Barranco

Today was my low point. We hiked from 12,500 feet to the Lava Tower, at 15,190 feet. Then we descended to Barranco Camp at 13,044 feet. Near the high point (the tower), I vomited three times in quick succession. A few hours later (this was an 8-hour day) I vomited four more times. I've had altitude sickness before (Peru, 12,000 feet), but it was short lived and there was no vomiting. In Peru, my altitude sickness was successfully treated with a special brew made by the indigenous guides that included coca leaves. In Tanzania I was depending on a drug called Diamox, which only seemed to make me pee a lot.

This was taken at Lava tower.

From the Ultimate Kilimanjaro website:

"We continue to the east up a ridge and then head southeast towards the Lava Tower – a 300 ft tall volcanic rock formation. We descend down to Barranco Camp through the strange but beautiful Senecio Forest to an altitude of 13,000 ft. Although you begin and end the day at the same elevation, the time spent at higher altitude is very beneficial for acclimatization."

Here is the group at Lava Tower, where we had lunch before heading down to our next camp.

This hike was very unlike Peru, Chile and Montana in that it was so barren and gray. I've realised the aesthetics are important for me when I hike. Not just plant life but birds and butterflies and insects. The only bird we saw was the white-necked raven.

I have 100s of photos from Cathy and other hikers so I'm struggling to find the right photos for the right days.

This is Salim, our head guide, near one of the strange trees we occasionally passed today.

I continued to be unable to eat, so I'm not really getting the nutrition I need for the hike, but I slept well at Baranco camp.

While this has been a tough trip, I should say I really enjoyed the people I hiked with, both from Ireland and Tanzania. The porters, despite the tough job they had, were always in good humour and very friendly with each other, always joking and laughing.

2 Dec.