Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Day 2 - to Shira 1 camp
Day 2 dawned cold and sunny. We had our first experience of the early morning call and cup of tea (6.30 a.m.), a hefty breakfast of bacon, omelette, bread and fruit at 7.00 and a 7.30 departure (actually around 7.45). For me it was the first of a series of hectic re-packing sessions, getting the night-time layers of clothes squashed into vaccuum bags, squeezing up the sleeping back and duvet jacket, and sorting out all the other bits and pieces. Then everyone wanted a squidge of sun cream and we lined up for a photo whilst the porters were rolling up the tents and shoving our kitbags into their green portering bags.
There was still over an hour to go through the forest and it was quite a contrast to the previous afternoon's walk. The sun was out, slowly warming up the air under the trees and shining on the white lichen fronds that hung like fringes from most of the branches. It created a magical picture. We realised that this must be the result of the climate - these are known as cloud forests because of the mist that often clings to the lower slopes of the mountain (see Day 7), so presumably that creates the conditions for all this lichen to grow high up on the branches of the trees. There was less climbing involved in the forest than the previous day - we had to descend from the hilltop at first and then the route was undulating.
We had a brief glimpse of the rocky edge of the Shira crater above the trees in the distance. Naiman told us this was where we were heading for - it looked a long walk. Then there was a view to the left over the treetops to the blanket of clouds over the plains below. After a short climb we were in the trees again where we had our first rest stop of the morning, an hour into the walk. The lichen lit up by the sunshine looked like tinsel on dozens of Christmas trees!
The porters were passing us by now. We got moving again, soon climbing out of the forest onto the high moorland. The amazing thing here was seeing the heathers, just like in Scotland, but growing above head height. We climbed uphill along this corridor of shrubs, then descended into a shallow valley, then crossed another high point before coming down to cross a stream. The next hourly break was on the other side. Ahead of us the moorland rose up steeply to the ridge of hills forming the edge of the crater.
We set off again just as the Manchester group were arriving. The guides seemed to be taking us along at a faster pace, having assessed our fitness on the first day.
However, the next section was the toughest of the day: a steep climb up a ridge along another corridor through the heathers, on an uneven and sometimes slippery track. Some of the porters seemed to be finding it hard going with the loads they were carrying and rather inferior footwear.
Naiman told me about being a guide and the training involved, the introduction of limits on the loads which porters could carry after representations from hikers, the annual clearup of litter by guides at the end of the season, and his enjoyment of the Lemosho route for the lack of crowds.
There was another rest on a rocky knoll high on the ridge, with views down over the moorland slopes on either side. This was where Pete discovered that he had a blister developing on one of his heels - not something you want to get with more than 5 days' trekking still to go. Onwards and upwards again, but now we were getting into the mist shrouding the hilltops. Then the track turned left to cut across the slope, and this was a much easier section.
Half an hour or so later we came over the edge of the crater and had our first view of the Shira Plateau - a great flat basin floor stretching out below us. This was our final stop on the day's walk. Down there in the middle of the plateau was the Shira 1 camp that we were making for. Up to our right were the highest summits on the crater rim, but apparently they were not climbed. The other rocky outcrops on the south side of the crater were visited sometimes by groups walking the longer Shira route. I had a wander round looking at the various plants, some of which were flowering, and taking photos. There was a small lizard catching the sun on a rock - the only one I spotted all week.
Then it was an easy 20 minutes or so, walking down the dusty track between the heathers and then across the flat plain to the camp site. Just like the last one, it had a circular metal hut with an aerial which was the national park office. Unlike the previous night there was no tree cover - our campsite was an open area of ground on the southern bank of a gully.
Whilst the tents were being erected, Cedric and I had a look down to the gully where some of the porters were collecting water in yellow plastic barrels. The pool looked small and stagnant among the rocks: not an ideal source for drinking water we thought. Cedric produced his iodine tablets which we used for the rest of the day to treat the water - with a tablet in each flask of hot water for tea and coffee, and drops of iodine also in out water bottles for the next day's trek. It tasted pretty bad but was OK as tea or coffee. I wondered what it did to the natural (beneficial) bacteria in our digestive systems.
We had lunch provided here, and then the chance of an acclimatisation hike across the plateau. Dermot and Pete preferred to take it easy. Cedric, Dan and I went with David and one of the porters called Amen - he was a youngster training to become a guide. It wasn't a very exciting walk, on a cloudy but still afternoon, following the route we would take the next morning for about 45 minutes, then turning back the same way. We crossed another gully (probably the same one higher up) where there seemed to be some cleaner water, but didn't have bottles with us. Although it was very gentle exercise it helped to get the bodily systems moving and a couple of us went off behind rocks.
There was no sign of any wildlife other than a couple of the white-collared ravens that we'd seen at the previous campsite. However David said that occasionally a lion might find its way up here, looking for prey.
Back at the campsite there was plenty of time to have a wash with the bowl of warm water supplied to each of us, to tidy up inside the tent, to have a snooze, or to read for a while.
Towards evening, at last, the clouds in the east began to break up, and we could just make out the broad shape of a mountain. The clouds seemed to be melting slowly now as the sun slipped lower and the air got colder. The call came out that supper was ready in the mess tent, but now we were impatient to get our first proper sight of Kibo. The clouds were still hanging on to it, but the snows of the summit could be seen. We put our down jackets on to ward off the cold, and kept waiting and watching. A couple of group photos were taken. And then, briefly, the clouds were almost dispersed and the shape of Kibo could be seen clearly with a reddish glow in the last rays of the sun. Then the sun was gone and the colours changed to blue and grey, but with enough light for a good photo.
By then we were chilled and hungry and went into the mess tent for supper. It was another excellent meal, after which we checked the details in the guidebook for the following day's route. This was going to be the most difficult day so far - a long all-day trek which would take us up to 4500m and test out our capacity to cope at high altitude. So far we all seemed to be managing fine and we went to our sleeping bags in good spirits.
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