Kilimanjaro Expedition - Day 4

1. Baranco Camp

6:30
Good morning from Baranco Camp, at 3,900 meters altitude! As usual at 7 o'clock it was breakfast. We were taking pictures of Mount Kilimanjaro and now we can see even more clearly some of the glaciers on the southern slope. We also mark Baranco Wall, the challenge of the day, in the early hours of the morning.

2. Dendrosenecia and Lobelia. Moorland.

Time 7:30
We start the trail, a little earlier than in previous days. On the Baranco Wall we can see a few colorful moving dots, there are tourists and porters who left before us. We cross the active Baranco valley, near which many specimens of the fascinating Dendrosenecio kilimanjari and Lobelia kilimanjari grow, as we are still in the moorland, at its upper limit, the accepted habitat of these endemics.

3. Baranco Wall

Baranco Wall is all the more impressive as you approach its base. It's all rock and seems hardly approachable. If you look at the admirable porters carrying up to 15 - 20 kg on their backs or on their heads, on a precipitous path, you surely gain courage. We are now entering, in fact returning to, the alpine desert.
At the lower limit between light and shadow is Baranco Camp, where we camped. How quickly we gained altitude!
For this ascent it is useful to tie trekking poles to your rucksack to keep your hands free. Wear thin gloves, as you will most likely use your palms when climbing. No, it's not a climbing lesson, but a light climbing, which requires the use of three permanent contact points if you don't feel confident enough to climb on 2 feet or if you have altitude sickness, as in my case.

Time 7:45
We meet the first special point, a narrow place that you can pass in a sideways position.
We start climbing.

4. Kiss the rock!

Time 7:50
Kiss the rock! That's the name of the next special place on this wall. Looking at the pictures you'll understand why.
How the porters get up here is fascinating! That's how I walk on level ground!
We rarely see patches of grass, otherwise it's all rock everywhere. We climb steeply, there's a cliff to our right. The path is safe enough.
8:30 am
My guide, Azizi, was looking back to keep an eye on me to see if I was safe and if I could handle this cliff. We've got one last, steepest, last hop. Here it is really useful to help yourself while climbing and to choose the holds that feel safest.

5. The plateau above the Baranco Wall. Break.

Time 8:40
Here we are! Where are we now? On the smooth plateau above the Great Baranco! Altitude 4,230 meters. The climb up the Great Baranco Wall took us an hour and a quarter for the 300 meter difference in level difference we climbed. You can go even slower if you feel like it, as they say: pole pole pole!
To admire the plateau on which we are! To admire Kilimanjaro that was hidden from us by the wall we climbed! To admire the sea of clouds that covers the valley towards the inhabited areas. And Mount Meru in the distance.
We are even closer to the icebergs! I'm having a great time!
And another tip! Drink plenty of water, hydrate yourself. The higher the altitude, the greater the effort! Far in the distance, in the distance, you can see the ridge where you approach the summit of Uhuru. Now it's obvious why we have to walk so far up the 4,000m plus minus belt of the mountain. The image of the steep, rocky scree and glaciers gives us the answer.

6. Descent into the Karanga Valley

9:00
After a well-deserved break, we say goodbye to this incredibly smooth plateau after such a steep ascent and start our descent towards the Karanga Valley, south-west.
We lose altitude and re-enter the upper Moorland to enjoy again the endemic flora of this climatic floor of Kilimajaro.
In the distance you can see a hut. There is Karanga Camp. We still have a bit to descend and then a bit to climb after crossing the Karanga Valley at an altitude of 3,950 meters.
10:30
We arrived in the Karanga Valley. The last section down was steeper.
It's worth another look at the volcano cone. Uhuru Peak - 5,895 mdm - is just beyond the visible area.
About forta man.
Here, below 4,000 elevation, we find the shrubs again. Not for long.

7. Lunch at Karanga Camp

11:00
Karanga Camp - altitude 3.995 mdm. For me, lunch break, for many the end of the day's hike. Most choose to camp at Karanga Camp. Here the distinction is made between the 6 and the 7 day Machame route.

8. Ascent to Barafu Camp. Alpine desert.

12:00
We have to make our way to Barafu Camp, this day's destination. 4 kilometers in 4 hours, it says on the signpost. Only 1 km per hour? We shall see. It's only 9 kilometers to Uhuru Peak! It seems so close!
From now on there's only uphill. Through a pothole above we see a path that crosses it on a level curve. It is a shortcut that you can take if you don't want to go through Karanga Camp. It resembles the Great Grohotis in the Piatra Craiului Mountains in Romania. To the left of the stony slope is a natural rock arch.
Truly alpine desert. A sign that it's getting harsher. Azizi told me that at the next camp we will have no water except for the provisions carried by the porters for the necessary daily consumption. We can see the secondary ridge which leads up to the crater lip and then to the summit. From a distance the climb looks easy.
14:00
As we get closer the slope looks steeper and I see the first tents in Barafu camp. A fog cap has settled on the volcano.
14:30
The last climb is steeper. Then we meet the Mweka route, the one where most of the trails descend.
We thought we had arrived because we already saw tents. Barafu camp is quite long and up to the panel that marks the center of the camp and where the ranger's house is, we still have to climb.

9. Barafu Camp

14:50
Barafu Camp - altitude 4673 m. Wow! New personal best! A sign informs about the symptoms of severe altitude sickness and the need to GET DOWN ASAP as an option to stay safe!
The most common symptoms of altitude sickness are persistent headaches, vomiting, exhaustion, lack of energy, dehydration.
I feel good! Or so I think!
Next the program is a special one. Late in the evening is an "early breakfast". This is after a few hours recommended by the odhina because at midnight the ascent to Uhuru Peak - 5,895 mdm - the roof of Africa - begins.
Unfortunately I couldn't rest too well because it wasn't my time to sleep and in addition a group of English people were enjoying a soccer match probably listened or watched on the net, because here in base camp we had phone and internet signal! At 4673 meters altitude!
Actually I wasn't feeling very well, but I didn't realize it, I was drinking cold water driven by the desire to conquer the Uhuru peak, only 5 km away!

See you later! All the best!