Kilimanjaro - My Journey to the Roof of Africa

Kilimanjaro (Day 3):

Shira Caves to Barranco Camp

Monday, January 14, 2013

I slept pretty well again. I did wake up at 11pm and couldn't fall back to sleep for about an hour but other than that I had a good night's sleep. I was wearing one more layer to bed and I was comfortable even though there was frost on the tent at night. I got up at 6am and started packing. I was done by 6:45 and breakfast didn't come until seven. That means that I can sleep an extra 15 minutes tomorrow. I ate all my breakfast and was ready to leave at 8:15am.

Today was a hard day. We walked for seven hours to Barranco Camp. Before we got down to the campsite, we had to climb up to Lava Tower Campsite at 4,627 meters (15,180 feet) for acclimatization purposes. This is the highest I've ever been. It took us 4.25 hours to reach that point. The porters bypassed that place and went straight to the campsite.

We ate lunch up there and then started our descent to Barranco Camp. The scenery was very pretty all day. First, we were walking toward Kili with Meru behind us. Then, when we descended into the Barranco Valley, the vegetation became very pretty with lots of senecios and lobelias and the occasional everlastings. We even saw a beautiful waterfall. It took us 2.75 hours to arrive to Barranco Camp from Lava Tower.

I didn't see Brian, Andie, and Natalie all day. They started before me and must have walked pretty fast because I never caught up to them. Mio was very slow and I passed her at the beginning of the trek. Andrew is the only one I saw a few times during the day. He kept waiting for Mio because she was carrying his lunch (while he was carrying her water). Not a very good idea as Andrew learned the hard way. Norm decided to go back to the hotel because he was pretty sick with his laryngitis. An assistant guide and two porters took him down this morning. I think he made a wise decision.

I arrived to Barranco Camp really tired. It's two hours later now and I feel much better. I do have a headache (the first one on this trek) but it's not too bad. I've already taken two Tylenol capsules. The temperature is pretty nice at the moment although I do have quite a few layers on. Luckily, we didn't get rained on today. The campsite is very foggy so I'm just sitting in the tent since there is nothing to see or do outside. I did pretty well with the mattress today. After I finished my tea, popcorn, and biscuits, I just blew it up in one sitting. It's 5:30 now and my dinner is coming. Time to eat again and then retire to bed soon.

Today, we walked 10.75 kilometers with 788 meters elevation gain up to Lava Tower Campsite and then 641 meters elevation loss down to Barranco Camp.