Day 3: Trek to Barranco Wall

We awoke at 6:30 to pack up our gear and then off to breakfast.  The night had been much colder as we were in the Moorland Plateau which was a little more open than the previous night.  We hit the trail around 8 and almost immediately encountered a steep hill which got our hearts pumping and taking deep breaths for air.  This would happen a number of times as the intent is to get us acclimated to the altitude and trekking up and down the steep grades. 

 

It is amazing how much the terrain changes as we hike along lava ridges with 3000 foot drop offs and can look across valleys which are miles away.  Jonathan was still struggling with the terrain and one of our guides stayed back with him to travel at Jon's pace as he didn't want to hold us up.  We hiked beneath the glaciers of the Western Breach and it was very evident how much of the glacier has been lost due to global warming.  It's actually evaporation that is destroying the glaciers more than melting as Kilimanjaro has become drier over the last century.  We were surprised to see a type of cactus which opens its leaves (for lack of better terminology) in the morning and closes them at night

 

Erika is now starting to feel bad and we're not sure of the cause. She did have some of the sausages that gave me the problems or it could be some of the affects of altitude sickness.  We made it to lava tower around 1:45 where we attempted to have lunch.  I say attempted as Erika did get sick in the mess tent which quickly changed our appetites.  After cleaning things up with the help of our guides Kennet and Ignas (who went way beyond the call of duty) we started our trek down to camp. 

 

Lava Tower is aptly named for the 210ft lava tower which just stands in the middle of nowhere.  The elevation there is around 15,000ft. which surprisingly most of handled very well.  We hiked the ridge above Barranco Valley before making our decent into the camp which is protected by towering cliffs.  This was the first day we encountered ice along the trails which form at night as ice crystals and then melt during the day to water the nearby flowering plants.  we also saw waterfalls with ice along the sides.  This proved to be an omen of the drop in temps we would feel that night.  Our trek took us about 10 hrs to cover the 7 miles and we finished at an elevation of over 13,000ft. 

 

The camp is named for the Barranco Wall which is 1,000 ft. tall and is what we will climb tomorrow.  In looking at it , we're amazed at the trail we see (it's the light line in the shaded section of the adjacent picture) and can't believe we'll be tackling it tomorrow.  Jonathan arrived at camp several hours after we did and was thoroughly exhausted.  Several of us were silently questioning if this may be the end of the trek for him.  The night will be much colder than what we've experienced thus far as the temp. is dropping quickly as daylight fades. We ate dinner, checked our O2 levels, had our briefing for tomorrow, and turned in for the night thoroughly exhausted but exhilarated from the views of the day.