Day 7: Climb to Kosovo Camp
MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW
As our climbers near the summit, they have another short day for acclimatization today. After breakfast, climbers leave Karanga Camp and make their way across moraine with a view of Mawenzi and Kibo to Barafu. The alpine desert terrain is full of boulders with lichen and moss. Upon reaching camp, climbers will spend the afternoon resting before packing for the summit and having an early dinner in preparation for their ascent to the summit to start at midnight.
MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS
Starting elevation 13,300 feet
Ending elevation 15,400 feet
Elevation gain 2,100 feet
Distance hiked 3 miles
Average hiking time 4 to 5 hours
JOURNAL ENTRY BY TYSON MORRIS
Titled: Mountain Metaphores - Thoughts From Thin Air (16,000 ft.)
As with previous journal entries, we’ve tried to make our best effort to bring you all along for the journey. That being said, I realize that there is only so much talk of porridge, flora/fauna and descriptions of amazing vistas that a person can read about. When we show you our 10,000 pictures, you’ll continue to get the gist of what an amazing mountain this is. I’m still going to describe these things again here because I know my family likes these things, I’ll also try to provide a somewhat cliched, metaphorical mountain lens to our day.
And so it begins: (Day 7. We emerged from our tents at Karanga Camp (which means “peanut” for some reason) to find a fresh coat of frost on the ground (something we had not experienced thus far.) This was our first sign that we are getting closer to our destination. We quickly realized that things are getting real. Our previous days of constant undulations were over and it is ALL uphill/mountain from here.
As we stood around doing our daily ritual of second guessing our North Face/Patagonia wardrobe for the day, we took time to enjoy fresh hot chocolate and coffee as we stared up close at the massive snow covered peak of Kilimanjaro. A Goliath amongst us Davids who were only equipped with boots and poles instead of a slingshot. I still like our odds.
I’d like to say that all of us were 100% but the altitude at Karanga Camp (~13,000 feet) was starting to humble us (to put it nicely.)
To make it real: walk outside and look up at the clouds. Now picture us 3,000 feet above that...
All of us stubborn, but wise men finally realized that the altitude sickness pills our doctors had prescribed for this very situation needed to be utilized today...especially since today was going to be a 3,000 foot increase in elevation. Higher than anyone of us have ever been.
We headed into Beyond Adventure’s new “mess tent” and feasted on porridge, eggs, bread, fruit and all the fun carbs and sugars that any mountaineer would need for a full day of hiking.
We then gathered around our day packs prepping for the day. Samia (who you’ve heard about) gave us some new instructions on correct pacing “one step at a time” and a wise recommendation that if we need to fall “fall forward,” not back. Our first metaphor for the day. I’ll get to that later...
As we suit up with our gear for the day, our porters are quick to help with our packs and water bottles. Some of our porters have biblical names like Gabriel and Nazareth and others have said their names are Kevin, Dennis, or even Mountain Lion thinking that this will help us remember their names but we soon found out that their names are really Shaq Yoga, Biloze and well no one really knows Mountain Lions real name.
We started today’s hike in silence, as we have done every day, so that we can regulate our hearts, minds and bodies while we embarked on our first visible “hill” which was easily the size of Kennesaw Mountain.
When we got to the top of the first hill, we realized that we were not on earth anymore. Imagine every picture you’ve seen taken from the Mars Rover. If you are picturing rocks, rock formations, rocks with rocks stacked on top of them, brown valleys, dust, dirt, stones and more rocks, you are spot on. Just as you think you are on another planet sucking up it’s only source of oxygen, you are quickly passed by a local Tanzanian Porter carrying a 5 gallon paint bucket filled with 40 pounds of water on his head barely breaking a sweat, quickly bringing you back to planet Earth.
While this landscape was unearthly, my focus today was on the person’s boots in front of me. Vasque, Solomon, Merryl. Grey, black, brown. So much rubber and leather. Worn treads, new soles. Dust, dirt, caked on mud, etc.
Why stare at boots you ask? It’s because the second you lose focus or try to take a picture of a valley of rocks or turn around to see how far you’ve gone, or look up to see how much further till the next ridge is; you guessed it, you trip on a rock. Every step is important. Every breath is important. Every “sippy sippy” of water from your Camelback is important so a focused Pole Pole “slowly slowly” pace in a single field line is required to get you to the next break spot.
Did I mention today’s “trek” was 3,000 feet of elevation? Imagine after hiking to the top of Kennesaw Mountain, you realize that you are at the base of the Grand Canyon and have to then hike up it. Then when you get to the top, you have to hike up Stone Mountain to Barafu “Snow” Camp. We started to meet hikers that were coming down. We were told that “it was the most amazing thing they had ever done” and a warning to “not underestimate the mountain.” When we asked a girl if she would ever do something that again, she replied with a “F@#& No!” All great advice, but we’d have to see for ourselves.
That’s when we decided as a group that we wanted to keep going past Barafu Camp (15,331 ft.) and hike up another 700 feet of elevation via cliff walls and 40 degree gravel elevation to the higher Kosovo Camp (16,000 ft.) The thought there was to give us a better chance of reaching the summit.
You must be thinking, ‘these men are invincible!’ If so, you are right. We are handsome, invincible men fueled with cliff bars, hot chocolate, altitude medicine and enough glacier water to sink the Titanic.
But seriously, today some of us have thrown up, some of us have had to visit the latrine more than the average bear, some of us may buy stock in Advil after having recovered from massive headaches not to mention that some already came to the mountain with health issues that have been a struggle each and every step. It’s not all fun and games here but we have become a strong team with a “no man left behind” attitude which was on display in full force today. Thank God for the Marine Corp. We may be starting to bend but we are not broken. God has been good and continues to fuel us. We have the leadership of seriously advanced guides, not to mention that we have you all at home as prayer warriors.
We all came to this Volcano at different stages/crossroads of our lives: graduations, job changes, college, chances at new opportunities etc. while we are also facing many challenges/opportunities back at home. Being on this trip halfway across the world and unplugged from our phones has given us all the freedom to unpack long-standing, compartmentalized issues in our lives, break down walls we’ve potentially built up over time and reconnect with ourselves through bonding, prayer, gourmet camping meal times, laughter and silent hiking.
We all realize that this trip may seem selfish or insane, but like the Beyond Adventures promo video quotes: “there is no way you won’t be able to come home and look at your wife (family, work, the world) the same.” We have grown immensely in such a short time and we are thankful for your sacrifices back home.
Therefore, as a small favor, let me give those of you back home a few secrets and/or metaphors that you can use with your husband, father, brother, son:
Whenever he gets too prideful or boastful with himself; tell him to take some Diamox and come back down to reality
Whenever he feels like he’s carrying the weight of the world and is crumbling; tell him it’s not a blue footed monkey on his back but just a Camelback full of glacier water and that he should stop, take a picture of a waterfall and have a “sippy sippy.”
Whenever he’s moving too fast literally or figuratively; hold his hand, say “Pole Pole” give him some “pee pee” (candy,) and ask him if he’s Sowe Sowe. He’ll understand.
When he’s confused, seems lost and doesn’t know where to start or where to go; tell him to just put one foot in front of the other and to just keep moving.
When all he sees is an obstacle the size of Baranco Wall in front of him, tell him to climb that thing before a Finnish blogger beats you there and takes all the credit.
If he spends too much time looking to the past at all of his accomplishments or gets too comfortable with the status quo, tell him he’s about to trip on a rock and to start repeating “Thank you Jesus, Praise you Jesus.” Or if he looks too far in the future and sets his sights on simply what’s in front of him, tell him there are 3 more ridges beyond that and to dream bigger.
If he is taking a chance on something and it looks like he’s going to fall (figuratively,) tell him to “fall forward.”
If he thinks he can accomplish anything major by himself, remind him of Samia, Gabrielle, Nazareth, Baloze, Shaq Yoga, Rama Babou, Mountain Lion and countless others. Pamoja Pamoja!
Don’t ask what we talked about on the trails. I’ll sum it up: inside jokes that will make no sense, our lovely families who we miss dearly, movie quotes, music bands, careers, potty talk (literally,) the meaning of life, etc.
Most importantly: If he snores or Jamba’s, don’t get mad, it’s just what all good looking mountain men do.
Back to the day: One song that has spoken to me the most this trip during my quiet times is a song called “King of Kings” by a Swahili singing group called Ladysmith Black Mambazo. It repeats the lyrics “reveal yourself, reveal yourself Almighty” in an African rhythmic fashion that reminds me of our nightly singing session with the porters. I have been thinking about this ask all week as we live above the clouds, witness countless rainbows, stare at the Southern Cross in the crystal clear sky, hike through 4 indescribable climate zones, see the godliness in our porters eyes, watch the way fathers and sons are building stronger relationships, meet amazing new friends and finally, even tonight as we sleep beneath a mountaintop that seems so majestic. It’s not a subtle “revealing” but a airhorn to the face.
I hope attempting to or actually summiting Kilimanjaro will not be something that we look back as our greatest accomplishment but rather a launching pad for great things to come in ALL of our lives.
We are told that tomorrow (Summit Day) will be more about mental strength than physical strength. I’m not sure who started this theory but we shall see. One thing we do know is that there won’t be any fire drills tomorrow guessing what to wear. We’ll all be 7 layers deep in Gortex.
Onward and Upward to Uhuru “Freedom” Peak and to the top of Africa (19,341 ft.)
This journal entry was sponsored by God...and Advil.