We began to climb. There are three hutted stops on the way to the top, Mandara, Horombo and Kibo. Mandara is in the lush forested lower slopes – a beautiful first-night stopover after an invigorating forest walk from Marangu. Day two saw us climb to 3,700 meters (12,000 feet), where Horombo hut nestles in a valley in the scrubby moorland above the treeline; it was from here that I got my first “up-close” sight of the jagged Mawenzi peak and daunting ice cap of Uruhu.

The third night of the trek saw us in the high altitude desert around Kibo hut. It’s at Kibo that altitude affects most people; I lost my appetite – not even the soup and vegetable curry prepared by the guides could tempt me. I couldn’t sleep, and anyway, there wasn’t much point trying because at 1:06 a.m. precisely (I remember, because I checked my watch in momentary disbelief), we left Kibo. In single file in the eerie moonlight we trudged up the zigzag path through the scree slope to Gillman’s point, where we were greeted by the most spectacular sunrise imaginable. The blanket of cloud circling “our” lonely mountain top turned through every shade of pink and orange, and my legs were charged with the last surge of energy needed to walk to Uhuru.

The Boeing 737 cruised high above the low hills of southern Kenya. My glass empty, I closed my eyes and relived my adventure. I felt I knew the mountain, maybe next year I’ll come back, and get to know it better. . . .I’ve heard that the Machame and Rongai routes are also wonderful.