Day 4 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.
The morning routine is now familiar and reassuring. Woken with tea at 6.30am, followed by a bowl of hot water to wash in at 6.45am, followed by breakfast at 7am. Before breakfast, our kit bag, day sack and anything else must be out of the tent and put on a large plastic sheet in the middle of camp so that Raphael, the porter in charge of the tents can collapse them, get them moved on to the next camp and set them up again for our arrival. I have mapping problems this morning as I left my phone/GPS out of my sleeping bag and the cold has killed it. Breakfast is served in the big mess tent which also serves as a briefing room and a rest room after dinner. A breakfast of porridge, tea and toast sets me up for the day ahead. We leave camp not long after breakfast and the day starts with a testing incline up the slope behind the camp. A trail of little cairns, pebbles really, delicately balanced on bigger rocks leads the way up the hill.
After half an hour we reach a crest where the incline levels off and we pause to take a last look back before the view disappears. Below us is Shira 2 camp, its tents now looking like Green and Orange sweets scattered on the ground, beyond that is the Shira Plateau which we have spent the last two days crossing and beyond that the Shira Cathedral and Ridge. Looking ahead we can see our ultimate goal, hidden by the glare of the morning Sun rising behind it but ever present now on the skyline and getting bigger all the time. After the initial climb up from Shira Huts the flattish trail is welcome and we get into our stride as it winds it’s way through a series of rock bluffs and mini valleys.
After a bit of up and down and meandering through the bluffs the path opens up onto a moorland stretch which climbs steadily across open dry moorland heading towards the Lava Tower. From this section there is a clear view of the mountain and the trail ahead of us. In the distance, to our left is the ‘sharks tooth’ a volcanic plug similar to the Lava Tower but, you’ve guessed it shaped like a sharks tooth. To our right and below the Western Breach, the Lava Tower, a huge ancient volcanic plug formed when Kili was still an active volcano can be seen in the distance. As we cross the moorland I finish my water. The Sun is high and there is not a cloud in the sky. I should have stopped and got another bottle out of my rucksack but didn’t want to break the rhythm and so foolishly pressed on and so was pretty dehydrated by the time we reached the tower. This is never a good thing especially at altitude and so I tried to make sure I drank plenty over lunch. As you approach the tower there is a short but steep pull up and onto a flat sandy area at the base of the tower itself. Up close the tower looks quite imposing, a near vertical volcanic rock face rises up in front of you to about three hundred feet high with rocks, apparently unstable jutting out at various angles.
The main advantage of a trip to the Lava Tower, apart from the experience and view, is that it is the same height as base camp, which we won’t get to for another two days and so it provides valuable and all important acclimatisation for our bodies. To get out of the wind which had picked up, we climb a little way up and onto the tower itself for lunch and settle ourselves into the many nooks and crannies. Below us, on the flat area in front of the tower somebody has erected a couple of tents. I’m not sure myself that I would want to camp under what can be an unstable 300ft volcanic rock tower but each to their own. Packed lunch consists of a cheese sandwich, pancakes, banana, carrot sticks and chocolate. Gasper also has some soup which he shares out between us. After lunch there is a short sharp and steep descent straight off the other side of the tower. The path was rough and steep and involves the use of hands to steady yourself. I had my poles out and should have really put them away but didn’t and as a result ended up slipping a couple of times because my hands weren’t free. Thankfully there was no physical damage done.
Once off the tower the incline eased and it was back to walking in alpine moorland down and into the Barranco valley. Entering the valley a cold mist descended, the temperature dropped and the landscape took on a rather ‘otherworldly’ feel to it. the appearance of the strange looking ‘Senicio Kilimanjari’ trees unique to the Barranco valley added to the surreal atmosphere. It was a long, tiring walk down to Barranco camp which is set in a boulder field and in the cold and mist looked a bit like a refugee camp. On arrival I was pretty tired, felt cold and damp and was ready to just get some liquid down me, have a couple of snickers and get into my sleeping bag to warm up before dinner.
After dinner I felt a bit better and had a wander round, got a picture of the signpost which I had missed earlier and caught a glimpse through the mist of the Barranco/Breakfast wall which dominates the campsite and which we will become intimately acquainted with tomorrow. Today was a tough day day for me, both physically and mentally. Making good, timely decisions can be the difference between a good day and a bad day or even a disastrous day when walking. Particularly so when walking in the mountains, where the margins for error are much narrower and other factors such as weather, terrain and in this case altitude all play a part.
Letting myself get dehydrated early in the day and then in tiredness (and perhaps affected by the altitude) not putting my poles away were the mistakes that led to a couple of stumbles which then affected my physical well-being and confidence. Along with the cold and damp at the end of the day, these all contributed to today being tough. Still, as the old saying goes “a bad day in the hills is far better than a good day in the office” and tomorrow is a new day.
For map and route of this walk click ‘learn more’ below.
