It’s Day 3 of 7 on our Kilimanjaro trek.
We’ve overnighted at Shira Caves campsite (12,500 feet elevation) and today is our acclimatization hike — we’ll climb up to the Lava Tower at 15,200 feet and then back down to the Barranco Hut at 13,000 feet to spend the night. This will get our bodies / lungs used to a higher elevation before we have to do it ‘for real’ in a couple of days.
When we wake up, those clouds that covered the valley last night have disappeared. All is clear.
Remarkably, our chef has 1/2 a ripe avocado for us. My favorite food! And to think, I was expecting oatmeal for breakfast on this trip. Avocado is a major upgrade. (For the record I ate both of those slices below separately… not as a sandwich.)
Clouds start to roll in as we set off.
The first four hours to Lava Tower are a very gentle uphill climb. It’s easier to keep a steady pace, even as I stop often for photos. So far it’s my favorite day of the hike.
Our first proper glimpse of Kilimanjaro:
My sister snaps this photo of me snapping photos:
That is Lava Tower in the distance. From this perspective it doesn’t look like a tower, but it does up close, as you’ll see in a few photos.
And there it is — Lava Tower in all its glory.
Since today’s hike covers a longer distance, the plan is to eat lunch at Lava Tower and then hike the final two hours downhill to camp. Our team of porters has set up our dining tent (and our toilet tent!) just for this mid-day meal. They are seriously spoiling us.
This is our first course at lunch — soup, pancakes, and tiny bananas.
In total we stop for just over an hour at lunch. By the time we’re ready to descend, fog has overtaken Lava Tower.
We’re pretty fast going downhill. The ground here is softly packed so we slide a lot; my hiking poles keep me from falling.
Bruce leads the way through the fog in his bright red jacket.
I find this landscape remarkably similar to the desert terrain of Southern California, specifically the area around Palm Springs and Joshua Tree. These iconic palm trees are found there and I never expected to see them on Kilimanjaro.
The trailside flowers are no less beautiful on Day 3. Here is a pretty and prickly purple plant:
We arrive at the Barranco Hut seven hours after departing Shira Caves campsite this morning. Here’s the breakdown: it took us four hours to get to the Lava Tour, we rested an hour over lunchtime, and then the final stretch downhill took us two hours.
That’s our campsite below — toilet tent, sleeping tent, and dining tent from left to right. You’ll notice that blue washing pan just outside our sleeping tent — the porters have one for each of us ready with hot water when we arrive at camp so that we can wash our face, hands, and feet. There’s no place to shower during our entire week-long trek, but we’ve brought baby wipes.
Other tents set up around us:
These birds hover while waiting for an opportunity to snatch up a half-eaten snack or forgotten granola bar.
We pass by this dining tent used by a large group that hasn’t arrived yet. Their popcorn is ready and it smells divine!
I’m still not over the beauty of this landscape. These exotic-to-me lush green bushes are fascinating. Bruce tells me that they close up at night and reopen at sunrise.
These giant pine cone plants are neat too.
Bethany reads about tomorrow’s hike in her guidebook during our downtime.
Every other day our chef makes us popcorn; I can’t even tell you how good it is. This particular time he’s sprinkled on peanuts for extra crunch. Oh, and this book is excellent (and far less mundane than the title suggests).
My dinner: strips of beef, cabbage, veggies, and pasta. Bon appetit!
And then it’s early to bed as the temperature takes a nosedive. My sleeping bag is barely able to handle the cold now… I’m nervous for the coming nights.
Many thanks to Zara Tours for discounting my Kilimanjaro trek in exchange for photography and blogging. Opinions are my own.
