Return to Amazing View Home Page
“Mountaineering…a form of obsession that fights against one’s doubts.” -Lafaille
Stats for the day:
-
Hike/scramble up the Barranco Wall to
-
Approximately 4 miles
-
2000 feet or more of vertical gain
-
Moorland and Highland Desert Zones
Much colder this morning, my hands were freezing and wore more layers. The sun had not yet hit our camp when we left at 8:30! Breakfast at 7 was the usual but it was cold even in the tent. Got started with a short downhill to the base of the Barranco Wall. I didn’t use poles today; for me, at least, it was easier to scramble without them and it does feel different to hike without – less noisy too. Until last summer I had never hiked with poles and I really wasn’t sold on them until I started to use them more training for
The Barranco Wall is about 1000 vertical feet of climbing with lots of fun scrambling. I enjoyed it! Marsh hung back at first to take pictures of the group and I asked to stay back too but he said no. Oh well…just took pictures as I could but hard to get good perspective when you’re close to the other climbers. I am disappointed in my photography so far, I don’t feel like I’m getting very many good shots, much less great ones! I won’t know how the slides turn out until I get home, but the little bit of editing I’ve done on the digital camera is discouraging.
The climb up the wall was slow but steady, of course the porters zoomed right by us with the heavy loads! Following is a series of photos I took as we made our way up the wall.
Sharon, Jane, Roger & Mick getting started; it's still cold
Marsh catching up
Dismas, Jane, Mick, Roger
Marsh
Jane & Roger
Looking across at where we came from yesterday
Paschal carrying a heavy load catching up to Mick
Mick
Mick looking down & across at last night's camping spot
Dismas gave a boost to some of our group when needed and pointed out hand and foot holds. I think this helped Jane quite a bit, as scrambling really isn’t her favorite part of hiking. Roger was feeling somewhat lightheaded so we had him slow down and concentrate on his breathing.
Looking up, almost to the top
Sharon, Dismas, Marsh, Mick
Dismas
At the top of the Wall; these guys aren't part of our group, but I like this photo anyway!
Took a long break at the top of the wall, with killer views of the crater rim and across the valley to at least part of the rest of today’s route.
During the hike today, we started giving each other points for good jokes, stories or pithy sayings. Not sure exactly what started it, but typical trail humor which never quite seems the same at home! Roger very quickly moved into negative points with a story involving wives compared to baloney sandwiches! (Sadly J, for the rest of the trip, he would rebound slightly and then get himself right back into trouble!) Marsh and Mick were at the rear of the pack talking when I realized they were giving themselves and each other extra points for whatever lame stories they were coming up with! We very quickly put a stop to that and decided that the guys could not give each other points without permission. And, trust me, they had to work for those points. The women can more than hold their own. J
Porters' loads and looking across the valley
Oh yeah, back to hiking: Descended into and across one valley, up again and then a steep downhill – rocky, some mud, water running on parts of the route and even some ice. Still fun, if a little challenging! Finished the downhill into the Karanga valley and then a final short but steep uphill into camp. Arrived about 1:45.
On the trail to Karanga, with great views of the crater rim
One more descent and then up the hill to camp, we climbed the trail on the right
Karanga Camp, yes, that's Kili (Kibo) in the background!
Ate lunch around 2, it was good- mixed fruit and vegetables in a yogurt-like sauce. Yum! Also, more deep fried bread – not so yum! Been hanging around and relaxing since lunch. Wow – it is a beautiful afternoon, I’m sitting outside with the Kibo crater right in front of me. Amazing – I’m here! I feel good, so even though the slow pace may be killing me, I’ll go with feeling good and hope it continues.
While sitting here, I met a couple from
I walked around camp, not too many people here. Marsh says the high season starts in July. I’m glad we’re here when it’s less crowded. I stopped at the cook’s tent – Paschal is busy stirring soup while the cook is lounging inside. Definitely a hierarchy here, a friendly one though! I asked Paschal if he hiked fast today, since he didn’t have to stay with us, and he said “no, no, always pole, pole”. We both laugh and then I said “no, you are very fast” and he agrees and says hiking fast feels good. Then he teaches me the Swahili word for fast – "haraka"; can’t wait to use it on Dismas. Paschal always hikes with his headphones on with music from a little MP3 player. Everyday he lets me listen to what’s playing. He’s got quite a variety of music. I have my player with me also, and had used it for a couple of hours today, both Dismas and Paschal wanted to listen. Can’t remember what they heard, but mine definitely isn’t Swahili or any other African music!
Dismas is very careful to make sure everyone is safe and feeling OK. He has a wicked grin and a wonderful laugh and is completely likable. He always lies to us whenever someone asks how much further, by saying “only 30 minutes". 30 minutes was often more like an hour and definitely never close to 30. After the 1st couple of days, we were all talking about everything being only 30 minutes. It reminded us of the trail lies we tell, especially to runners in ultras, like “looking good”, or “you’re almost at the aid station” and the runners themselves who say they’re feeling great and 5 minutes later they’re puking their guts out! We’ve all been there so we quickly learned the truth to “only 30 minutes”!!......Dismas has 2 young children but is not married because he is Catholic and his significant other is Muslim. Marriage crossing over these religious lines does not happen in Tanzania, one or the other would have to change their faith….Every day when we reach camp, he shakes hands with and congratulates each of us. He calls Sharon, Mama Sharon and Roger is Babu Roger – both signs of respect. We tell him that we all want Swahili nicknames by the end of the climb, kind of like he is Fortune and
Dismas climbing towards Karanga
After dinner every night Dismas joins us in the mess tent and discusses the next day’s climb/hike and reminds us of any special gear or prep for the day. He includes a description of the route and how much climbing to expect etc. Tonight he tells us about the route to our highest camp – Barafu. He mentions that it will be a fairly short day (only 30 minutes!…) of hiking with lots of time to rest before the summit climb. So I ask if it’s OK to hike “haraka haraka” to see how acclimated we are from all the “pole pole”. The look on his face was priceless…he’s like thinking, where and how the ----- did she learn that word?!!! Then he cracks up – but I did have him going there for a minute!!!!!!!! It was pretty hilarious, and no I still can’t go haraka haraka….!