium Camp (12,500 ft.) to Mweka Hut, Park Exit at Mweka Gate (5400 ft.)

Machame Route Final Day, Desecent from Millennium Camp to Mweka Gate.

The final day of the climb was nearly all downhill; and one would think that the 14 kilometers from Millennium Camp to the Park Exit at Mweka Gate would be a piece of cake. One would be wrong. On that final night in the mountains the condensation from the cold, humid tropical nights had seeped into everything, and every article of clothing I possessed, including my down sleeping bag, was thoroughly damp. Wearing three layers of clothing I hunkered down and slept fitfully through that very long night. I awoke several times shivering.

Eventually, I gave up and crawled from my bedroll around 5:30 in the morning, and started walking brisk laps around camp in order to get warm. Even before beginning the downward trek, I was thoroughly exhausted; the successive night of marginal sleep and intense effort were finally taking its toll. Yep! It was gonna be another long day! The sun rose at 7:15, sending its tropical warmth like a gift from heaven. Recall that January is the peak of summer in the southern hemisphere. So once the sun rises, the temperature warm quickly, even at 13,000 ft. altitude. That!, was a welcome relief.

The upper moorland woodlands of Millennium camp had an almost familiar fee, strongly reminding one of the pinion and juniper forests of northern New Mexico, and the High Desert of Southern California. The ground was also incredibly rocky; which did not make for easy downhill hiking. As we started down the trail to Mweka camp, the trail degenerated into a series of mini cliff faces 10 or 15 feet in height. Each face had to be carefully down climbed, and in some places the effort was made more difficult by the stream course running right through the middle of the trail. The wet, rocky surfaces were as slick as butter.

Upper Moorland Woodland Flora.

The 4 kilometers down to Mweka camp seemed to take forever; however, in fact it took precisely three hours and 10 minutes. There, the trail transitioned from a rocky stream bed to a better prepared clay path; unfortunately, heavy rains the night before had saturated the clay, and like the rock surfaces the clay path was extremely slippery. The trail would level out for some pleasant walking, followed by 20 minutes of agonizing steep downhill requiring large deep steps over logs, rocks, and trail dykes; all while struggling not to land heavily on one's posterior due to the slick clay surface. This trail section was especially bad on my already worn-out quadriceps. It was like a three-hour long weight session in the Gym!

Mweka Camp, the last Marquee on the Machame Trail!

The Slippery Clay Single Track from Mweka to the Park Exit.

The final 10 km of trail took about three hours to complete. For the last hour, the trail mercifully opened up to a wide, well-graded double track, and were able to scurry the final two kilometers without "Fear of Dumping." Finally, the park gate came into view, and the Machame trek was officially over. You would think that I'd was nostalgic at this point; but, the truth was all I wanted was a beer and something substantial to eat. I wanted no more cliff bars, gorp, and candy. I needed real food.