First thing to note this morning is that I will be writing a note to the people at Imodium asking why it didn't work. There is probably some disclaimer in the small print saying that it doesn't work above 3500m. Maybe it is just nerves at the prospect of climbing the wall. The second thing to note is that the line in my guide book which states that the main toilet at Barranco campsite is the site of the third highest peak on Kilimanjaro is true. The pile of poo is quite large.
We set off after breakfast and after 10 minutes and a few streams to cross we reach the foot of the wall. And there we discover that it is actually a fairly easy track up the cliff face. It is not walking, you do need to use your hands to pull yourself up on occasions, but its not the death defying climb it seemed to have been made out to be, or even appeared to be from the campsite. I think it looks a lot steeper from the campsite because due to some sort of perspective trick, the dimensions of the mountain are such that you sometimes get confused. The one point where you are supposed to 'kiss the wall' as you are forced to hug the rocks as you go around them was so short I didn't even realise we had done it until about 10 minutes later and I asked someone when we get to that point.
The one thing about the wall is that because you climb it in the morning, it is all in the shade. I know the Lemosho people tackle it in the afternoon, I'm not sure would that make it better or worse. One thing that annoys me about this section is the girl who somehow seems to be climbing at the same time as us. She seems to be on her own (although I think she is just a slow person in a faster group) except for a guide that carries her daypack and water. She carries nothing. Now I'm not doing this because its sour grapes that I have to carry mine, but it does seem a sort of a cheat. I know there are no rules, nobody says you have to carry some gear, but I wouldn't think I had done it unless I carried some of my own gear.
When we get to the top of the wall, and it is only about 300m high, so it only takes about an hour and a half, we get some great views. Not only back down to the valley from where we came, but also of the glaciers up above us. We get a few great photos, and then head off for the rest of the day. Today is about 9k including the wall, and we are going up to 4600m, which will be our highest campsite (not surprisingly as we summit tomorrow). But after climbing the wall we are actually descending to our lunch stop at Karanga valley. Although part of this is across a very barren plateau, the descent into Karanga valley, and the ascent up the other side to the luch site, are actually as interesting as the Barranco Wall, as there is a lot of scrambling.
In fact today is not really a day for using walking poles. I haven't really been a fan of walking poles in the past, but I have been told that they are necessary for this trek, and I do have to say that in parts, especially yesterday morning when I was suffering, they were vital. They might have been useful for the descent parts if I actually had a mans set, instead of Dorota's, but the shorter set works pretty well going up.
When we get to our lunch site, we see our mess tent. Today we are getting a hot meal for lunch instead of a lunch box. This is quite handy as it saves us carrying it up the wall. I'm not sure how but they still had potatoes for us. It is quite amazing, these potatoes have had to be carried up the mountain by someone. After lunch we are heading off again (the Lemosho people stay at this camp site) to our final campsite before the ascent, Barafu. It is about 1 when we leave, and it is only a 2 hour hike left, but it is straight uphill, about 600m.
It is actually one of the most tedious climbs so far. It is just a monotonous climb straight up a slope, which seems pretty featureless. This is probably because we are climbing in cloud, so we don't have much of a view. It is also probably the slowest climb so far, apparently a good preparation for the big one the next morning. Still despite the tedium the climb itself is soon over and we reach the next ranger hut and our sign in. We had been signing in each day, they are fairly good about ensuring nobody is going missing - probably because so many have in the past. The ranger hut is also a place where the porters packs are weighed to make sure they are not too heavy, and also a place where you can buy beer, although we suspect that this is only allowed for those on their way down to celebrate. Anyway none of us feel up to beer at this point.
The interesting thing about this campsite is that it is much rockier than the other ones, and also a lot less flat. In fact we must drop about 50m to get to our tents, and we are amazed that the porters have actually found spaces between the rocks to pitch the tents. The only drawback is that we are quite a distance away from the nearest toilet. Its not normally a problem, but there are rumours that these ones are quite new and fairly clean. However it is an exhausting 20m climb to get to them, it takes about 8 minutes, so its not very handy if you get caught short.
Because we have such an early start in the morning we have an early popcorn and early dinner. We also get a final briefing from our guide. It is a strange one, he completely confuses us by first saying he is going to split us up into groups and then he ends up just giving us numbers from 1-15 so that we know who we are following, and all the women go first. Because of this it is 7 by the time we get to bed, which seems early but isn't, as wake up call is at 11 for a 12 start. Yes tomorrow is going to start today. It is the big day when we make an assault on Kibo, and head for Uhuru Peak.
A quick note for those about the mountain for those wondering who Kibo is and what happened to Kilimanjaro. Kilimajaro is a dormant volcano, and actually has 3 cones, Kibo, Shira and Mawenzi. Kibo is the highest one, and the one with the big volcanic cone. Uhuru Peak is the highest point on the volcanic cone of Kibo, and it is our destination tomorrow. Uhuru is the Swahili word for freedom, so it is not named after a Star Trek character - it might be the other way around.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kilimanjaro
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