I did not sleep very well despite being tired. This morning was the usual routine where we received a tub of hot water for washing, breakfast at an empty dining hut, and packing.

Before we were ready to depart, Felix and Steve stopped by our hut to get our bags. This was the perfect opportunity to slip them the extra $5 US tip without the other porters knowing about it. They were quite pleased to get this extra money.

By 8 AM, we assembled at the dining hut to begin our final hike. For the first time in 6 days, we saw our entire contingent of porters, but not for long. They departed a couple of minutes after I arrived and were very fast. I barely had enough time to get my video camera out to film them.

Well, the hike down was uneventful, but it sure was nice to hike downhill . I kept the pace slow to protect my knees, so Brian walked at his own pace, waiting for us only at stream crossings.

This time both Richard and John accompanied me. They spent nearly the entire hike down to the rainforest talking to eachother in Swahili. I assumed Richard was telling John his experience of taking us to the top and John was probably giving him some advice. It appeared that this trip may have been Richards first time leading a group to the top.

About 11:05 AM we hit the rainforest and about 15 minutes later we arrived at a deserted Mandara Hut. We ended up staying here until 1 PM, not really doing very much but relax. I learned during this time that John does not lead very many tours because there are just too many guides around.

On our way down from Mandara Hut, we took a different route which took us through some interesting vegetation. This section was filled with these short pine-looking trees (about 20 ft tall) which were covered with moss growing on their trunks (I just called them fuzzy pine trees). The route was a nice gradual descent and the rest of the way down I was able to keep up with Brian.

The trail opened up as the access road began and there was this green ambulance waiting here. The driver asked me if I needed any assistance down but I refused. I intended to complete the hike on my feet, the same way I started. 15 minutes later the ambulance passed us with half the German group inside.

2 hours after leaving Mandara Hut, we reached the bottom and went to sign out at the gate. John, meanwhile, went to get our completion certificates.

We had time to browse the gift shop and I bought myself a t-shirt saying that I had made it to Uhuru Peak. Make sure you check your t-shirt because when I took it out of its package (to show Brian), it said that I only made it to Gilmans Point. I exchanged it immediately.

As Brian browsed the gift shop, I asked John to assemble the porters so I could give them their tip. For the first time I met everyone. I handed each an envelope (to hide the value of the tip they were receiving) and shook their hands. I would give John and our cook, Steven, their tip back at the hotel. Since our tip reflected what the Dik Dik Hotel recommended, I don't think our porters were too thrilled about what they received (except Richard, who was very pleased at the nice fat tip we gave him).

At about the same time, our shuttle bus driver arrived to take us back to the hotel. During our 2 hour drive, the driver offered us some drinks which we readily accepted, learning later that we would be charged for them (nothing is free).

After settling our tip with John and Steven, we hobbled to our room. At this point, the only thing I was interested in was taking a nice long shower to wash out the dirt which had collected over the past 5 days. It felt really good to be clean again.

Dinner was special for us tonight - a Swiss fondue. The fondue consisted of a plate of thinly sliced and rolled meats, a tray of chopped fruits, 3 sauces, olives, pickles, and a plate of french fries. Normally, fondue would be a treat, except that tonight I was very hungry and cooking 1 piece of meat at a time took too long. Eventually I started putting 2 then 3 pieces on my fork at one time. The hotel owners came to our table to congratulate us and that was quite a nice gesture. A family sitting at a table next to ours kept staring at us and then ordered the fondue (which was not on the menu). The fondue was given to us because it was part of the tour and seemed even more special when we overheard the waiter say he had to get permission from the owners to serve such a meal.

After settling our hotel tab, we were informed when our shuttle back to Nairobi would arrive. About 10:30 PM I went to sleep, and, for the first time in about a week, I got some decent sleep.