Day 4/5
Monday, November 12, 2012 Day 3 was a challenge. We got so much cold rain, we arrived to a soaking, muddy campsite, and everyone's gear was drenched. It was one of those "character building" days for our team.
We awoke the morning of day 4 at Barranco camp to another clear morning view. Kissing Rock to our left, a lush jungle in front, and the peak of Kilimanjaro behind camp.
We ate breakfast, packed our gear and hit the trails early. I continued to carry all of my gear, towards our destination, Barafu Basecamp. At 4600m it is the same height as Lava tower, where I experienced some altitude related symptoms on Day 3. Our first obstacle was Kissing Rock, a huge outcropping with a switchback ridge carved into it. It requires the use of both hands to climb, and you ascend high above camp within 30mins, it's a really awesome view. Of the camp and the peak. The only annoying thing is that the trail then takes you away from the Kilimanjaro peak, as our route ascends from the opposite side.
Day 4 was a long hike day. After scaling kissing rock we hiked up and down for a few hours, eventually crossing the "last water" river, named that since the opposite side is arid, and there isn't another water source closer to Barafu basecamp. On the opposite side of the river there were two trails to choose from, according to our guide Praygod, the first was "long and steady", and the second "short and steep". We chose the latter.
We stopped at Karanga camp for lunch. Karanga is a wide open, very exposed area, covered in rock and shrubs. We ate in one of the ranger buildings, and talked to the park cleaners about their work. They walk in, bringing everything they need for a 10day work week, keep the area clean, and walk out once their shift is complete.
After lunch we had a long uphill trek to Barafu camp. The sun was shining bright and it was really warm so we gathered up all of our wet gear from the previous day and set up some drying lines. After dinner I went to check on my clothes, they had sat in the bright sun for hours, but as soon as dusk came they froze solid. Barafu is so high that there's barely any moss on the rocks, and the atmosphere is moon-thin. In the sun it's always scorching, and the shade is always freezing cold.
We had to eat dinner early and go straight to bed, as our summit attempt was to begin the next morning at 1am. The reasoning behind this is unclear. Our lead guide Alex has a way with answering questions. One morning I asked "Alex, are we anticipating any rain today?"... His reply "Adam, it depends on the weather". I asked why we were starting in the middle of the night, was it for the sunrise on the summit, or a temperature thing or what? His reply "we start in the middle of the night because we want us all to summit Kilimanjaro". Alex is awesome.
We hit the sack at 8pm, got a few hours sleep despite a tornado wind storm. I woke up to find that our toilet tent had blown away, leaving the little composting toilet in the middle of a small tent, totally exposed. I had to go, and nobody was awake yet, so I sat on this little potty beneath the most spectacular star display I can imagine. There was no moon, and I'm certain every star in the universe was visible from my throne.
We had a small breakfast, I drank too much coffee, and off we went on our quest to summit the roof of Africa.
I honestly don't remember much about the first 5 or 6 hours of our journey. I remember being cold, peeing like 10 times because of the 1. Coffee, 2. Altitude, 3. Cold and 4. Nerves. I remember having no appetite and feeling like I was going to vomit with just about every stride. I recall looking up at the trail 1000m above where we were climbing in the pitch black, seeing the headlamps of climbers who had left earlier, and seeing stars just a few inches above them, trying to identify where mountain ended and sky began. I remember as the sun came up, I looked over at our shadows and noticed how amazingly slow our sillouettes appeared to be moving along, realizing that we were literally crawling along the trail. It felt a lot like driving through the night. I put my ipod on shuffle and just stared at the boots in front of mine. For 5 hours.
At 5000m the nausea really started to set in. The monotony of hiking in the dark didn't help, I felt like I was being hypnotized
Then the sun came up and we could see our progress, and what was left. Kevin and I both lamented not taking a photo of the sunrise, then we both checked our cameras and found 4 or 5 each. I have no recollection of that, and neither did he. The elevation really messes with you, it's like being half-drunk all the time.
The next hour was the most difficult. The Tanzanian time warp made it tough to know how much was left. I fantasized that it was an hour or so, but got the impression that it was more like three from Alex.
We could see climbers at Stella point, the last stop before the summit. They seemed so close, we could practically yell to them. But with the stunted pace due to the extreme altitude, it was to take us 90mins to reach where they stood.
The last 200m of ascending up to Stella was totally consuming. I had to concentrate so hard on keeping my oxygen demand as low as possible. As soon as I did anything beyond take slow short steps; reach for my water bottle, bend down to pick up a dropped hiking pole, turn around to answer a question, chew a cookie... My heart rate would race north of 150 and I'd start to hyperventilate.
Before long we reached Stella and the peak was in sight. We took a long rest, I removed some layers, had a good drink, and lay prone in the sun for a few minutes.
The final push to the peak was actually really enjoyable. I went my own pace, stopped to take a few glacier pictures, and arrived at the big green sign at the top of the continent with some energy in reserve. We took photos and walked around a little, had a snack, and started the long walk back to Barafu.
Ok I'm totally exhausted and I can't write anymore. I made it back to Barafu in under 2hours, anxious to eat, breathe slightly less thin air and lie down.
After a short rest and a bowl of soup (still no appetite) we hiked another 4hours down to Mweka camp at 3100m, for a total of 13hours of hiking today. I feel back to normal at this elevation, even though it's higher than I ever visit back home. I think that's close to Lake Louise altitude...
I'll wrap this trip up and add a bunch of photos soon with a final entry. Thanks for reading!
La la Salama.
Reader Comments (7)
Amazing journey. Scary altitude "amnesia" story, but you're at crazy high elevations. BTW, Lake Louise is at 1661m so at Mweka camp you're almost at double that altitude!!! I'm looking forward to your photos. Wishing you and the team a safe and energizing trek back. I love O2!
Take Care,
Jen
Amazing journey. Scary altitude "amnesia" story, but you're at crazy high elevations. BTW, Lake Louise is at 1661m so at Mweka camp you're almost at double that altitude!!! I'm looking forward to your photos. Wishing you and the team a safe and energizing trek back. I love O2!
Take Care,
Jen