Day 4: January 19

Barranco Camp to Karanga Valley

Elevation Change: 12,800 ft to 13,000 ft(+200 ft)
Estimated distance: 4km/2.5 miles

Up at 7:30 for a breakfast of porridge and pancakes, with the associated fruit and coffee service. We've started to get to know Braison, our cook, as we are continuously impressed with what we are getting to eat. He taught us an interesting handshake that involves a clench and then what can best be described as a mini-thumb wrestle over the clench. He seems like a good guy, looking very serious one minute, then breaking out into a smile the next. His brother, Erastos, is one of the porters, so climbing Kilimanjaro is a family career for them.

Outside, it is extremely cloudy. The Barranco Wall, the cliff-face that we faced at the beginning of the day's hike, was completely invisible. We had been told about the wall - about 500 feet of switchbacks up a sheer cliff - sure to be another amazing experience in what is already turning out to be an incredible trip. We started out of camp at about 9:00, moving across the campsite on the valley floor, and fording a glacier creek before getting to the wall. If you click on the photo, you can see the line of hikers on the wall in the picture below.Unfortunately, our pace was hampered by the slow Germans, who must have left a few minutes before us. Once again, we had to settle for pole pole pole pole pole pace. To be honest, once you hit the cliff and had to use your hands in places, a few extra 'poles' didn't hurt. Here's James and Amani waiting on the Germans to move forward.It was extremely steep, and the trail did switchback constantly, and the clouds ensured that most of the handholds and footholds were quite damp. Here's a photo that gives you some idea of the drop-offs.Much to our amazement, the porters just seemed to whiz by us. Imagine guys balancing these huge weights on their heads, using one hand to balance it, but just flying up the side of a steep cliff. Once again, I was speechless as I watched them.The slow climb took about an hour, and as we came to the top of the headwall, the clouds cleared. And there it was...the summit, right there in front of us...well another 6,000 feet up in front of us. Also known as Kibo, one of three volcanic cones that make up the mountain called Kilimanjaro. And somewhere up there was Uhuru Peak, the official high point of Africa. Clearly visible were three glaciers, Heim, Kersten and Decken which Amani indicated had been named after German explorers from the past. He also said that in the past, the glaciers stretched all the way down to the base of Kibo Summit in front of us, and many climbers attempted ascents straight up the ice wall. Not so much any more. There are arguments as to why the glaciers are in recession (global warming, removal of vegetation at the base) but what cannot be ignored is that based on their current retreat, they will be gone in twenty years or less. We stopped and took a number of photos from here, but truthfully, we would have this spectacular and clear view of the peak for pretty much the rest of our hike on that day. No clouds anywhere, temperatures in the sixties, it was turning into a fine day.Our hike took us into a small valley then back up the other side. We crossed another small plateau and then came upon the Karanga Valley after about two hours of hiking. We could look across and see the camp on the far side, and two trails that wound there way up the valley walls. Amani pointed out that this was the last place to get water before the summit, so the porters would make several trips down to get water for our meals tonight, and also to bring water up to Barafu Camp the following night.The sun and wind had dried everything out, so it had now become quite dusty. James indicated that he'd figured out where Karanga Valley got it's name: Karang was the sound of the dust and small stones hitting you in the face, and "Gah" was the sound you made on impact. Couldn't argue with that as I yelled out "Gah" and wiped the sand out of my eye. We hiked down into the valley, pausing for James to move aside some rocks, and then back up the other side.About half way up, we ran into Peter and his guide, resting under an overhang. He seemed a bit tired, especially as he wasn't stopping at the Karanga Valley Camp but heading straight on to Barafu Camp, so he could summit the next day. I'm pretty glad we took the extra day - it'll be nice to stop shortly.

One thing I should mention is the overhang we were climbing beside. Amani had mentioned a few days ago that prior to 2000, porters were not required to sleep in tents, so many took shelter in nearby caves. When he said "caves", I assumed he meant the grizzly variety - you know, the ones where you go inside, and inevitably, there is an enraged grizzly in there trying to sleep...what, did no one think that about caves when they were a kid?? (actually, in my dreams, it was usually a gorilla and not a grizzly..). In any case, he pointed to the overhang and said that this was one of the caves in which the porters used to sleep. Caves?? There was no protection from the elements at all.Now I understand why many porters used to die of hypothermia. The porters life back then was insane. More recently, it seems like the Tanzanian government has taken it to task to improve the lives of porters and clean up the Kilimanjaro environment, so porters are required to sleep in tents. Another thing that shocked me is that prior to 2000, no one brought kerosene up for the nightly meals. Instead, porters would roam for upwards of an hour, searching for stumps of wood and plants that could be used for a fire. Craziness.

We climbed out of the valley and right into the Karanga Valley Camp at about noon. As the porters set up our tents, we sat down for lunch.As we ate, Christophe came by to say farewell. He and the French group were summitting tomorrow, so they were continuing on to Barafu Camp for the night. Peter also dropped by for lunch before moving on. I hope it will not be too cold for him and his limited wardrobe as he summits. We saw the slow Germans setting up across the way, and Tom and Peg from Chicago had indicated they were doing a seven day hike like us, so we would see some familiar faces over the next few days. Absent were Klaus, Uwe and their father. I missed seeing their dour expressions for yet another day. Things seemed a little brighter and better lit, in general!

Got a nice hot lunch of fried plantains, fried chicken and french fry pancakes (which are exactly what you might think). Then we pretty much had a whole afternoon to kill. The temperature was in the 60's and it was sunny, so I washed some clothes to prevent the re-use (albeit inside out) of socks and underwear on day seven. Read a book for a while, watched some video on my iPod, snoozed - it was nice to just relax for a bit. It was also nice to have a break in this location, with an incredible view of Kilimanjaro right there in front of us. And to the right, it looks like a ridge that might actually be climbable. Hmmm. Maybe this will be possible after all.One other thing I did was get myself cleaned up a bit. That's probably a question many of you have - did the Tanzanian government supply baths or showers at each camp along the trail? Well, shockingly, there were no baths or showers available...anywhere!! So how are you supposed to keep clean for seven days? You do have some options:
1. Wipes - not the baby kind, but the more industrial expedition shop kind. I'd brought a few packets along and you could use them all over to feel somewhat clean.
2. Soap and water - every morning, we'd get a plastic bowl of hot water with soap left outside our tent. Good for a facewash but not much else.
3. Purell - definitely for after using the bathroom, it was good to squirt a little anti-bacterial liquid on your hands.
4. Camp soap and shampoo - I'd purchased some soap and shampoo at REI that did not require rinsing, just towelling off. It actually worked quite well - it would mildly suds up, but eventually evaporate in the air, and you actually did feel like you were shampooing your hair.
5. James also went with old standby of shaking a huge amount of talcum powder down his pants. Not a bad idea.

As the afternoon progressed, thick clouds rolled in, moving up the valley slowly and methodically until you couldn't see more than 30 feet in any direction. The temperature also dropped about ten degrees, which could make for a cold hike tomorrow as we head upwards to Barafu Camp over 15,000 feet. Had dinner of tuna stew and turned in around 8:30. The wind was howling all night long, so I woke up frequently. Hopefully, tomorrow will bring another sunny day...

Read the next post: Day 5: January 20