Tuesday 21 August 2001
SHIRA to BARRANCO VALLEY
The temperature dropped below freezing over the night. We were woken as usual by one of the porters then received our "water for washing" as Philip called it. I took a walk further west down the plateau to look around. After breakfast we packed, received our bag lunches, and started a slow walk up a gradual slope toward Kibo, several miles away. It started getting windy within 20 minutes or so, necessitating a stop to don windbreakers. Those came off and on several times as the day progressed. The trail was less rugged and certainly less steep than those of the two previous days. We even managed to keep pace with Andrea for much of the morning before she and Ianko dashed ahead. We stopped for lunch before we came to the large rock outcropping known as the Lava Tower. I had again lost my appetite at this point but managed a few bites. Everyone else seemed fine. Godi decided we would bypass the Lava Tower (4600m) slightly to the south on a shortcut route used by the porters. Andrea, Nik and Ianko pushed on ahead while I plodded along, escorted by Godi. We had some nice opportunities to view the southern face of the Lava Tower as well as a small cave in its side. One or two minor valleys lay between the Lava Tower and Barranco Valley; we saw some camps set up in them which Godi thought was a bad idea due to their distance to Barafu, the high camp on the Machame Route. Not a problem for us as we would be stopping at the intermediate Karanga Valley camp after Barranco. When we began our descent into Barranco Valley we came across the bizarre afro-alpine plants I’d seen in photos: Giant Groundsells, Lobelias, Senecios, and Proteas. Some if not all are relatives of cacti. One can supposedly cut open a Lobelia as an emergency water source, but ordinarily harming any wildlife or vegetation on Kilimanjaro is strictly forbidden. Godi and I stopped so I could rest and to take photos along the way. Somehow the roll got damaged, possibly in the camera, and as a result I have no pictures of the Lava Tower and the walk down to Barranco camp not to mention detailed views of the awesome Western Breach Wall of Kibo.. Luckily, Nik and Adrea took some fine shots in Barranco Valley.
Some South African hikers pushed past us somewhat rudely on the narrow trail. It became a trend. One South African fellow was friendly enough, stopping to chat and to recommend a few noteworthy hikes in his own country. He and his group were leaving for Barafu the next morning rather than doing the acclimatization day at Karanga. Godi and I soon left the mildly treacherous switchback for the valley floor. Our tents were in the middle of the valley, somewhat to the east of the main cluster of hikers. As we got closer, we could see the famed "Breakfast Wall" in more detail. To continue east on the south circuit path around Kibo one must climb the thousand-foot Great Barranco Wall. This is usually done early the next day, hence its nickname. We saw some people climbing it, looking like ants against the huge escarpment. At our camp Andrea and the Ivanovs were unpacking. I discovered the damage to my roll of film—a small rip a few inches in from the end of the leader. I hoped for the best and reloaded with a new roll to shoot some more. The usual snack of popcorn was put out for us. We sat around eating and looking for our Kili guides. We spotted Godi and some other guides and porters swimming in one of the streams that course through the valley. An invite was issued to which we politely declined: it would be getting quite cold soon enough. Ianko decided to hike up near the Breakfast Wall on his own. It was often hard to spot him from our camp.
During Ianko’s hike, I had an interesting conversation with Samuel (AKA "Samwa") my primary porter who gently suggested that I descend after we got to Karanga Valley camp. I wasn’t sure if this was out of regard for my health or because Samwa was tired of lugging around my large gear bag, but I thanked him sincerely for his concern. Nik and I then took some more photographs before dinner. Nik used this as an opportunity to play a prank where he set me up to discover a picture of a college friend of mine lying on the ground on a hill outside our tents. It was amusing. We noticed the ever-present French contingent had thinned out a bit. Godi informed us that a few of them had descended after a rough night at Shira. Nik was glad he stayed the course. Ihad what was probably my most uncomfortable headache (for the trip) but otherwise slept quite well. The funny thing about altitude sickness is not only that it randomly hits a variety of people (ranging from experienced athletes to couch potatoes), but also the various ways it affects people. I often felt dizzy, short of breath and nauseous on the trail during the first several days having only some relatively mild headaches at night (none so bothersome as Nikola leaving the tent every hour to urinate). The Ivanov brothers raced along the trail by day, usually keeping pace with the indomitable Andrea. At night, however, they both had monster headaches that grew worse as the climb progressed. Go figure.