Mount Kilimanjaro Expedition 2012

Day 5: Karanga Camp to Barafu Camp

Glass...

Top of the skew morning to ya! Today we are headed to Barafu Camp, or Base Camp if you like. Tonight we will push for the summit, but first, we need to reach Base Camp.

The environment is now lifeless, except for some really, really die-hard flowers. The rocks are brittle and sounds like glass when you step on them. It is cold, misty and depressing. But luckily, the trail today is not particularly hard. You are now headed to a camp where snow, ice and a dreadful wind rules the environment, and only the most hardened anything survives. Barafu Camp.

The trail to Barafu Camp seems designed to fill you with dread and start preparing you mentally for the challenge tonight. The rocks are weird, with sharp points and strange formations. If you fall, the rocks will probably cut you up into a million pieces, akin to the torture method of Million Cuts of Dead.

And then the Fog comes. Like in a scary movie, it slowly rolls in and swallows everything in its path. The hikers in front of you disappear. The trail disappears too. Da-dum. Da-dum. We continue moving forward, deeper into the belly of the Fog. And then, its hunger satisfied, the fog clears, spitting out a trail filled with groups of hopeful hikers.

But, don't stand still in one place too long. The thick mud seems to also wants to swallow some hikers, and if you do stand still for too long, the mud slowly starts sinking away, leaving your footsteps filled with muddy water. The trail to Barafu Camp is a lonely, desolate path.

Suddenly, as if you can draw a line between the two, the freakish rocky scenery abruptly changes into a snowy, freakish rocky one. The trail winds through rock fields covered with snow and ice. Just before you reach the top, a hand-drawn sign humourously informs you that you are crazy to have come here. Perhaps we are. Perhaps.

Deadline...

Barafu Camp is very busy, filled with the hustle and bustle of hikers preparing themselves for the summit attempt. Hikers doing the 6-day Machame trail does not sleep over at Karanga Camp, and comes to Barafu straight from Baranco. I am glad we did not choose that option, and rather opted for an extra day. This gave us more time, and therefore, more rest at Barafu before the summit push.

Although plenty of hikers are around, Barafu Camp is lonely and unloved. At times a very strong wind blows through the camp, and anything that is not properly tied down will be swept away, only to land again kilometers away.

Barafu however does afford one stunning views of Mawenzi Peak, the second of the three original peaks, and the start of the summit path. Sure, the summit path may not look that daunting now, but tonight, it will change into a living hell where only the mentally strong will survive.

After lunch, I sent a few SMS's to my family, and prepared my own gear for tonight. Although we were excited, we did manage to get some sleep. We were still free from any signs of AMS, and holding thumbs that it will stay that way until we reach the top.

As the hours slowly passed, the 23h00 deadline crept closer. Soon we will begin our attempt to reach the Roof of Africa. All the training, preparation and research we've done for the last couple of months has led to this point. We've made sure that we go Pole Pole, ate very well, drank a lot of water, and slept well. And tonight, it will all come together in that single moment when we start the final push to reach the snow capped summit of Mount Kilimanjaro.