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
We have made it to the mountain! Today marks day 2 of the climb and it is filled with so much joy and many people to be grateful for. We wouldn’t have made it anywhere without the amazing helpers. We sadly had to say goodbye to Papa Deo and dropped him halfway on our drive as he will be heading to Dar es Salaam tomorrow. It was a special and heart warming moment with the impact he had on all of us in just two days.
As I write this in my tent I am overfilled with gratitude. We are so grateful for the kindness and time everyone has poured out to spend with us and teach us so many amazing things. From John Simon’s 7 tips of success, to Alpha spending half the hike teaching me new Swahili, and finally to the AMAZING meals and I mean better than any meal we have ever had at home (sorry mom). We started our journey with Susan using the bathroom with a friend (a monkey) that was swinging around and had all of us intrigued to watch however, it did not like Witt getting close using his new portrait mode on his phone. It was important not to over do it and tomorrow we hope to go even slower to keep trekking! Getting to see the top of the mountain from the bottom and as we kept climbing was a scary but amazing feeling. We are getting closer each day and focusing on taking it one step at a time. I am so proud of everyone and the perseverance to keep going on our 9.2 miles today. I couldn’t have made it without Zach’s singing and the enthusiasm and support from everyone. There is so much to be grateful for as we are quite spoiled if you ask me thanks to the porters carrying our 40 pound bags and everyone else preparing everything for us.
What an amazing start to this journey and I can’t wait to keep moving with an amazing group of people that I am surrounded by. We miss you all and can’t wait to wake up bright and early for another amazing day!
~Carter Murr
This morning we woke up at 6:30 am to a cup of tea or coffee delivered to our tent. It was cold enough for two jackets and a beanie! We all packed up the stuff in our tents and got ready for the day. Breakfast was banana and Nutella sandwiches, porridge, fried eggs, sausage (that was a really a wonderful hotdog) and mangos! It was so yummy. Hydration and eating is so important as we get to higher altitude. We started hiking at 8 am this morning and the first 30 minutes were in silence. That was hard for me to do!! It was harder than expected. Me, Carter and Ethan did break our silence for a few minutes because our friend, Joseph, who we met at the airport who is also climbing Kili, stopped to say hello.
The day was a steep climb and straight up most of the day. Our lunch was amazing! We had pasta and chicken. It’s amazing what these wonderful chefs can do on the mountain! The porters are so strong and it’s mesmerizing to see how much they carry up the mountain. Some of them carry the bags balanced on their heads! We are unbelievably grateful for all of them!
This morning, we started at 10,500 ft in elevation and ended at 12,500 ft. We were at 12,800 at one point and came down a little to our camp. This evening, we can see Mt Meru on one side and the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro on the other side. The peak is getting closer and closer. What seemed unreachable when we started is beginning to feel obtainable! I wish I could transport every person reading this blogpost to our current view. I’m sitting in the mess tent with a view of the mountains in the distance that are numerous colors and layers of navy mountain peaks.
Carter is in the mess tent reading while I write as we sip on our drinking chocolate and ginger tea. Susan, Carter (Murr) and Zara play Uno. Ethan currently took out Susan by skipping her as she had her last card! The others are outside enjoying the view.
As we climb each day, we face challenges such as a blisters, nausea, headache and some other small ailments, but we work together and help each other in anyway we can. It’s the teamwork that’s so rewarding and seeing the kindness between people who used to be strangers just a few days ago. We are already a community on the mountain!
We took it one step at a time today!
Pole, pole means slow, slow. This is the key to Kili. Take it slow and don’t go up the mountain too quickly so we can acclimate to the altitude!
As we walked into camp, we were welcomed with singing and dancing!! We found ourselves with huge smiles on our face and a tear of joy in our eyes as we clapped and danced along with the locals. This is truly an experience that’s so beautiful in so many ways. Beautiful humans, beautiful environment, beautiful mountains, beautiful flowers and beautiful everything! The most beautiful thing I will see this evening is my sleeping bag and sleeping pad. Who knew we would look forward to a good night’s rest?!
~Laura Mooney