The Traveler: Ben Brandt of Edina.
The scene: On day four of a seven-day hike up Mount Kilimanjaro, Brandt rose at 7 a.m. and got this image of campsites in the shadow of Uhuru Peak, the tallest of three peaks. With the mountain looming over tiny tents, this shot "puts the size of the mountain into perspective," he wrote in an e-mail.
The Trip: Brandt, his mother, Andrea Brandt, and his aunt Caroline deVinck of Minneapolis climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, which rises to 19,340 feet, along the Machame Route last August. They went with trekking company Climb Kili (climb kili.com), then celebrated their achievement by taking a safari in Serengeti National Park. "The trek itself is extremely difficult but also rewarding. There are no technical climbing sections, but the altitude will get to you. Even if you don't want to climb the mountain, just seeing the mountain and visiting surrounding places is incredible," he wrote.
what inspired the trip: About 10 years ago, Brandt and his mother saw an IMAX documentary about climbing Kilimanjaro at the Science Museum of Minnesota in St. Paul. "Since that day, we have always wanted to climb it. We decided to do it this past summer because I was finally old enough," wrote Brandt, who was 17 at the time of the hike.
Equipment: A 10-year-old Canon EOS Rebel 350D.
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