"Visual Quotations"
                  Photographs by Richard Freeman


Ascending (and descending) Mount Kenya, 16,000 feet! Summer 2000

Getting there was a feat in and of itself (as was getting back to town). Mt. Kenya, 17,057 ft.; 5,199 meters. We climbed Point Lenana at 16,355 ft, or 4,985 meters (the two taller peaks are technical rock climbs, a different world). I don’t think I have it in me anymore (which I repeated over and over, cursing, as I climbed a volcano in Nicaragua 4-years later). It was the single most challenging hike I have ever done. On the last day's hike to the top, we (my friend and I) literally could not fully put one foot past the other. At least in Peru one has coca leaves to chew on, which helps one breathe at high altitudes. If it wasn’t for our guide Boni, who went ahead, leaving us no choice but to push on (it was 3am and dark), I don’t think I, nor my friend, would have made it. Flying back to Chicago I had a short flight from Detroit to Chicago. We flew at an altitude of 16,000 feet. Boy did that put things in perspective!

When I was visiting my friends in Kenya they asked what "Richard" means. It means a "stern ruler". So, they named me Munene, which means big man (as in the "big" or important man in the village). All the Kenyans I met laughed when I introduced myself as Munene (go figure). But when I climbed Mt. Kenya and arrived at the summit just before sunrise, Boni, my Kenyan guide, hugged me and said "Now, you are Munene!" Back home, no one calls me Munene.

Sometimes just getting there seemed to be the battle (but that disappeared around 14,000 ft.)
Sometimes just getting there seemed to be the battle (but that disappeared around 14,000 ft.)
Kenya 11-33a
Ready to get going!
Ready to get going!
Kenya 11-37
Kenya 12-11
Kenya 12-3
kenya 12-14
We made it. Sunrise on top of Mt. Kenya! 16,000 feet!!! (Oy, my head!)
We made it. Sunrise on top of Mt. Kenya! 16,000 feet!!! (Oy, my head!)
Kenya 12-22
Kenya 12-24
Kenya 12-20
Kenya 12-26
Boni, our friend and invaluable guide.
Boni, our friend and invaluable guide.
Kenya 13-10
Kenya 13-7
Kenya 13-0
Kenya 13-17
Not too much the worse for wear.
Not too much the worse for wear.
Boni (standing in center) and some of his colleagues.
Boni (standing in center) and some of his colleagues.
We still had to get home.
We still had to get home.
Boni's wife and young daughter.
Boni's wife and young daughter.
Me, Boni, and his elder daughter at his home.
Me, Boni, and his elder daughter at his home.

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