September 4, 2019 from the itinerary: Steep ascent to Barafu campsite (4600m), with afternoon ascent to bottom of S.E. Valley (4800m) . The trail follows a path on compacted scree with wide views ahead including the Barafu Ridge where our camp lies. The trail climbs unrelentingly to reach the Barafu campsite (4600m) for lunch, after which there is a short acclimatisation walk to the plateau at the bottom of the southeast valley (4800m). The remainder of the day is spent resting in preparation for the final ascent and includes a very early night. Approx 3-5 hours walking. Total distance covered: 1 mile.
Today we pushed to our final campsite on our ascent. Anticipation is running high and we have concerns about if we can make it and if our water will freeze. We have learned the "Kilimanjaro Shuffle" - the extremely slow pace to make it up the hill successfully. We leave very early tomorrow morning for the final ascent.
Looks like I still have a number of bug bites which haven't healed from my time in Victoria Falls and Arusha. Didn't bother me on the hike, but just a reminder to bring bug repellant if there is a next time.
We've had some beautiful weather on this trip so far. Only a few hours of rain a few days ago and today was more of the same. We expect good weather tomorrow. Here we are leaving the campsite and starting to the next level.
The trip to the next camp was uneventful with scenery being lava and scree with the peak getting larger. The photos don't really reflect the incline involved, but everything was up, up, up.
I really feel for the support staff bringing up luggage and other equipment.
Barafu campsite has LOTS of people and is quite spread out. Lots of trash. Amazing that there are crows even up here.
The aclimatization walk further up the hill was tough, very hard to breath.
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