, Author at Jims Walking Journey

Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak

Day Seven (Part 1) – Summit Day – Barafu Camp (15,295ft) to Uhuru Peak 19,341ft

It’s two minutes past midnight and we are ‘pulling the trigger’ on our summit bid as Joshua put it in his briefing. Another phrase that struck me in his pre-summit briefing was “give me the next six hours of your life and I’ll get you to the Roof of Africa”. I’ve dreamed of climbing Kilimanjaro for years, I’ve planned and prepared for this trip for nearly seven months, I’ve walked for six days to get to this point and now, all that remains is six hours, six hours to fulfill a dream.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Day Six Karanga Camp (13,235ft) to Barafu Camp (15,295ft)

Unzipping the tent after the 6.30am wake up call reveals a cold, damp and misty Karanga camp. Despite the dark weather however, my spirits are high and I am starting to allow myself to believe that I am going to get this job done. My head is OK with no nausea, I seem to be acclimatising well and the last couple of days I have felt good. Today we will reach base camp and at midnight tonight we will ‘pull the trigger’ as Joshua likes to say on our summit bid. All I’ve got to do is keep well, keep hydrated and keep putting one foot in front of the other. ‘Pole Pole’ is the Swahili catchphrase on this mountain and ‘slowly slowly’ is certainly the way to do it. We will see.

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A Winter’s Walk up Hart Side

I arrive early at the National Trust car park just South of Dockray and am spoilt for choice as it is completely empty. Not liking choice, I choose two spots before finally settling on a third. It’s a cold, crisp dry January morning with the promise of a bit of sun later. The road into Dockray is followed for a short while until the footpath, next to a little art studio is joined.

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My Journey Through the Wainwright’s, One Book at a Time.

My first visit to the Lake District was in 1982 and from that day on, whenever I visit I never cease to be captivated by the beauty of its Mountains Lakes and Valleys. Whether driving along the A66 to Keswick and seeing Blencathra stretching up into the sky ahead of me or getting that first glimpse of the Langdales from the A591 heading to Grasmere, travelling into Lakeland always lifts my spirits and restores my soul.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Day Five – Barranco Camp (13,077ft) to Karanga Camp (13,235ft)

Day five dawns bright and cold in the Barranco valley and my tiredness and somewhat melancholic mood of yesterday has lifted along with the early morning mist. Barranco camp is big and busy, unlike the others we have stayed at up to now. It also looks very different, it’s very rocky and almost pushed up against the Barranco Wall which dominates the camp like some huge Giant standing over us. The ‘Senicio Kilimanjari’ trees are also dotted all about the valley and I keep thinking about ‘the day of the triffids’ and wondering if they are going to come alive.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Shira Huts Camp to Barranco Camp

Day Four – Shira 2 – Shira Huts Camp (12,779ft) to Barranco Camp (13,077ft) via The Lava Tower (15,180ft)

Since the start of the trek we have been approaching the mountain from the West. Today we start to walk around the South of the mountain heading towards Base Camp in preparation for our summit day. There is a growing feeling, that we are approaching the ‘business’ end of this walk. The mountain is getting closer every day now and the trail itself is getting rougher, steeper, more volcanic and less defined. Our altitude is slowly creeping up which means less oxygen to breathe and the nights are colder. We have now crossed the Shira plateau and today we will say goodbye to it before heading up to the ‘Lava Tower’ for acclimatisation and then down to Barranco Camp to sleep.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Shira One Camp to Shira Huts Camp

Day Three – Shira One Camp (11,496ft) to Shira Huts Camp (12,779ft) via Shira Cathedral (12,671ft)

We wake up to a freezing Shira One campsite with the ground frozen solid and ice frosting the tents. After two days of walking I am starting to get into the rhythm of this walk now and the developing daily routine that consists of walk, eat, sleep, repeat.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route -Big Tree Camp to Shira One Camp

Day Two – Big Tree Camp (Mount Mkubwa Camp) (9,137ft) to Shira One Camp (11,496ft)

Night one in the tent was a pretty restless one. We’re still relatively low and it’s warm so I didn’t sleep too well. Dinner last night was something to behold, soup and bread followed by potatoes and fish with a fruit pudding. All this, prepared in a tent by Milton, our dedicated chef who will be looking after us over the next eight days and cooking on gas stoves that will have to be carried up and down the mountain. We certainly won’t be going hungry.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Lemosho Glades to Big Tree (Mount Mkubwa) Camp

Day One – Lemosho Glades (7,838ft) to Big Tree Camp (Mount Mkubwa Camp) (9,137ft)

I’m sitting writing this at the end of day one sitting under one of the ‘Big Trees’ of Big Tree Camp with Colobus monkeys playing in the trees above me. Backtracking- Yesterday I landed at Kilimanjaro international airport and was by met Joshua our Exodus/Africa Walking Company team leader and lead guide for the next eight days. A baking hot journey in a Land Cruiser (no air con) to the hotel followed and when we arrived we were greeted with hot towels to freshen up and wipe off the red soil that had been kicked up and deposited itself on our hands and faces on the journey, like we were being welcomed by the Red Earth of Africa itself.

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Kilimanjaro – A Mountain Top Experience

There is really only one reason that a Hill Walker would find himself landing at Kilimanjaro international airport and it isn’t to go on safari to see the ‘Big Five’. It is, of course because they are about to embark on a walk up Africa’s highest mountain, a walk to ‘The Roof Africa’. Climbing Kilimanjaro has long been on my bucket list and over the next eight days, God willing, I will make it to the top of the worlds highest, free standing mountain.

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Author: jim earlam

Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barafu Camp to Uhuru Peak

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

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A Winter’s Walk up Hart Side

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My Journey Through the Wainwright’s, One Book at a Time.

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Shira Huts Camp to Barranco Camp

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Kilimanjaro – Lemosho Route – Lemosho Glades to Big Tree (Mount Mkubwa) Camp

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Kilimanjaro – A Mountain Top Experience

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