Ah, the final day before summit, day 5. Very important, the day that would take us to the promised land: Kilimanjaro summit base camp on the Machame Route. And, not a day too soon. Sure, one more day of acclimatization would have only helped. But, after four spectacular days, now I was beginning to crave reaching the summit.
Day 5 begins at Karanga Camp
As usual, the day began as every day with the morning routines that set us up for the day’s hike. I took care of all the tedious, the necessary, and the helpful. Sidebar. Did I mention that after all these days of sleeping bags, tents, daypack, large backpack, jackets, zippable hiking pants, rain gear, etc. one gets REALLY tired of zippers? Velcro all the way, bay-bee!!! (Thanks, Sarah, for your help fixing zippers!)
Then, I was ready to leave Karanga Camp at 13,800 ft (4,200 m) with the group. The distance we were going to cover seemed to be just a short 3.7 miles (6 km) hike up to the Barafu Camp at 15,100 ft (4,600 m). But, remember, at that altitude, short walks are challenging.
Me helpfully pointing the way, like a modern Columbus. Rock on trekkers, so to speak (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
Happy that I showed them the way (lol!), I trail with the stylish plastic bag over my daypack. Not sure why. Not a cloud on the sky. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
On the Machame Route from Karanga Camp
Finally, on our way. At this altitude, the route was devoid of vegetation. Rocks everywhere. Small rocks though. Like debris almost. Like that helps, huh? However, there were some really neat views, as usual, on this mountain.
Great view of Mt. Meru as the group treks on. (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
Mt. Mawenzi, one of the 3 peaks on Kilimanjaro; it peaks at over 16,000 ft.
Our time at the Barafu Camp
The Barafu Camp was a camp of sorts for us. OK, it is officially a camp. Though we were setting up as usual, we were NOT going to spend the full night at this camp. You see, at night, midnight specifically, we would be leaving this camp to head to summit. But that, my friends, is the story of day 6. And, guess what? Day 6 in Kili is out of scope for this post!
Our final approach to Barafu Camp (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
At the camp hut to sign in. The stylish looking guy with a plastic bag, an orange jacket, a buff sipping water through a hose… That’s not me…
A painful camp
I so did not like this camp. You see, this camp was VERY rocky. I had to mind almost every single step to not trip or step on a rock that would give way from under me. To walk around our tent to reach the vestibule on the back (vestibule is a generous term; it was a place to put our bags zipped away and protected from any rain), we had to be extremely careful.
Believe me, no distance was too short for an accident. And, at this stage of the game, I was NOT going to twist my ankle. I walked very carefully even if it seemed like overdoing it to be so careful.
Me trying to make my way around all the darned rocks! (Photo courtesy of K. Shuman)
The latter part of the stay at Barafu Camp
Once it was dark, I woke up in the middle of one of my afternoon naps to go to the toilet-tent. It was a beautiful night. Though there was a full moon, while minding the rocks, I missed noticing the cable holding another tent down. Consequently, my face almost met a rock that would have likely broken my nose or jaw. And that would have ended my attempt of reaching the summit. Luckily, as I started falling, I caught my balance and didn’t hit the ground. BIG whew. And, added respect for the camp… A few hours were left before departed Kilimanjaro summit base camp and I was hoping I’d survive…
In any case, this camp was a little bit surreal because of the landscape. We were also on a steeper slope than we had been at any other camp (which also meant the tent’s “floor” was not flat (not that it was flat at most of the camps). However, and always looking for the bright side, some of us concluded that at least we were towards the “exit” of the camp on the way to the summit so we would save, oh, about 4 minutes once we started heading up to the summit… Gotta find happiness somehow!
Barafu Camp – see what I mean about the slope??!!
Though we were not staying overnight, this camp was very important. We were to have a nice late lunch and then do two very important things:
1. Pack/Prepare for departing for the summit at midnight.
2. Resting/Sleeping whatever we could to have more energy for the climb that night and to also allow our bodies to get as used as possible to the higher altitude.
Three very happy -if tired- trekkers at Barafu. Myself with the awesome Laura and Kristin!
Spending time at Kilimanjaro summit base camp
While exercising at altitude helped get acclimatized to altitude, being active after getting to this camp was not the best thing to do. The reason? The body would not get to recover and it would be energy we would need in a few hours for summit night. So, our leads suggested that, whether we actually napped or not, that at least we lay down for as long as possible to conserve energy and rest. Not being one to ignore advice from experts, after lunch I did all I could do to prep for that night’s departure (we were stopping at this camp after coming down from the summit) and then proceeded to get comfy (or as comfy as I could) and lay down.
I was VERY pleased that I napped. Frankly, I can’t recall how long a nap but it was long. Not once, but twice. Fortunately, the final nap took me all the way to waking time around 10:30 PM – which was great. I was able to say bye to the first group of four from our group to depart. That is because they were leaving an hour early to be sure they had ample time to make it to the summit by sunrise. Afterwards, I took care of a few things before sitting back down at the same mess tent where I had just said goodbye to our first group, an hour before to wait for our own departure around midnight.
To be honest, I was beginning to get a little anxious. I couldn’t wait to get going and leave Kilimanjaro summit base camp. But, wait, that’s midnight so that story is part of day 6!
The summit beckons…
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If you enjoyed reading about what it was to be in Kilimanjaro summit base camp, you can go back or forward in my narrative of this wonderful experience!
Back to Day 4…
… on to Day 6 – summit night !
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Other posts about the Kilimanjaro trek:
– Preparing for the hike is more than training and gear
– The Machame Route: our way up
– 7 things you will not see me without as I climb Kili
– Interview with fellow Kili climber and Ultimate Global Explorer
Pin this image to your board for your future climb and to remember Kilimanjaro summit base camp!
Wow – you’re a better man than I am! Well, I guess that’s true in general but this looks like something that would be done to punish people – not a voluntary thing! It must feel pretty amazing to have completed your trek (assuming you did).
Kay Dougherty recently posted..Two beautiful, tranquil places in Phuket, Thailand
thanks for the pictures… love the last one.
Impresionante! No me imagino como pudiste encontrar un buen lugar para descansar con la cantidad de piedras que habia!
@Chirry, teniamos “pads” inflables abajo de los sleeping bags y los que preparaban el campamento movian las piedras mas grandes para poner nuestros tents
This brings back memories of our time at Barafu camp waiting to go to the summit. We left around 11.30 unfortunately two members of the group didn’t make the summit and had to turn back half way there. The remaining four of us did make it and it was an amazing experience.
@Kevin, that’s a big bummer to be on the final ascent and have to turn around. We had someone who almost was turned around but she mustered strength from I don’t know where and made it!
sounds like such a fantastic adventure.
What altitude were you at during this day?
Helen recently posted..Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
@Helen, base camp (Barafu) was over 15,000 ft so quite high. We had made it that high before on Day 3 (the Lava Tower is at that altitude) but we slept at a lower altitude that night. On Barafu we only took naps that afternoon/evening before setting out for the summit at midnight so we didn’t sleep a full night above 13,500 ft or so! Thanks for checking out the story of the hike!
Your post is so descriptive and exciting! And the rocky slopes of the camp must have been very challenging to negotiate. I can’t imagine tripping on one of the rocks prior to the summit bid! Thanks for this very evocative post. Kili beckons!
@Cindy, thanks for your kind words! I am enjoying writing about it because I get to re-live it in a way. Day 6 is almost ready!
Awesome photos! Can’t wait for the summit! Also, I’m glad you didn’t fall, that would have been the worst ending to this trek.
The World Wanderer recently posted..La Banquise: The Best Poutine in Montreal?
And the adventure continues! How many days was it in total? How do you remember every detail?
@mrsoaroundworld recently posted..Tom Chesshyre, a Tourist in the Arab Spring @tchesshyre
@MrsO It was 7 days total with day 6 being both going up and starting to come down. I will be posting 2 more posts: one focused only on the ascent and another on the descent. My photos are kind of my journal of the things I want to remember. I mainly only took notes of facts & figures during the hike but every now and then I jotted a few words for a particular memory I didn’t want to lose. But the photos really help me remember the day. Thanks for the questions!
I am climbing Kili in June and this is, by far, one of the best blogs I’ve read about it. Thanks for it. I cannot wait to read about summit night!
@Rhonda, wow, thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I love telling the story but also hope it helps others on their own preparations. I will be writing soon about all the practical details of what worked, gear I took, etc. so stay tuned – I hope to have it ready so it is timely for you! (If you haven’t, you can subscribe to the blog with your email address and you will receive an email whenever I post a new item.) Good luck with Kili!
That’s a very busy trail. Looking forward to seeing the pics and stories about the summit push.
jill recently posted..Looking Forward: The Next 6 Months
It can be busy on those trails, Jill! But, also, there are many segments that are not!