Day 6: Climb to Karanga Camp

MOUNTAIN ROUTE OVERVIEW

After breakfast, one of the biggest challenges for our climbers begins. They’ll climb up and over the Great Barranco Wall. Getting to the top of it will take 1 to 2 hours. After the wall, climbers will cross a barren and rocky plateau with views of Kibo and three glaciers before descending into Karanga Camp. As they cross the plateau on a trail of gravel and sand, climbers will pass streams and giant boulders for 2 to 3 hours. As they walk into camp, they have a good view of tomorrow’s route. They’ll get to camp by lunch. But this short day is planned for resting which helps with acclimatization.

MOUNTAIN ROUTE STATS

Starting elevation 12,900 feet

Ending elevation 13,300 feet

Elevation gain 400 feet

Distance hiked 3 miles

Average hiking time 4 to 6 hours

JOURNAL ENTRY BY BEAU LACEY

Greetings all from Karanga Camp!

In what was termed a “short day” we got started at 9:00am and ended at 2:45pm. We covered about 3.5 miles with a net elevation of 400 feet. Clearly we are going up - but we are also coming down a bit in the afternoon as we foster our acclimatization. Today was no different. The good news about early arrival days is the popcorn and heated nuts. And of course the singing and dancing of our porters. It honestly brought tears to my eyes the first time I witnessed their passion. And my face hurts from smiling every time they stop somewhat because they accept my awful dancing.

Not surprisingly last nights campsite is named after the wall which we woke up next to this morning. Having arrived in fog last night with about 20’ of visibility we had no notion of what was around us. This morning though, like opening the shades of a hotel room, we unzipped our tent to find a 1000’ stone face looming over us that we didn’t know was there the night before. Welcome to Barranco Wall!

As we prepared for the day I noticed two women and their porters getting an early start. We haven’t seen a lot of people on our journey, but routes are converging and thus the population on the mountain seems to be growing daily (and by growing I mean there’s presently only about 150 people- including porters - spread across a large “hillside plateau”). For those keeping track, for breakfast we ate porridge, sausage, toast, omelets and fried cornbread cakes. So that you don’t think we are spoiled (we are) the meals they serve are calculated and prepared to maximize our caloric intake (energy) as we climb. When we exited our “dining room” (picture here a large geodesic dome) I looked back at the wall and noticed movement midway up the side. I looked a little closer and realized it was the women who had left earlier. It was then that I realized that we weren’t hiking around the wall but literally up it. Imagine catwalks (for you skiers) about one person wide zigzagging up the face of a 100 story building. The nice thing about preparing for the days climb is that you are constantly second guessing yourself on what to pack and wear so much so that you forget what challenging trek may lay ahead. We are walking apothecaries as we carry 20 to 30 pound packs filled with rain gear, sunscreen, water, Clif bars, candy, bandaids, sunglasses...you get the point.  We have all learned to be (or continue to be) good Boy Scouts - prepared to combat being soaked by rain or burned by the sun. Drew remains patient with our continual questions regarding the weather. He has referred us to God as he has noted he has no decision in the matter. 

At this point, I must tell you that safety is the number one priority for Beyond Adventures. Two rules; listen to your guides and move slowly. The sounds of Pole! (Poh-lay) Pole! meaning “slowly” in Swahili are heard often. So that your minds are (somewhat) at rest I will share this with you; Our guides go to intensive school for two years and have 1000’s of hours of on-mountain experience. Samia (whose name has been mentioned in previous journal entries) has guided Scott Hall and Rob Fischer who are legends in the climbing community. He has also guided for David Breashears who is a well known mountaineer and director of IMAX films (google “Kilimanjaro - To the roof of Africa IMAX). When filming, their base camp was the same as the one we woke up in this morning. You can imagine the responsibility for a film crew on the side of a mountain. Samia speaks with a quiet confidence and finishes with big smiles. This is his professional life, the life of the guides and the porters.  As he says on the mountain, “Welcome to our office”!

The thing you must keep in mind when you picture us climbing is that at the same time we climb so do the porters - on the same trail. They break down the camp and pass us on the mountain to set up the next camp. Now picture them passing us on the catwalk carrying 70 pounds of gear on their backs and heads.  I am humbled by their hard work,  but also by their smiles while they forge ahead to prepare to make our stay in their beautiful country the best one possible. We must also keep in mind that they too are husbands, fathers and sons - with family whom are also praying for their safe return. Please pray for them as well!

The sun had only teased us to this point, but I’m happy to report we needed sunscreen (some more than others) along our route today.

I am also glad to report we climbed the wall without incident. As we are climbing on a volcano we were blessed with many “holds” ideal for pulling ourselves up, over and around. I am amazed by the fortitude of our group. You don’t hear complaining, but rather hear words of encouragement. We hadn’t even heard “Are we there yet?” until yesterday. And it wasn’t even from the 14 year old who, incidentally, hasn’t complained once. I don’t believe he has perspired yet either. The same can’t be said for the rest of us. To keep us busy we learn about each other's lives (and yours!), quote movies endlessly and laugh. Lots of laughter. Some of us have begun singing Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long” after realizing Swahili words are in the lyrics. Unfortunately we only know about two lines to the song. 

After the wall we proceeded to climb down and up three valleys. The scenery we have seen can’t really be described adequately. It’s so incredible it actually seems fake. The Gardens of Babylon were mentioned yesterday.  It sounds odd but we have been in the rain forest and high mountain desert within days of each other. Around each bend and over each ridge you are rewarded with another jaw dropping scene.  And to be clear - there are a lot of bends and ridges.  Without a doubt a canvas that only God could have painted. Believe it or not there are beautiful flowers at this elevation. I figure if they can survive up here so can we! 

We have seen very little wildlife on the mountain. Each day white -necked ravens circle the Camp waiting to clean up any scraps. “God’s Maids” I have named them. We were told that the wildlife most people associate with Africa are on the Kenyan side. A little known fact and more good news; there are no tigers in Africa. This is not to say there isn’t wildlife on our side, but we just haven’t seen any of note other than one small chipmunk that was as surprised to see us as we were of him. 

We’ve all taken a dizzying amount of photos which we look forward to sharing with you to prove we were here. We’ve all decided we can’t take a bad picture. Unless we’ve forgotten to suck in our bellies. By the way, dinner tonight was grilled chicken with coconut rice with sides of vegetables and a carrot soup. Drew said we would probably lose 10 pounds on this trip. I might have actually gained weight. 

Mount Kilimanjaro is the largest freestanding mountain in the world. If you haven’t been here it’s hard to describe the terrain we have hiked to get this far. I imagine a lot of folks envision what we used to draw in grade school. A line going up, a line going down and a snowy peak - basically a triangle. In reality we have traversed many miles over steep, flat, rolling and rugged terrain - to now arrive at what most would think of as the beginning of the mountain. You can’t get here by vehicle. And on a side note we hope that the talk of cable cars will not be a reality in the future. Great things must be earned!

To borrow a phrase, we are men of different temperaments, talents and convictions. An odd version of the Breakfast club, maybe (no doubt a few of us spent time in detention). Sir Edmund Hillary, when asked why he climbed Everest reportedly said “Because it is there”. Maybe you asked the same question of us.  In this group (as mentioned on the first day) I can tell you some came for answers, some came to bond, some came for inspiration, some came to prove something to themselves and/or others. I am humbled by these faithful men while they achieve their goals. I am confident we have each found answers, maybe to questions that hadn’t even been asked. This is the toughest thing I have personally done and it has made me appreciate the many blessings I have in life - those things I take for granted.

While outside tonight I viewed the Southern Cross in the sky (only visible in the Southern Hemisphere) and it reminded me that while walking our routes I have taken to drawing crosses with my walking pole in the scree along the trail. I figure someone may see it and know that they are never alone - He walks with you. As I have been enjoying this journey I have realized that our destination is not Uhuru (the top of Kilimanjaro) but rather it is back home to each of you. Uhuru will be a great accomplishment, but our high point will be returning to our family and friends. It is fair to say “distance makes the heart grow fonder”. Rest assured each of you are loved and missed greatly. 

Tomorrow is a long day as we climb, prepare and rest before starting to summit at midnight. As always we appreciate your prayers, as you are always included in ours!