Day 7: Baranco Camp to Karanga Camp

Happy 4th of July! As advertised, today we will tackle the Baranco Wall… and we are ready to light it up like a fireworks display! Most of us got a pretty good night’s sleep following yesterday’s 2,000 ft drop from Lava Tower to the “lowly” elevation of Baranco Camp at 13,100 ft. Rolling out of our sleeping bags and tents, we were greeted by the crisp chill of another perfect cloudless morning (unless you count the clouds below us).

Dawn at Baranco (looking south)

First things first, we gathered for breakfast featuring crepes, toast, beans, watermelon, and you guessed it… porridge — the breakfast food of Kilimanjaro Champions. Some of us still had 30 minutes of internet remaining which was used, in part, to learn that Mark Cavendish won his record-breaking 35th stage at the Tour de France. Woo! Let’s gooooo! Tarp time!!!

The plan for today — starting with an 850 ft climb up the Baranco Wall — is to reach a maximum elevation of about 13,900 ft, then continue hiking to the southeast, traversing several hills and valleys along the way until we reach Karanga camp at 13,200 ft.

Day 5 hike map

Day 5 hike (detail)

Our guides suggested it would be wise to leave about 20 minutes earlier than usual today in order to get a head start on the Baranco Wall and avoid the traffic back up. The sun hadn’t quite crested the mountain yet, so an extra layer was a good idea. Also, put on your gloves and stash your hiking poles… it’s time to go scrambling!

Strong Stairs of Cirith Ungol vibes

Passing the “Kissing Rock”

“Very soon he will ask you for It! You will see!”

The trail was relatively narrow. Carefully planning of your steps and handholds was important to navigate certain areas, and a helpful hand from the guides was welcome once or twice. While the photos look scary (why would be post the non-scary ones?!), there were really only one or two key parts where you could have *actually* fallen off the wall. In case you weren’t feeling “Hakuna Matata” about it, Ari asked August if there was a Swahili phrase that means “SOME worries, for the rest of your days”. Yes, in fact… that would be just “Matata”.

Most of the trail was full of big rocks that simply had to be climbed, crawled, and clambered over. For inspiration, you could watch the amazing porters fly up the hill at double speed carrying gigantic loads of gear and supplies. In the end, we made it, and everybody said the challenge gave them quite a thrill. Including James, who said it gave him the thrill… of vertigo.

Ready for the Aggro-Crag!

Once we crested the Baranco Wall, we reached the day’s top elevation of nearly 13,900 ft., and found ourselves with a glorious viewpoint of Kilimanjaro to the north, and cloud-covered foothills to the south in the direction of Moshi. We paused for a snack break and tuned up a series of epic photos.

I Bless the (Absence of) Rains Down in Africa

(We’ll) Be Coming Around the Mountain When (We) Come

Ain’t No Mountain High Enough

Ain’t No Valley Low Enough

Misty Mountain Hop

The day’s hike was about two hours old, but only covered a little over a half mile, leaving us with roughly three more hours of hiking to cover the remaining two miles to Karanga Camp. Audio entertainment for the dusty and rocky path that followed was provided by The Move podcast (downloaded earlier in the morning). One bad-intentioned rock tripped up Matt, but he emerged mostly unscathed (couple bruises with a broken gaiter clasp). He was moreso irritated for the temporary lapse in focus. Gotta watch your step at all times around here!

Onward to Karanga

The terrain approaching Karanga Camp was a series of valleys, featuring downhill and uphill segments. Karanga Valley was the last dip before camp, and also the trickiest. It really sneaks up on you out of nowhere, especially after you look ahead, see Karanga Camp in the distance and think “Oh, good… our camp is right over there!” It also rivals the Baranco Wall portion of the hike in steepness on both sides of the valley. Thankfully, we all survived the slippery silt terrain on the way down with only a few minor slips/falls. We caught our breath, and then scrambled back up the other side of the valley with no problems.

Oh look, Karanga camp is so close!

Just kidding!

Official sign you made it to Karanga Camp

We made pretty good time and arrived at camp around 12:30pm with a hearty lunch awaiting us in the dining tent. Vegetable soup for starters, followed by pasta w/eggs/cashews/peppers, chicken (best described in “lollipop” form), green vegetables (quite bitter), and ugali — a traditional Tanzanian dish made from cornmeal that you roll/squish into little balls with your hands before eating. Forget last night’s mashed potatoes… this thicker starch dish is even better-suited to carve a 3D model of our hiking path on Kilimanjaro! Also very filling.

After lunch, we had the rest of the afternoon to relax and take it easy for additional acclimatization. We took the opportunity to hold the first official “BIG 5” SAFARI ANIMAL Fantasy Draft. If you’re not measuring on the basis of size alone, what African animals should be in the “Big 5”? Does Water Buffalo really deserve a spot over Giraffe or Hippo? Better yet, what if we started a five-team league with absolutely no scoring criteria and each drafted a squad? Done. You have something better to do for the next two hours at 13,000 ft on the side of Mt. Kilimanjaro?? James, Matt, Jo, Lily and Ari did not.

Key takeaways… Best pick of the draft was made by Lily who swooped in to grab Zebra with the 22nd pick. This is probably more of an indictment of the rest of the group, who completely forgot about this ubiquitous African equine, unless you count the fact that Matt said the words “African Horse” out loud about 60 seconds earlier when mulling his choices for the 21st pick. Worst pick of the draft was when James reached for Okapi with the 8th pick ahead of a clear blue-chipper like Leopard, or even a solid starter like Baboon or Hyena. To summarize both moves — and to paraphrase Mike from Breaking Bad — never go Half Zebra.

However, in James’ defense, he did draft the best vibes team, putting together the most complete cast of Disney’s The Lion King — featuring Lion, Warthog, and Meerkat. Only later on the Safari would Cordwood learn to his dismay that there are ZERO meerkats in Tanzania. Sorry, Timon. Upon completion of this project we retired to our tents for intermittent napping in advance of happy hour.

Big Rock (Cotton) Candy Mountain

Still a few days before Cordwood learns about the meerkats

After happy hour, the sun set quickly, so we bundled up as usual. A moment of drama occurred when a guide from a nearby group approached August and Baraka to find out if we had anything to help a member of his group that was non-stop puking. That doesn’t sound fun, and Ari offered up the best option which was some Zofran he brought. Bonus points to Ari for offering the disclaimer that it was a prescription-only drug, but I suspect that other hiker was more than willing to take his chances.

Karanga Camp sunset

Golden hour is Fleece pants hour

Heath check and dinner time! On the menu tonight was another traditional Tanzanian dish — from the Chagga tribe — called Ndizi Nyama (I think), which is a stew of green bananas, meat (veal, in this case), and vegetables served with rice and cabbage. For desert, we got iced ginger cookies (call ’em Tanzanian oreos).

August and Baraka stopped by for their typical post-dinner chat. We started asking questions about tomorrow night (Summit Night) so they told us to relax and save all those questions for tomorrow (we are on a need-to-know-basis!). As Baraka said multiple times, “Don’t think about the mountain, the mountain does not think about you.” Ok then!

Meanwhile, August had more helpful advice, such as don’t save your Summit Night clothes for Summit Night if you need to stay warm now. Makes sense. In fact, Matt started wearing his “summit” puffy jacket to sleep three nights ago. Way ahead of ya, August! Also, if you need another way to stay warm, use those hot-water bladder teddy bears they gave us back at Shria 1 Camp! To quote Cordwood, “The teddy bears are amazing.”

Lily figured out how to stay warm

With dinner and UK advice fully digested, we brushed our teeth, removed our contacts, and shuffled out into the darkness toward our tents. The night sky was perfectly clear and offered an amazing amphitheater view of the southern hemisphere night sky. Being above the clouds really makes for a spectacular show, and we enjoyed the view for a while before going to sleep. Tomorrow we hike to Barafu Camp!

Night sky