Kilimanjaro Expedition – Day 3

1. Shira Cave Camp

6:30 a.m.
Good morning from 3,750 m altitude! Look at Mount Meru – 4,566 m above sea level! Look at Mount Kilimanjaro! There somewhere after the summit is Uhuru Peak – 5,895 meters above sea level!

7:00 a.m.
I feel good! My headache from last night is gone! The activity begins in the tent camp at Shira Cave Camp. Breakfast follows.

2. Through the alpine desert of the Shira Plateau to the Lava Tower

8:00 a.m.
We start. Today we have a 10 km trip to Baranco Camp in 6 hours, located at about the same altitude as our starting point. We will take a lunch break at the Lava Tower after 7 km and 4 hours, where we will reach the maximum elevation of the route for this day – 4,600 meters above sea level. An important acclimatization day of medium difficulty, in fact I would have written easy if it wasn’t for the climb up to the Lava Tower. We will know another climatic floor because we are leaving the Moorland right from the start and entering the alpine desert area. Who and what survives here?
First of all, we will cross an uncovered area, where the sun’s UV rays can be dangerous for unprotected or uncovered skin. We recommend creams with factor 50+ and sunglasses with high UV protection. It can be hot during the day and cold at night. Precipitation is almost non-existent. Dendrosenecio kilimanjari (Groundsel tree), a spectacular endemism, has adapted to these conditions. The alpine desert is strewn with volcanic rock of various shapes and sizes. Because we approached the main volcanic cone of the Kibo volcano located at over 5,000 m altitude, we will see the glaciers descending on the steep edge of the crater from a distance. The landscape is barren. We will inhale a lot of dust, actually volcanic ash, raised by the footsteps of passers-by.

8:30 a.m.
We climb eastward through the Shira Plateau and encounter more and more evidence of the prehistoric eruption of the Shira volcano. All day we will have in the background the high volcanic cone of Mount Kilimanjaro, actually of the Kibo volcano. We still see herbs and small plants.

3. Break and continue among the lava boulders

9:00 a.m.
Pause. A short one. There are boulders of solidified lava everywhere. Every step raises dust. My nose is clogged with so much dust and my nostrils are dry. I can’t blow my nose because I’m sensitive to nosebleeds and I don’t think it would do me any good, especially because due to the altitude of over 4,000 meters, the atmospheric pressure is higher than what I’m used to.

I’m learning another lesson: hydration. I have 3 liters of water with me. I don’t consume much water, but there is sun, dry air, dust. And it’s good to hydrate before you get dehydrated. I still have this lesson to learn.
These boulders are interesting! The image of the peak is also superb. We also look back to say goodbye to Meru. Some solidified volcanic rocks are taller than us.

10:10 a.m.
We see coming from the left the trail of a beaten path in the desert dust. It is the Lemosho route from Shira Camp 2.
These stones are truly spectacular! The shoes are very dusty, even dustier. The snow guards that partially cover the trousers and protect them are useful. We are zooming towards the top of Mount Kilimanjaro.

4. We cross the Lemosho route

10:45 a.m.
We intersect with the Lemosho route. From here the two routes continue together up to Uhuru peak. The terrain becomes even stonier.

11:15 a.m.
A new fork in the road. In front of us is a huge rock. It’s Lava Tower, but we’ll get there. The fork in front of it separates the route of the tourists who pass by the Lava Tower, half to the left, from that of the porters who take a short cut south of the tower, half to the right.
11:30 a.m.
I was crossing a bridge over a valley, dry at the time of my presence. It is the footbridge before the Lava Tower, now seen from the side, getting closer.

5. Lava Tower Camp and dinner at Lava Tower

11:40 a.m.
Altitude 4,600. Lava Tower Camp. We are right at the northern base of the Lava Tower, which reaches 4,689 meters above sea level.

First of all, I feel good. I am at an altitude that I have never reached in my life. Without wanting to on the road, I asked myself how I would feel at over 4,500 m, especially after the headache episode from the night before. Incredibly good. Here we also take a dinner break, with a double purpose: to eat and acclimatize. From the Lava Tower, a very little-used path leads to the Arrow Glacier Camp. Then climb very steeply to the crater. Lava Tower Camp is not used much as a camp either. Few tents here, in a very arid and unwelcoming setting, very contrasting to everything we had encountered the previous evenings.

6. The descent to Baranco

12:15 p.m.
The break is over. We will go down to the evening camp from Baranco. Goodbye Lava Tower!
The path we will follow is clearly visible through the dry desert. Meru for the last time today. We descend to the south.
On our left side rises the impressive steepness of Kilimanjaro, with crags, tongues of snow and frozen waterfalls somewhere much higher. This is what the Lava Tower looks like behind us after we have descended a bit. The fact that the altitude has decreased can also be seen by the reappearance of tufts of tufock grass.

Snow is so close! However, our road does not pass there. The world of glaciers, the area of ​​glaciers is just a stone’s throw away. It is in our visual spectrum getting closer anyway.

7. The Return to Moorland. Dendrosenecio and Lobelia.

12:45 p.m.
Altitude 4,500. In the valley we meet water again. After such a long time. I replenish the supplies in my water container. It is a waterfall formed by melting snow. All around, however, the arid aspect remains in all directions if we take our eyes off this stream of water. We have a steep rocky wall right in the direction of our advance.
1:15 p.m.
The altitude continues to drop below 4,000. We return to the Moorland, the swamp area. The vegetation that I had seen a day ago appears brightly. The symbol of the area appears, the dendrosenecio kilimanjari endemism. At first, scattered, then, as we descend, more and more.
Several woody branches branch off from a woody stem with bark, at the tip of which is a huge green flower made of leaves. Over time they dry out, but they don’t fall, they remain to dress the secondary stems. Each secondary stem lives 10 years.
We meet the next endemic wonder – Lobelia kilimanajari. This looked like a green pineapple coming out of the ground. Only miracles!

8. Waterfall and Baranco Camp

1:30 p.m.
Cascade. We arrived near a permanent stream of water, it seems, which at some point forms a small waterfall. Lately we went down quite steeply, but enchanted by the colors that replaced the dessert, we didn’t feel the effort. The site of the Baranco camp will soon appear.
The left face is steep and full of bumps. Where will we continue the next day? It is full of dendrosencio in the Baranco Valley

2:00 p.m.
Camp Baranco. Altitude 3,900. There are only 15 km to the top. Emotions rise. Baranco Camp. Altitudine 3.900. Doar 15 km mai sunt pana al varf. Emotiile cresc. I feel good and that’s what matters. We will eat, we will take pictures, we will rest.
At this point, at Baranco Camp, the Umbwe route also converges, a route that climbs more steeply up to here, then joins the Machame route to the top. In the camp there is water, toilets, telephone signal. It is a very good camp and used by almost all the tourists who approach the peak after surrounding it to the south.