Kilimanjaro Day 4: Barafu Camp, Base Camp Before Summit Ascent

9/13/2011

This post is short for a variety of reasons, as you can tell from the entry. I had trekked for about six hours that day along a route that many, if not most, do in two days. The temperature had dropped significantly, and I had very little time to rest before the final ascent later that same night.

It's difficult to write because my hands are so cold. We've arrived at Barafu, which is the base camp for the summit ascent, and the temperature here is much lower due to the elevation. 
Today was the most difficult day so far. There was actual hand-over-hand climbing. On top of that, the sunburn on my face, neck, and even lips is bad. I finished reading Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter two days ago. (Having previously read Washington Irving and Ernest Hemingway on this trip, I don't feel like I have to justify my reading selection) I felt like one of the vampires from the story the way I hid from the sun today. Fortunately, most of the trek today was in the shadow of the mountain itself.
We stopped at Karanga Camp for lunch after about three hours. Many groups stop there for the night to acclimatize, but we pushed on. The higher we climbed and the closer we got to Barafu, the more hostile the terrain became. Eventually there was only brittle rock to walk on and fog to walk through. The fog gave the whole landscape an ethereal feel. The terrain was a moonscape.
Barafu itself reminds me of the base camp for Mount Everest: no vegetation, rocky terrain, and an unforgiving appearance. There are quite a few more people here though than there were at Everest. I crossed paths with a few people just down from the summit. They were all in good spirits, but seemed utterly exhausted.
I need to rest now. Tonight at midnight Bryson and I will continue on to Uhuru Peak alone. It's six hours there and three back. Afterwards we will rest again at Barafu, and if all goes well we will push on for 5 more hours to Mweka Gate, finishing a day early. We'll see.

This was my last entry on the mountain. My next journal entry is from the first day of safari. There was no time to write about the final ascent to Uhuru after we returned, and once I had gotten down the mountain, I was so exhausted, dirty, and self-satisfied that I didn't bother recording my thoughts. However, I remember it clearly, and I will follow-up with an entry soon detailing the experience. 

Kilimanjaro, Day 3: Barranco Camp, via Lava Tower

9/12/11

Arrived in Barranco Camp via Lava Tower. Lava Tower is approximately at an altitude of 4600m, but Barranco is only about 3900m. Hopefully today's trek will help me better acclimatize, because it turns out the headache was not caused by the candle in my tent. Although they've gotten better, I've had a headache each day, candle or no.
After today's 6 hour trek though, I've got a new problem: sunburn. I'm burnt on my neck, face, and arms. Dalia crossed my path in camp and said, "Man, you're red! Be careful..." Little late for that now. I'll survive. Been sunburned before.
Other than that, today's trek was really pleasant. The route was entirely across an "alpine desert" of wide open expanse: sparse but hearty vegetation, rocky terrain, views for miles. The incline was gentle, and I feel like I barely broke a sweat. At Lava Tower, I ran into Steve and Aseem, my two American friends, who tried to recruit me to climb the "tower" itself. We had eaten lunch at its base, and apparently people used to climb it before a rock-slide rendered it unstable. Their guide advised against it until Steve told him to "take his skirt off." I asked Bryson what he thought. "No. We don't climb here. You break your neck here." Still, Steve and Aseem were adamant, so I agreed to follow them a little ways, but that I wasn't going all the way up. Having been warned by numerous people before the trek to be careful, and not do anything stupid, and having already ignored that advice more than once, I thought it was best not to push my luck.
We climbed around the base, and I followed them up one side where we had to climb hand over hand. I stopped, and the kept going. Steve eventually stopped as well, because it turns out he's afraid of heights. Only Aseem went all the way up, and when he returned he volunteered that it was a stupid idea. The guide pointed out to him the metal rings where ropes used to go, and teh spot where the rock-slide apparently killed someone. Good to know.
When he came down, we continued onto Barranco, passing many palm tree-like plants. Bryson said the oldest of them were 200 years old.
Feeling my sunburn by the time we arrived, I took shelter in my tent. I opened my Neosporin to apply to a cut, and it steadily oozed out, the pressure difference keeping it from stopping. I kept thinking it woul stop eventually, so I let it pool in my hand. When it didn't stop, and I had more than I would need if I had been stabbed, I crammed the top back on. But what to do with all this Neosporin? I promptly smeared it on my sunburned face and neck. Couldn't hurt, right? We'll see how that turns out. Saidi has just brought me tea, so I have to go.