Kilimanjaro Day 5 – Baranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Kilimanjaro Day 5
Baranco Camp (13,038′) to Karanga Camp (13,184′)
Zone: Heath Moorland to Alpine Desert
Quoted Distance: 6km/3.7 miles
Guide Service: Everlasting Tanzania

Not to toot my own horn, but I am really proud of myself for how well I am doing with the camping part of this trek. As someone who has never camped before in my life I am actually relatively comfortable in my tent, have gotten into a good routine, and don’t mind the lack of running water as much as I thought I would. I’ve figured out a system of warming my body wipes by setting them on my hot water bottle or sitting on them for a couple minutes and I even feel clean. Last night was really rough. I lost my shit and broke down over the cold and wet weather. I am so over being cold and wet. I slept decently last night and this morning it is absolutely freezing out but the sky is clear and there is no rain.

Since Shane has really been struggling with sleep, last night I gave him my sleepy drug cocktail of choice to see if it would help him get some rest. He excitedly reported that he had a fantastic and full night of sleep. My god he is a new man this morning; chipper and eating a full breakfast! I am sooooo glad it worked! I only brought the exact amount of sleep meds I needed with me so I would have been disappointed if I’d wasted a set and he didn’t sleep but since he did get good rest it was not a waste and 100% worth it. I have enough for both of us for tonight but then we’ll have to wing it the last couple nights; the next night is really the most critical in terms of rest anyways so we’ll be fine. I am just happy it helped him.

Pulling out my morning meds this morning, a sudden pit knotted my stomach as I reached for my diamox. I have all my meds mixed together to conserve space with a note outlining what is in there, dosing information, and what each looks like. Diamox and prednisone are both small round white tablets, one just a little smaller than the other. The diamox is to be taken twice/day and the prednisone was prescribed by my doctor for me to use once/day, if needed, in the event that I start to have knee pain. I have not needed to use it yet. But holy crap, I suddenly couldn’t remember which was the diamox and which was the prednisone. Which one is smaller?! I’ve known what I was doing this entire time but now suddenly my mind is a jumble and I can’t remember which is which. Ok, no problem. I had Katie and Kyra pull out their diamox so I could compare the size and inscription on the pills. No use, all of our pills were different. Ok. I pulled out my Garmin InReach Mini 2 Satellite beacon and sent a satellite text to my best friend, her husband is a pharmacist, describing the inscription on each pill and asking if her husband can tell me which is which. She wasn’t responding. But in my heart I knew I had been screwed up all along. I am pretty sure I have been taking prednisone instead of diamox twice each day. Which means I’ve been getting a double dose of the steroid and NONE of the diamox, the coveted altitude medication. This explains why I was nauseas yesterday morning and could even be contributing to the anxiety I’m feeling. My bestie wasn’t getting back to me and it was getting late where she lives so I figured I was SOL on getting help. I decided to do the next best thing; just start taking them both. I’d rather have them both in my system and take a double dose of prednisone than gamble on whether or not I’m taking the diamox. We’re getting closer and closer to summit night, this altitude is getting really real, so that’s the best way to manage this situation.

After breakfast we gathered our day packs and were ready to go. Someone was missing, Saidi! In addition to being an accomplished and phenomenal guide, Saidi is also a champion sleeper and had slept in this morning. It is incredible how much that man is able to sleep on the mountain. I’m actually feeling fine about the Baranco Wall but Kyra and Katie both have a fear of heights and are dreading it.

A few minutes after 9am we finally left camp and trudged towards the Baranco Wall. The Baranco Wall is a relatively sheer cliff-face that must be climbed in order to continue on the trek’s route. It does not require any specialty gear, ropes, or anything like that but it is considered the most technical part of the trek. The universe knew that I needed it to be sunny and dry today and was obliging. Even the pink and white everlasting flowers were in full bloom. After crossing a small stream, we let a large group, maybe 25 or 30 climbers, pass us on the way out of camp but before we had even reached the wall we passed them again, their guides urging us to pass as they already had climbers who were struggling with altitude sickness and throwing up. Walking by I could overhear healthier climbers supporting their altitude sick mates with reassurances that they were all in this together. One of the magical parts of the mountain.

Being so cold yesterday we all layered up extra today. It wasn’t long before we had to stop to adjust layers because everyone was hot with the blessed sun on us.

I had tried a single braid in my hair today instead of my usual twin adventure braids and it was a mess. I asked Katie if she wouldn’t mind redoing my braid real quick and we were treated to quite a show while she was doing so! It’s amazing what a good night’s sleep can do for a person; Shane wasn’t just in a good mood and rested, he was exuberant and performed a Baranco Wall striptease while he layered down, pulling off his pants and swinging them over his shoulder! Katie’s hands were tied up in my hair but I pulled out my camera and clumsily filmed over my shoulder while Chaz filmed him from behind.

Trying not to be shown up by Shane’s striptease, Chaz and Saidi broke out in song; singing and dancing while we hung back waiting for porters to pass. And you better believe that even the porters clapped their hands and sung along as they climbed up past us. How do these guys do this?! I’ve had Chaz and Saidi teach us Swahili phrases for “You’re the best!” and “You’re a hero!” because these folks truly are both those things.

While not extreme, the Baranco Wall is a lot of legit rock climbing. Finding handholds and footholds, hauling ourselves up. Katie had “short girl problems” (her words!) with her legs struggling to make the big steps that mine could. I had depth perception problems with my lack of depth perception making it difficult for me to see where my best hand and footholds were. We often had to stop and give way as teams of porters made the climb past us, amazing us with their ability to maintain their balance and find their steps with large rucksacks on their heads and backs.

The most famed spot on Baranco is the “kissing wall.” A spot so tight and sheer that you have to hug the wall with both hands and land your foot squarely on the a single rock available as a step, as to not fall off and tumble down the wall; for luck you’re supposed to kiss the wall as your bear hug it. Gross. Saidi showed how to take the proper step and we all reacted with a version of “oh hell no.” But it’s not like we had a choice! We encouraged each other and Shane reminded us all to just keep our eyes ahead on Saidi and Chaz who would be catching us on the other side. Katie was in the front of the pack and had to go first. She assured us, “It’s not that bad, it’s not that bad” as she took her step across. I went next, agreeing with Katie and assuring Kyra the same, “It’s not that bad, it’s not that bad.” Feeling cocky on the other side, Katie yelled, “Kiss it bitch!!!” as Kyra grasped the rock to take her step across. We are all in a good mood this morning!

We all survived the kissing rock and the worst of the climb was over! Everlasting flowers still bloomed against rocks; blossoming open in the sun. At this point, the slightest bit of sun makes us all blossom open! The wall was widening as we finished the bouldering and were back on a somewhat normal trail again, alternating between trail and bouldering as we continued making progress. The clouds were rolling over but there was still sun and blue sky.

Clouds continued to roll in as we neared the top of the wall. Nature has a sense of humor sometimes, while we had mushroom rocks yesterday, today an ominous figure seemed to be staring at us from a giant boulder. An owl? ET? It could easily have been either and if I could have I would have tried to stick that rock in my pack and bring it home!

We made it to the top of the Baranco Wall at exactly 12pm. And at exactly 12:01pm it started to rain. Ughhhhhh. We all layered up in our rain gear and I was so thankful that the rain at least waited until after we were done on the Baranco Wall but crimeny, I had thought the weather was finally starting to improve.

The rain decided to come back with a vengeance. From the top of Baranco Wall we were going primarily downhill with some ascending undulations. The trail was narrow and muddy with slippery rocks that required cautious navigation to not slip or trip over my poncho. The sky was completely gray and my mood and mental state were declining again. At least I wasn’t physically declining like others we have seen on the trail today. We had let the large group pass us when we took a break after Baranco Wall and they had a couple scragglers struggling; eating saltines and moving much slower than their comarades.

During our trek planning, I have been pretty engaged with a couple Kilimanjaro climbing groups on Facebook and clearly recall trekkers posting about their experience being on the mountain when a fire broke out last October. I hadn’t really given it much thought since then but now the trees were barren black stalks and ash was mixed into the dirt. Saidi explained that the fire broke out because a cook at Millenium Camp had run out of gas cylinders and made a fire to cook, something which is not legal on the mountain. The fire, obviously, got out of hand and spread from Millenium Camp, around the mountain past Karanga Camp, and to the point where we are now. The fire raged for about two weeks and many porters and guides volunteered and assisted in the fire fighting efforts. Rain was finally a savior and helped extinguish the fire.

Rain still pouring down on us, the day was feeling monotonous and I was able to put context around my own mental decline. Part of my issue is that I am feeling wildly claustrophobic today. After seeing the town off in the distance from camp yesterday, but knowing it wasn’t reachable, it really started to hit home with me how isolated we are. I am stuck on this mountain. I am 4 1/2 days into this trek. There is no easy way off, there is no way to just leave. I am trapped.

Katie really wasn’t feeling well and didn’t feel like dealing with peeing in the rain but Kyra and I stopped for a quick pee circle. We found a little small tree to offer us some shelter but that didn’t help much when she stood up and hit the tree, causing all the water to pour down on us. I told her about my claustrophobia getting the best of me today and she offered encouraging words.

We crossed a small stream and Saidi explained to us that this was the last water source until after summit, meaning that water has to be hauled from this spot up to not only Karanga Camp but to Barafu Camp, which is base camp, as well. Making the final climb to Karanga Camp, we were passed by porters going both directions, some going to fill water and others hauling water up. The earlier camps have all had a stream or water source relatively close by in comparison to Karanga.

We made it into Karanga Camp a little after 3pm and lunch was waiting for us. The official Karanga Camp sign was up the hill from where our camp was set and it felt like too much work to go get our group picture, we’ll get one on the way out tomorrow. Katie did run and snap a pic after lunch so we at least we have one of the official camp sign for today.

Lunch started with soup, as all lunch and dinners on the mountain do, with an entree of fried chicken, french fries, avocado, saucy green beans and carrots, and tomato cucumber salad. It was all good but there was so much bone I found the chicken a lot of work to eat and I was struggling with my appetite. I had Essau fill my nalgene with hot water at lunch so I had some warmth for my tent and to warm up my body wipes for my washy washy.

After lunch we retreated to get our tents organized for the night and Kyra dipped in to say hi the porters in the “kitchen” tent and take a couple pictures. I sat in my tent for a while, not doing much of anything but feeling like a hot mess express and agonizing over the idea of whether or not I really want to make the summit push. If it’s raining, not a chance in hell.

Changed into dry clothes and with my tent organized, I’m getting really quick at my organizing, I stepped back out to survey the camp ground. The wall of clouds that had been dominating the landscape started to move and suddenly Kibo Summit was in front of me. I didn’t realize it was right there. I yelled for Katie, Kyra, and Shane to come out so they didn’t miss the viewing.

At dinner, I asked Saidi about staying behind at base camp tomorrow night if I decide I do not want to summit. I explained it to him the same way I explained it to Chaz last night, this is not my bucket list item. I can tell that I am getting sick, not altitude sick but sick sick. Katie and Shane have both been sick for the last couple days and it is hitting me. I have no appetite, I’m congested, and I just feel that my body is not right. Safari is my bucket list item, not this, so if I don’t feel well or its raining it’s not worth it to me to attempt summit and ruin the rest of my time in Tanzania by getting sicker. Saidi told me that he knew I could do the summit and he knew I’d be fine BUT if I really did decide not to I could stay at Barafu Camp and they’d keep in touch with me via radio. I still don’t know what I’m going to do but at least I know I have an option.