Day 4: Climb to Shira Camp

MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW

Today is a shorter day that starts with climbing up a steep ridge to a small cliff named Picnic Rock. Climbers will start in the moorland zone which is above the rainforest and clouds. As our climbers hike up the steep ridge, they’ll be rewarded with a sweeping view of Machame Camp and Machame Village. The air will become increasingly thin as they reach the halfway point and vegetation will slowly give way to black lava and sand. The trail continues up and up pst small mountain streams, rocky walls, and deep ravines. Shira Camp is in the middle of the Shira Plateau. Climbers will have views of Mount Meru and Kibo from camp is the weather is good!!

MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS

Starting elevation 9,900 feet

Ending elevation 12,500 feet

Elevation gain 2,600 feet

Distance hiked 5 miles

Average hiking time 5 to 7 hours

Day 2! We started the day with a hearty breakfast in the rainforest and started making on our way up. Today we hiked for about 5 hours (plus breaks) to ascend from 10,000ft to 12,500ft. It was a pretty vertical day, so we took it “pole pole” of course. 

We started up for about 2 hours through the rainforest, where vegetation grew smaller and more sparse as we gained elevation. As we stopped at Picnic Rock for a break, we could finally see the cloud line and our campsite from last night resting far below us as we looked back. We hiked a bit more, and then met our amazing team who had set up our lunch tent (and our private bathroom) for us aside the trail at the halfway point for the day— what a treat!

After lunch, we continued up toward the ridge of Shira Plateau. At this point, the altitude started to make itself known a bit, but nothing that was out of the norm or worrisome. We carefully sidestepped and scaled our way up several sections of the trail with John Simon and Samson’s guidance (where Taylor mentioned she felt like “Free Solo”— don’t worry, no cliffs were involved and Devin’s fear of heights was unbothered).

When we arrived at camp, our porters took our day packs for us. Then… a dance circle! Our team sang the songs of Kilimanjaro and we danced together as one. So much fun— everyone’s highlight of the day (if not trip so far)! 

Tonight and tomorrow will be crucial for acclimatizing to the altitude, so we prepped our bodies with a nice warm dinner and are headed to bed. 

Onward!