Climbing Kili: Day 3 - Shira Camp to Lava Tower to Barranco Camp

Elevation (m): 3840m to 4630m to 3860m
Elevation (ft): 12,600ft to 12,700ft
Distance: 15 km
Habitat: Semi-desert

Kay and I got up at some point in the middle of the night to go for a short call ("number one"). We squealed with delight when we unzipped the tent and found that the sky was crystal clear. We could see the moon and stars above us, we could see the town of Moshi below us, and best of all, we could see the peak of Kili in the distance. It was our very first view of the summit, and we smiled as we squatted. Our excited chatter and unsuccessful attempts to take pictures woke up Matt...if not everyone else at camp.

Monday was a schizophrenic, roller coaster of a day - physically, emotionally, weather and otherwise. We started extra early so we could get as far as we could before the rain came - an event that we now took to be inevitable. We were right, of course (tip: don't climb during rainy season), but we did manage to grab a few shots before the fog monster rolled in. Let picture #1 be a testament to Orkis impatience...within 11 seconds, Kaylan got tired of giving Matt instructions for hand placement and snapped away. Terrain of the day: Black boulders, and not much to accompany them. The fog monster:

On Day 3 you ascend ~790 meters to Lava Tower - the highest point in the climb before summiting and our lunch point (featured below) - then descend almost all the way back to your starting elevation. While good for acclimatizing, it's a bit disheartening to feel like you've lost so much ground, and a doozy on the knees. There was no more "pole pole" - Robert and Gilbert nearly sprinted down while Kay, Matt and I dug our poles into the ground to help ease the impact.

By this point, my poncho had become both my best friend and worst enemy. It was my only option as protection from the rain, since my rain jacket had gotten soaked on Day 1 and still hadn't dried out. It provided good short call cover when there wasn't much in the way of bushes or boulders. I respected the poncho. I didn't want to hurt the poncho. I loved the poncho. At the same time, I'm short. 5'4" on a good day. Short people and long ponchos are not a good combination when taking big steps up or down. I stepped on it I don't how many times, ripping apart the snaps and becoming increasingly frustrated with every trip.

But, the sun was again shining by the time we reached Barranco Camp. Our spirits lifted as we munched on popcorns, mandazi and roasted ground nuts outside the mess tent, hung our stuff out to dry, and taught Robert how to play Rummy. We even read a bit...before taking a nap, of course.

Samson woke us up for a groggy dinner. It was our third night of soup. While they were introduced with different names - pumpkin the first night, cucumber the second, leek the third - we couldn't help but notice that they tasted awfully similar...