Climbing Kilimanjaro: Day 3 from Shira Camp to Barranco Camp

     After waking up about 1:30am, I slept on and off until 6am and then got up, packed up and dressed.  Crawling out of the tent in the early morning sun, I got a nice view of Mt. Meru about 40 miles to the west, its peak in the sunlight and its base surrounded by clouds.

Mt. Meru, an active volcano almost 15,000ft high

     Breakfast was good and we finally got on the trail by 8:20am in sunny conditions with a temp of 65 degrees F.  The views were great as we headed up a ridgeline and slowly moved into a layer of clouds crossing the mountain.  Fortunately, the wind seemed to keep the clouds from thickening into rain, so we stayed dry.

Trekking team following one of the guides up the path

     The volcanic rocks were covered with lichens and a loose moss, but that was the extent of the vegetation as the terrain turned into a pallet of grays and browns.  We made steady progress and the team was doing well, with occasional breaks ever hour or so.  At 1pm, we walked through the fog and made it to the high point of the day - Lava Tower at 15,190ft. 

Lava Tower hiding in the midday fog

     It was a good place for lunch and we ate and rested for a while.  The temp was down to 45 degrees F, so I put on another layer to stay warm and retied my hiking boots for the afternoon descent.  I was a bit short of breath and my head felt a bit weird from the high altitude, but it was a familiar feeling from being at elevation before and I knew that heading down to Barranco Camp would be nice.

     The first quarter-mile or so was very rocky and the trekking poles came in handy, but the trail quickly smoothed out and made the descent a fairly easy walk.



Over 2,000ft down to Barranco Camp

     After the rain and fog of the first two days, the afternoon was a very welcome change and we got some more views of the mountain as we walked down the valley.  There were some odd trees called giant grounsels, as well as several waterfalls, some caves and massive ash falls along the slopes.  It was a good reminder that we were on a volcano.

Passing giant grounsels along the trail to camp

    
     We saw the colorful tents of the camp far down the valley and eventually made our way into Barranco Camp at 3:30pm.  We signed in at the ranger camp and then walked across the open ground to our campsite.  I did some personal hygiene, took some pictures and changed out my hiking boots for some light sandals (my feet were quite pleased).  There were snacks and drinks in the dining tent, so we sat around talking and later ate a great dinner of beef stew, macaroni noodles and chapatis.

G Adventures campsite

     We did the after-dinner routine and decided to call it an early night because the plan was to start by 7am in the morning in order to navigate the Barranco Wall while it was still cold and frozen.  Like today, it would be another long day of hiking and we'd gain altitude again.  It was cold enough to see my breath as I walked to the tent.  The Milky Way was again on display and it was nice to spend a bit of quiet time looking at the sky.  I was in my tent by 8pm, read for about an hour and went to sleep at 9pm.

 

Next up: A long day of hiking up the Barranco Wall and then along the south face of Kilimanjaro to Karanga Camp, and then on to Barafu Camp.