Keg Spirit Foundation Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch
August 12, 2010 – Heck of a Day, But We Made It to Karanga Camp!
This was definitely our toughest day so far on the mountain. We've been calling this "hump day" because last night at Lava Tower was our fourth night on the mountain and we have 8 nights total. So we're over the hump and today was definitely a hump to say the least! We knew it was going to be long, but as usual, the mountain throws an extra curve at you right when you think you have things figured out. We started out in beautiful clear weather this morning, and the walk from Lava tower takes us right underneath the spectacular breach wall of Kilimanjaro with the steep glaciers coming down the sheer wall that leads up to Kibo, the summit of Kili that we'll be climbing.
We really have a long way to go and there was a lot of up and down today. We especially had some long descents as we went toward the Barranco Valley. We saw the clouds begin to form, and for a while we were hiking in the mist, and then a light rain began. Around 12-12:30 we arrived at the base of the Barranco Wall and we began to climb through the steep rock ledges that run up 800ft above to the top of the Barranco wall. As David pointed out when we made it over the wall, it wouldn't have been so bad if we hadn't had to descend 4200ft before we started climbing it! We also got hit by a pretty hard frozen rain storm which tested our mettle, to say the least. I can tell this is a crew that will not give up.
We had a late lunch inside the dining tent in the pouring rain. We had grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken, and fresh salad. I'd say it was a pretty dispirited group at that time. A couple of people had neglected to bring their Gore-Tex rain pants and they very much needed them. The mountain was teaching us a lesson.
In the afternoon, we continued on to where I'm calling you from now, at Karanga Camp. Our perseverance in the tougher hours of the morning and early in the day paid off because the clouds lifted and we got to see the gleaming glaciers of Kibo above. When we walked into our camp and saw the Berg Adventures camp, the entire team ran out and began singing and welcoming us. It was probably more appreciated today than any other day.
It's interesting how the other teams on the mountain (this is a fairly crowded campsite here at Karanga) always come with their video cameras and cameras and take pictures of OUR team as we celebrate and enjoy our fellowship towards one another at the end of a long day.
Well the real action begins tomorrow. We're going to begin climbing higher and higher to get in position to ascend the day after tomorrow all the way to the Crater Rim. Wish us luck! We're proud of ourselves, our legs are sore, and the team is doing great. We'll keep you posted as we move higher.
– By Wally Berg (We'll have some photos for you tomorrow!)