|
|
I can’t tell you what a relief it was to be back in the game, especially since Day 4’s hike consisted of climbing the
Barranco wall. We could see the first part of the path from our campsite and it looked nearly vertical. It turned out
to be one of the most fun sections of the climb, as it consisted of climbing up large boulders and outcrops of the
volcanic wall. We were feeling pretty good about ourselves, making it up without any trouble…until we saw the
porters making the same climb with 50 lbs. of gear balanced on their head. I’m sure there must have been some
serious injuries among the porters, sprained ankles, busted knees, etc. but luckily we did not hear of anything.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
From the top of the Barranco wall we had a good view of the
summit. It still looked so far away and so high—it did not seem
possible that we would be close enough to summit the next
night. The remainder of Day 4’s hike led through the Karanga
Valley, a relatively easy up and down section of the trail. Again,
when we reached our campsite Jarrod and I were both
experiencing headaches and were having trouble catching our
breath. As much as we didn’t feel like it, we forced ourselves to
take a short evening hike up a few hundred feet to help our
bodies adjust to the elevation. Very slowly we picked our way up
the path, stopping often to drink as much water as possible (this
helps adjust to the altitude) and rest. By the time we made it
back down to our campsite for dinner our headaches had once
again diminished. It was pretty cold by this point in the hike, as
the Karanga Valley campsite is at 13,100 feet. Thank goodness
for Big Agnes. Big Agnes is my sleeping bag and she was a real
champ on this trip, much to my relief. Too bad she couldn’t help
me when I had to venture out of the tent in the middle of the
night to use the bathroom. I was on my own then.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Okay, we’re almost there now…we will make the summit
attempt at midnight of Day 5. It began like any other day, wake
up at 7am, eat breakfast, hit the trail. The only difference was
today’s hike was extremely short we got into camp by 11am. The
plan was to eat lunch, take it easy in the afternoon, eat an early
dinner and then go to sleep by 5pm. That way we would get
about five or six hours of sleep before we began the summit
attempt at midnight. I don’t know if you remember the last time
you had a case of the nerves, maybe before a new job, an
|
|
|
|
|
The back-up as everyone made their way up the
Baranco Wall
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
interview, or the birth of your child, but in my
experience sleep never comes as part of this
package. And that’s exactly how it was on
summit day. After arriving at the Barafu
campsite we met other climbers who summited
the night before as they made their way back
down the mountain. It was like greeting the
walking dead. They all had a glazed
expression and they couldn’t say enough
about how hard it was. Grrrreeeaaattt. Just
what we needed to hear. Luckily they also
said it was totally worth it and one of the best
experiences of their life. Now we’re talking!
The advice that was overwhelmingly repeated
by everyone we talked with was to go slow.
That the summit path is long, steep, and
tough, but if you set a slow and steady pace
you will reach the top.
We knew that trying to sleep was futile, so
we found a rock and soaked up the landscape
for a few hours. You are probably thinking “A
few hours! Sounds boring”. But when you are
operating on 50% less oxygen than normal it
takes a lot longer for things to sink in. There
was a lot of blank staring going on. We
eventually garnered enough oomph to make a
short walk up through camp, passing an hour
or so chatting with some of the guides. Dinner
was a challenge, kind of like being a kid and
being forced to eat something that is green
and mushy, like lima beans. But our dinner
wasn’t green and mushy, it was just regular
old spaghetti. By this time, the effects of
altitude no longer came and went, they had
made a permanent residence in my body,
including loss of appetite. I had to force each
bite down, repeating in my head that this is
the last time I would eat before we began the
summit attempt and I would need all the
strength I could get. With this mantra looping
through my head, I managed to get down ¾
of my meal. With the last bite I knew it was a
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Erin contemplating how much ground she has to cover in the next two
days to reach the summit.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
The Barranco Wall trail, as seen from our campsite. Up, up and away!
|
|
|
|
big mistake. Suddenly I had that all too familiar queasy feeling. Thank goodness we left the tent unzipped, as I
made a mad dash out and over to the nearest rock to expel my entire meal. Not so good for nourishment, but I got
to tell you, I felt a lot better. And so the adventures of Kili kicked up to the next gear!
Now knowing that I’d be relying on energy bars and gels to sustain me for the next 18 hours or so, Jarrod and I
retired to our tent to try and catch some sleep before our wake up call at 11pm. We had made it this far in good
shape (never mind the little incident at dinner), but we knew that the toughest, and most exciting, part of the
adventure lay ahead.
|
|
|
|
return to tanzania overview next tanzania journal >
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
