Day 5: Climb to Barranco Camp

MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW

Today, the trail runs through a black lava desert past millions of boulders. From the Shira Plateau, the group will go up a ridge, past the trail to the peak of Kibo, to Lava Tower (known by locals as Shark’s Tooth). During their lunch break, they can take in the snowline above the Lava Tower. After lunch, they’ll descend to the Barranco Camp at an altitude of 13,000 feet. The black lava desert fades into heather and moorland. From Barranco Camp, they’ll see the Barranco Wall, the Western Breach of Kibo, and the South Glacier. This is where their hike ends – and they rest and have dinner. Because their bodies are exposed to such a high elevation at lunch, this is one of the most important days for acclimatization and will prepare our climbers’ bodies for summit day.

MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS

Starting elevation 12,500 feet

Ending elevation 12,900 feet

Elevation gain 400 feet

Distance hiked 6 miles

Average hiking time 7 to 9 hours

Beginning our 3rd day on the trail was fantastic as usual with hot coffee and tea delivered to our tents by our amazing porters. After getting dressed for the day and packing our bags we headed to breakfast for omelettes and frozen Nutella on crepes. Nutella on the mountain is worth it’s weight in gold and is running in short supply which is the most concerning part of the trip so far. After eating we began the hike with a group picture and then discovered an extraterrestrial landscape which was very different than the rain forest we hiked through on the first day. We stopped momentarily to have a lesson by one of the guides ~ John Simon ~ about the Senecio kilimanjari that we have dubbed the Kilimanjaro palm tree. From there we saw a waterfall with icicles and patches of ice which seemed bizarre in the desert like landscape. The ultimate view of the day came at the lava tower at 15,000 ft which was formed from a volcanic eruption. After this we arrived at our campsite with popcorn and hot food awaiting us. Ultimately at the end of this day we all discovered we would not get a cellphone out of a hole in the ground toilet for less than $1000.

~ Mike & Maria