Kilimanjaro 2010 Pictures Page 5

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Page 1: 15th August 2010 - Kilimanjaro Approach (7)
Page 2: 16th August 2010 - Karama Lodge and Safari (77)
Page 3: 17th August 2010 - Trek Day 1: Start to Machame Camp (51)
Page 4: 18th August 2010 - Trek Day 2: Machame Camp to Barranco Camp (72)
Page 5 (This Page): 19th August 2010 - Trek Day 3: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp (110)
Page 6: 20th and 21st August 2010 - Trek Days 4 and 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp and Shabbat (91)
Page 7: 22nd August 2010 - Trek Day 6: Summit Day (53)
Page 8: 23rd August 2010 - Trek Day 7: Barafu Camp to Mweka Camp (58)
Page 9: 24th August 2010 - Trek Day 8: Mweka Camp to Exit (33)
Page 10: 25th August 2010 - Kilimanjaro Exit (10)

Total: 562 Pictures

Photos 19th August 2010 - Trek Day 3: Barranco Camp to Karanga Camp (110 Pictures)

Barranco Huts: 3,986m / 13,077ft
Karanga Campsite: 4,034m / 13,235ft (5.1km, 48m / 158ft gained)

Location	Altitude (m / ft)	Distance	Altitude Gained / Lost
Barranco Huts	3,986m / 13,077ft
Top of Barranco Wall	4,219m / 13,842ft		233m / 765ft Gained
Karanga Valley Floor	3,946m / 12,946ft		273m / 896ft Lost
Karanga Campsite	4,034m / 13,235ft		88m / 289ft Gained

Total		5.1km	48m / 158ft Gained

Morning at Barranco Camp

I woke up to the usual noise of other campers, porters and guides packing up and getting ready to move on. I was feeling rather rough still but we weren't setting off until later on as we only has a few miles to go to Karanga. A refreshingly short day after yesterday's 9 hour epic. In the early morning daylight the views down the Barranco Valley to the clouds way below and up to Kibo were stunning as ever. I noted that there were Tree Groundsels growing within the camp and a whole forest of them just below us between the camp and the Barranco Wall. On the wall there was a massive log jam of porters and climbers, in the shade. I'm glad we were waiting until they all cleared off. Meanwhile the tropical sun was rapidly warming the camp site up. So breakfast was at 9:30AM and we were due to set off at 11AM. However by 10:30AM we were all raring to go, and the wall had cleared, so we set off half an hour early.

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A stunning view down the Barranco valley early in the morning.	Barranco camp complete with Tree Groundsels in the middle.	The Barranco wall busy with early morning porters and walkers, and a Groundsel forest below. I'm glad we waited until after the early morning rush hour had died down.

The Barranco Wall

I was still feeling rough as we set off so took it gingerly as we descended from Barranco Camp, crossed a couple of streams then ascended up through the spectacular Tree Groundsel forest to the bottom of the Barranco Wall. By now the forest and the wall were getting into sun. At the base of the wall we stowed our hiking sticks as from this point we needed our hands for scrambling. As we started to climb the wall adrenaline kicked in and I started to feel much much better! I really enjoyed the climb up the wall. I was again at the front of the group directly behind Israel, the guide. This meant that we frequently paused for the rest of the group to catch up after each short scramble stint. I used these pauses to take plenty of pictures. The higher we got the more spectacular the views got as ever, with aerial views across the Barranco valley to the camp, down to the clouds far below, and up to Kibo itself. Meanwhile those amazing porters that romp their way easily over the landscape seemed to make light work of the Barranco Wall, even with heavy loads on their backs. We periodically stopped to let them past. Higher up the wall there were several occasions where I thought we were close to the top. However we rounded the part of the path to the next hidden bit to reveal a small plateau or flat bit with another climb beyond. But we finally reached the top in time for lunch.

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Looking up and down the Barranco Valley as we descend from the camp to the Groundsel Forest and base of the wall.		Crossing streams in the Barranco Valley.		Approaching the Groundsel forest, which is now in sunshine.

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Tree Grounsel.	Alpine Chat bird.	Looking towards Kibo from the edge of the Groundsel forest.	Views through the Groundsel forest down the valley towards the clouds below.

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Looking up to Barranco Camp and to Kibo from the Groundsel forest.		Climbing the Barranco wall. One of the highlights of the trip.

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A view from the side of the Barranco wall.	Waterfall below us.	Climbing the Barranco wall.		Looking down at the path between Barranco camp and the wall.	Onwards and upwards!

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Still going up.	The view from the wall just gets better and better the higher we get.	Letting some porters by. These guys are seriously fit and athletic.	The view opens out some more as we get closer to the top of the wall.	The porters carrying on uphill rapidly.

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Looking out across the landscape and cloudscapes below and behind us as we near the top of the wall.

The Top of the Barranco Wall

We reached a great lookout point at the top of the Barranco Wall at 12:15pm. Here we paused to eat snacks and drink, and admire the fantastic view in all directions from this point (easily the best of the day). Meru again looked like it was floating on the haze and the cumulus clouds, while Kibo towered majestically above us. The White Necked Ravens were here in large numbers tamely scavenging off scraps dropped by other hikers. We also arranged a group shot with the spectacular backdrop of Meru and the cumulus clouds below us over the plains.

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Arriving at a plateau at the top of the Barranco Wall.	There are plenty of White Necked Ravens playing as we eat lunch.		The view of Kibo gets ever more spectacular as we traverse around it.	The gathering cloud forest rain clouds look spectacular from up here.	Me at the top of the Barranco Wall, with Mount Meru in the distance floating on the haze and cumulus clouds below.

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A spectacular 360 degree panorama from the viedw point at the top of the Barranco Wall.	A cumulus cloud sitting on top of Kibo.

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White necked ravens playing nearby.			A group shot of all 8 of us plus 3 guides at the top of the Barranco Wall. From left to right: Anne, Misha, Godbless, William, Boaz, Israel, Bob, David, Yedidya, Susan, Mike	The three guides: Godbless, William and Israel.

Barranco Wall to Karanga Camp

After our pause at the top of the wall, we had a couple of descents and ascents over undulating and Everlasting strewn terrain before we crossed a large sloping plateau. Then Karanga Camp came into view in the distance. At first it looked like a straight forward plod to the site. But as we got closer the steep sloped Karanga Valley also came into view, and this presented a big obstacle between us and camp. Soon we found ourself descending a steep slope, made treacherous in places by water flowing over bare rock. After what seemed like forever, we finally made it to the valley floor. The climb up the other side, however, was much more straight forward, and we arrived at Karanga Camp at 2:40pm, a mere 4 hours after leaving Barranco Camp. That was great after yesterday's marathon!

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Hiking sticks back out and setting off for Karanga Camp.	Tree Groundsel	Tree Groundsel forest below a view of Kibo.	Everlasting strewn landscape.	Meru continues to float majestically on the haze.	First view of Karanga Camp. What is hard to see here is the steep Karanga Valley slicing its way between us and there.

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One more panorama before we descend into the Karanga Valley.	Approaching the valley edge and spying the paths on the other side on a steep slope.	Descending into the valley.		Looking down the valley to the clouds below.	The descent is steep and treacherous in places, especially where water makes bare rocks slippery.

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A nice rocky overhang.	Spying the valley floor below.	Looking up to Kibo and down towards the clouds from the valley floor, and ahead to the path up to Karanga Camp above.			Looking down at gathering cloud forest rainclouds as we near the top of the camp side of the valley.

Karanga Camp

Back on the other side of the valley, the entrance to Karanga Camp was marked by a large boulder which made for quite a landmark. Our arrival was signified by passing the said boulder. The view from Karanga Camp was even better than Barranco Camp, perhaps helped by the camp being on top of a ridge rather than down below in the valley. The cloudscape panorama below was awesome, with thick clouds gathering over the Montane Cloudforest far below. Meru still floating majestically on the haze, and Kibo still dominating in the opposite direction. So now we had several hours of daylight left with which we got to take it easy, which was very much welcomed by me! Although Karanga wasn't much higher than Barranco, it was much more sparsely populated by vegetation, with just some tufty grasses and the odd heather. I guess it's simply more exposed on the ridge top. We had lunch at 3:30pm while the White Necked Ravens played nearby.

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Arriving at Karanga Camp. A nice easy 3-4 hour day after yesterday's 9 hour epic.			The view to Kibo from the camp site.	My tent set up at Karanga.

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360 degree panorama of Karanga camp site.	Another irresistable view of Mount Meru floating on the haze and the clouds.	Another view above the clouds to the left of Meru.

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The gathering rain clouds below us.	The view from my tent.	Me with my sun hat on with Karanga huts and clouds behind.	Me with Kibo behind me.	An arch of rock up on the side of Kibo.	A wider view of Kibo. The arch is to the left edge near the snow line.

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Is this what dining in heaven is like?	Arty shot of White Necked Raven soaring above the clouds.	A Dusky Turtle Dove wandering around Karanga Camp.	Bob relaxing in his tent and writing his diary.	Cumulus with small pileus below us just beyond the rain clouds.

Kilimanjaro Challa Baking Part 1

At 4pm Susan got her wonder bowl out. Her plan was to bake some special Kilimanjaro Challas for Shabbat. Misha helped (or rather led) while Anne and I documented the process. Once the dough was prepared it was stored so that it could rise up overnight and during the hike to Barafu Camp tomorrow, where the Challa preparation will be completed and baking will take place in time for Shabbat.

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Gathering the ingredients for Challa baking. Process started at Karanga Camp.	Adding yeast and other ingredients to the flour.		Mixing the dough up and adding more ingredients before preparing the dough to rise over night and during tomorrow's hike to Barafu where the preparation will be completed.

More Karanga Camp Pictures

During the afternoon after the late lunch I took it easy, chilling out and taking in the view. I also took some fun arty shots such as the man posing on the rock on the clouds. I also leant my guide book to William, the head guide who kept it overnight and during the hike to Barafu. The sun set just after 6pm as we had supper. Golden hour at Karanga was spectacular, with some lovely cloudscapes and the camp seemingly bathed in a beautiful golden light before the sun disappeared behind the ridge which we had walked over during the day.

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Other hikers walking on past Karanga towards Barafu. We'll be walking that path tomorrow.	Another view of the rain clouds below as they continue to gather.	Those White Necked Ravens are everywhere.	Me in front of the dining tent with the clouds behind and below.	Just checking that I have the correct mountain as described in my guide!	An arty shot of someone posing on a rock above the clouds.

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Sunset at Karanga Camp!		White Necked Ravens also admiring the sunset.	The sun sinks below the ridge leaving behind a firey orange sky.	Mount Meru still floating in the deepening twilight.

Night Pictures

After dark the air was crisp and cold, and the seeing high above the haze was excellent. It was less cold than at Barranco as we were above the valley floor too. I wished I had a telescope on me. Being just south of the equator, Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, was high up. Meanwhile the half moon lit up the glaciers on Kibo itself while below us, the rain clouds had cleared to reveal the lights of Moshi Town blazing more than 10,000 feet beneath us. I took some time to get some long exposure shots by resting the camera on an assortment of boulders before eventually retiring to my tent for the night. I went to sleep soon after 8:30pm, although I was so much more awake than I was 24 hours ago!

TODO: Verify it was actually Sirius and see if Southern Cross was also visible.

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Looking downhill from the camp site. Moshi Town in the background far below.	Looking up at Sirius.	Kibo lit up by moonlight.	Another starscape.	A zoom shot of the Moshi Town lights.

So a much easier day completed. My lungs were OK in the end after being chilled yesterday. My battered feet were fine too after resting overnight so were no problem during today. Tomorrow should be another easy day, with another 3-4 hour hike to Barafu Camp, where we plan to spend the afternoon setting up an eruv for Shabbat and completing the challa baking. Then a nifty day of rest before we make our assault on the summit on Sunday.

Another note at this point is how the weather so far has been perfect. Clear sky and light winds so far on the trek. Just the occasional small scrappy mountain cumulus bubbling up here and there at all levels including at the summit of Kibo. I was hoping of course that conditions would continue like this for the rest of the trip!

Total: 562 Pictures