The Beauty Was Worth The Pain

Ol'Doinyo Lengai

A few friends and I headed up this volcano for a little adventure. After 6 hours of driving into the middle of nowhere we strapped on boots and with no sleep began our ascent at 12:30am. In the pitch black with silence and stars all around we hiked into the night. 

Resting. After 7 hours of hiking, I fell asleep for an hour in a small crack on the side of the volcano.
 It was one of the best naps of my life.

the awesome guide who led us up the volcano

Morning descent in the ash. 

Ol' Dionyo Lengai is an active volcano that last erupted in 2007.

It was one of the hardest hikes of my life. Straight up the steep slope in the pitch black.

The Volcano is covered in ash, which was exactly like hiking a steep slope in deep sand.

The beauty was worth the pain. 

a few hiking partners

an oasis in the middle of the desert. 

Made some maasai friends who decorated me in gifts.

Two flat tires in the middle of the desert along the way kept the journey interesting.