Berg Adventures International Kilimanjaro Lemosho Route: Doc Martin Trip

June 22, 2007 – On Top of the Barranco Wall

It is about 2 o’clock in the afternoon and we are on top of the Barranco wall. It is really a great feeling. There are clouds swinging all about. It was a beautiful hike today but I have to tell you quite a hard one. As Doc Martin can tell you every time you get a group on the top of the Barranco wall is a great feeling of accomplishment or even relief in a way. We woke up this morning and walked for 3 hours to the Barranco camp or the base of the Barranco wall and then slowly, slowly started walking on the steep trail with rocks right at the edge of the trail.

There are not many places that you can fall in the Barranco wall but there are a lot of places that you can bump your head and every step of the way is up. So it is a great feeling to get on top. I just wanted to let you know that the group made it up here.

We are still going to continue, another 3 hours to Karanga camp. I just wanted to say that everybody is doing great and we are really happy to be on top of the Barranco wall.

Later at Karanga Camp

It is late afternoon and the guys are helping Doc inflate his mattresses; one thing about camping life.

Jackie and Caroline, actually I should tell you now that since we got those wonderful cards from Steve Nipper’s children, now we lo longer call Caroline, Caroline; we call her Cookie; the name she is known by her nieces and nephews back home.

Jackie and Caroline have a girl’s tent, of course, and we noticed at dinner every night how good they smell; they use some kind of lavender oil essence in their tent and they smell wonderful when they come to dinner and they always laugh about wondering who on the next day will get the girl’s tent. The tents are taken down by the staff every day and put back up at the new camp and all the guys are hoping they will be the ones to get the tent that the girls had the night before so that they get to fall sleep with that wonderful lavender essence; or whatever it is called.

We are having a great time as you can tell on this trip, wonderful people, wonderful staff on the most beautiful place in the world, walking across Kilimanjaro, with this perfect weather.