Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route Day 5 Karanga to Barafu
There's much less to be said about the 5th day of the trek than any of the others. It was another short hike, only taking just over 3 hours at a very modest pace, so it's not surprising that some groups cover the full stretch from Barranco to Barafu in a single day. Taking two days gives more time to acclimatise at high altitude however, so it's worthwhile. If you make the summit after taking the extra day between Barranco and Barafu, you never know if you would have made it if you'd reduced it to a single day!
The weather went exactly according to the routine as well. It dawned clear and bright, less breezy than the previous day, the clouds came down after midday, and by mid-afternoon we were sheltering from a gale and the only precipitation we experienced during the entire trek. Then, once again, it cleared up just before dusk and we enjoyed some sparkling late afternoon views from Barafu camp.
We had another "late start", so there was time to capture everyone's image at Karanga against the magnificent backdrop of the sunlit southern face of Kibo.
This was the wonderful wallpaper for the first hour of the hike as well, as we trudged very slowly up the stony track heading due east at a fairly gentle angle. When you're struggling for breath it's easy to lapse into a state of oblivion, ignoring the surroundings and just putting one boot after the other onto the grey volcanic dust. But it's worth that small extra effort to lift your head and look around you, taking in the splendour of the surroundings. After all, you've made all that effort to get here, it's a pity not to appreciate it to the full. The photos which I took on this section are the ones I'm most pleased with as they show off Kibo at its best, resplendent in the morning sunshine. There are chunky rocks in the foreground, giving shelter to the occasional plant.
We stopped for a rest near the highest point of the climb, amongst a clutter of larger boulders which provided welcome seating. The mood was buoyant, we all seemed to be quite well rested after the previous easy day, and the weather was perfect.
On we went again, going over the ridge and gently down over loose flat stones similar to slates, that rang out when we knocked them together with our boots or tapped them with the tips of our walking poles. This was a slightly quirky memory from the 5th day. On that stretch as well, we passed the contorted shapes of solidified lava flows to our left, reminding me once again of the climb of El Teide nearly a year ago. Generally there were less visible "volcanic" landforms on Killimanjaro than on El Teide or the mountains on Hokkaido, Japan, except for this long and level stretch of the route.
We continued across these ringing stones with the sight of the Barafu ridge clear in the distance - and not too far away. Soon we were climbing the barren slope up onto the ridge, where we joined the route coming up from the south. This was the Mweka Route, which would be our way down 24 hours later. Today however we turned left, up the ridge. My map exaggerated the distance involved - it wasn't far up to the start of the Barafu Camp, which stretched out to take in as many bits of flat terrain as possible.
It was a delight to crest the ridge and look east across the Saddle to see Mawenzi, the second peak of Kilimanjaro, with its jagged outline that contrasted with the square bulk of Kibo. Walkers taking the Rongai Route from the north-east would cross the Saddle towards Mawenzi before turning right to climb up to the crater rim at Gillman's Point, heading east to west. We would approach it from the south-east.
The first pitches at Barafu were taken up by an American group which Naiman had told us about. They were on a premium-rate trek, with various extra comforts provided including a warm shower! Whilst we all felt rather envious at the thought of this, it still seemed somehow inappropriate. Having porters to carry most of your gear plus the tents and food was one thing, but having them bring up a shower was too much. Naiman's pal was guide to the group and they did a little dance for us, before we moved on through the camp and found our site this time at the very top, just before the start of the steep bit on the way to the summit.
The wind was picking up again and the clouds were closing in as the porters struggled with the tents and kitbags. Loose stones had been cleared from the pitches and were then used to secure the flysheets in the wind. Once we were inside our tent we could hear the gale buffeting the flysheet, and then the rattling of sleet or hailstones.
We had lunch in the mess tent and then tried to get some rest during the afternoon, before having an early supper around 5 pm. By then the weather was starting to clear up, and I caught some good views from the edge of the cliff where the tourist toilet cubicles were situated. They were pretty modern, with concrete floors, propped up by supporting timbers and wires to secure them in the gales. The porters' loos were more rudimentary. It certainly wouldn't be advisable to go looking for the loo in the dark without taking great care not to wander off the cliff edge!
As we had our evening meal all three guides came in to see us - for the first time on the trek. So, this was serious. We heard that the cook, Evagri (who we had mis-called Viagra, to the amusement of the porters and guides) had taken ill and had to go down. Fortunately there was a reserve cook! Then they explained to us the arrangements for the climb to the summit. We'd be woken at 11.00 pm. We could have some soup if we wanted, but we'd get a cup of tea and biscuits anyway. Then we'd set out at midnight. We should leave our kitbags in our tents, and a porter would sleep in there for security. Once we were climbing, the guides would decide who was able to go all the way to the summit, and if anyone would have to come back down. The signs were serious headache and unsteadiness.
We went back to our tents to try and get some sleep, but there was talking and singing coming from other tents so it was pretty difficult. And we were probably trying too hard to be able to sleep, even though several of us hadn't had a good night's sleep for 4 nights already! After all the preparation, all the training, the travelling, the 5 days' trekking, we were finally at the point of going for the summit. We only had to climb the height of Ben Nevis. Only. At high altitude, tired out from lack of sleep, in seriously sub-zero conditions, in the dark. So why worry?
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