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

Topic: Traffic Jams, Lord of The Rings, and Joy

Our first night on the mountain was a restless one. We learned at least three in our fellowship snore as loud as dwarves. I also had a late mishap after midnight that end up with me tripping over a large bolder because I didn’t take my headlamp. The result was a large bruise on my knee, a sore shoulder, and minor cuts. The day could only get better.

After a hearty breakfast, we embarked on stage two of our journey up the mountain. It started slow as several group and porters left at the same time. The trail etiquette is for groups to move off the path for the porters which was not observed by all. This led to traffic jams on the trIal and interrupted the hard and needed work done by the porters. There were even a “Karen” who yelled Faster to their guides with no regard for any other group the porters. Frank on our team did a wonderful impersonation which gave us a much needed chuckle.

After an hour we finally landed on a steady pace we saw the wonderful rock formations and exotic plants. Our guides, John Simon and Samson, would stop and tell us about the variety of exotic plants. We were all impressed by their knowledge about everything on the mountain. They go through so much training to be a certified guide, and they have supported us on this journey so much. Samson helped me a lot today as I was was low on energy and was the last one in our line. It allowed me to listen to the ongoing conversations.

The mountain rock formations were very similar to those in the Lord of the Rings, which lead to a very entertaining conversation complete with impersonations of characters. My wife Colson does a good Gollum.

Soon we found ourselves above the clouds and got our first view of Mount Kilimanjaro and several other peaks. It was truly awesome to behold. We were greeted with singing by all the porters when we arrived to camp. So much joy and laughter was a perfect cap to the day. We finished the day with an amazing sunset just before dinner.

I can’t express enough how glad I am to be traveling with such a great fellowship of people. They are all driven, smart, and successful people—we might not be climbing to destroy a ring, but we are climbing a mountain.

~ Micah Horton

Lindsay McConnell