Climbing Kilimanjaro - Day 3
Whenever I’m asked about the Kilimanjaro trek, the first place my mind goes is Day Three. There were ups, downs, misty mountains, fog covered streams, and more reminders of Game of Thrones. Let’s head back there, to Day Three. But first…
What is an Altitoot?
It’s come to my attention that while I have referenced Team Altitoots several times in the first two posts, I never explained the origin story behind our name. WHOA Travel encourages their groups to come up with a team name, and we had yet to figure one out when we started the trek. As we were climbing through the rainforest on Day One, I made a comment about moving to the back of the group for the sake of everyone else, as I was a little gassy. In response to this, Katie said something about altitude causing you to fart more, and she called them “altitoots”. I had never heard that term before and since hearing it brought us such joy and laughter, it felt like the perfect name for our team. So, Team Altitoots was born.
Noah Kahan Energy
You know those sleeps where you wake up and just know you got some solid rest? That was my second night of sleep on the mountain. I slept for a solid six hours straight, and woke up feeling like a new human. Jimmy arrived with smiles and hot tea, and as we started getting ourselves together I felt myself in such high spirits. It was one of those mornings that I knew was going to be amazing, and I was just so happy I needed to play some music as the soundtrack of my main character's energy. I was in the midst of a Noah Kahan obsession (that I am still in and don’t plan on leaving any time soon) and had downloaded some of his music for the trip. Soon his incredible lyrics and bopping melodies to Stick Season were floating around and out of the tent. From one tent over, I heard Katie ask “Is that Noah Kahan?”, to which I replied “HECK YES DAY THREE BABYYYYY”. As I said, I was PUMPED.
We got ourselves all dressed for the day, and on Day Three I wore the same pants and wool bra from the day before, and changed out everything else. On the bottom I was wearing lightweight base layer tights under my pants, then on top a short sleeve dry fit shirt, a lightweight long sleeve base layer, and my down vest. As always, I packed my puffy jacket, balaclava, beanie, gloves, mittens, rain jacket, and poncho into my day pack. Duffels repacked and our tent ready to go, we exited the tent into the brisk, sunny, gorgeous Tanzanian morning.
The Betrayal of the Goo Packets
My choice of breakfast this morning was oatmeal with a goo packet, fruit, a pancake, and an egg. My spirits were super high going into this day as I had a great night of sleep and I had an appetite for breakfast. This was the day we were reaching the highest point I’d ever been - above 15,000 feet - and I was amped for this milestone. After breakfast we had our morning briefing and health check at 8:05am where my heart rate was at 96 and my blood oxygen dropped to 88. Neither Abuu or LuLu seemed concerned about my drop in blood oxygen, so I tried not to let it bother me either (key word, tried). We gathered our things, took a few more pictures and got ourselves ready to hit the trail. LuLu led us on Day Three, as she and Abuu alternated each day with who was in the lead and who brought up the rear.
I opted to be the last in the group this day for a variety of reasons. One of which was the fact that my blood oxygen dropped and while I was trying not to let it affect me, it definitely did. At that time I almost wished I didn’t know what the checks were each day so that I wouldn’t get in my head and make myself feel worse. I was really struggling with the number, even though I was breathing normally and could take deep breaths, and there was no reason for me to think I was struggling physically. It’s amazing how we can get ourselves into our heads and create infinite excuses as to why we should feel one way or another, instead of quieting our mind and listening to our body. If I did that, my body would have said, “You’re fine. It’s just a number, and you’ve got this.” I was soon able to work those unhelpful thoughts out of my head, only to be followed by my arch nemesis of the entire trek: heartburn.
The heartburn started about an hour into the hike and with it, my annoyed attitude. I didn’t understand why I was getting heartburn again, and it was making the hike so much harder than it needed to be. Hiking at high altitude is hard enough, but with heartburn alongside it…it was not fun. I took a Pepto (thankfully Danny kept them in his daypack) and tried to push the chest pain out of focus. I turned my focus to snapping pictures of the group, and I was so focused that I took my first fall of the trip (it would be far from the last). I had hiking poles attached to my wrist via straps, a phone in my hand, and was trying to continue walking as I took a picture. Soon I was in the dirt, poles underneath me, but thankfully my phone was unscathed. Abuu seemed concerned at first but I assured him it was user error that caused my fall and nothing else.
Mountains to the Front, Mountains to the Back
As we continued climbing, I would frequently turn around to see how far we’d come (always measuring backwards!) and to continue taking in the view of Mount Meru and the landscape behind us. Another thing we noticed on Day Three was the cable that was following the trail, a bit off to the side of it. We noticed the cable seemed to be running as far as we could see, and when we asked Abuu what it was for he said it was to get WiFi to all of the camps. The cable’s presence would become a recurring moment of levity for us as we continued the climb, and it continued to each of the camps. It was a constant reminder that some challenges weren’t that complicated to overcome. Why overthink how you can get WiFi to each camp on the tallest freestanding mountain in the world, when you can just literally drag a cable up and around the mountainside for 40 miles? There is always a solution.
As we kept climbing, the views behind us changed from Mount Meru to the rocky landscapes, and I began focusing only forward to our lunch stop at Lava Tower Camp. We were hiking along, taking breaks for snacks and water as needed, and I continued to bring up the back of the group with Abuu. This was a fun opportunity to get to know Abuu better and hear about his goals to create his own company that would offer safaris, Kilimanjaro treks via foot and bike, fishing, and so much more. Abuu, along with many other safari guides and lead Kilimanjaro guides, go to a college specializing in “professional and technical training in Wildlife and Tourism Management” called the College of African Wildlife Management, Mweka.
As we were chatting and climbing, the fog started settling in before us and limited our view to a couple hundred feet. We noticed a few porters taking a different route than we were, navigating directly into the foggy distance. Abuu told us that they were taking the porter’s route which was a more direct path to Baranco Camp. Since porter’s don’t need to acclimate themselves as hikers do, they skipped over Lava Tower Camp and headed straight on to Baranco Camp, where we’d be sleeping that night.
We started to see Lava Tower in the distance, a wall of lava that marked our lunch stop. It certainly looked big from our perspective, but we had yet to truly grasp the scale of it. The fog continued to dissipate, and as we rounded a small corner, the clouds parted and Kibo Peak showed itself. We all stopped in our tracks - literally in the middle of the trail, trail etiquette far from my mind - as we were overwhelmed with how close we were. We had seen the peak multiple times over the first two days, but this was the first time we felt right beneath it.
Lava Tower Camp
We officially made it above 15,000 feet as we arrived at Lava Tower Camp. We took our group picture at the camp sign and made our way to the mess tent where some of our porter crew was waiting for us. They also set up our toilet tent during this stop which was an excellent surprise, giving us a break from finding large enough rocks to squat behind. At this point in the day we were all experiencing some type of “issue” whether it was heartburn, nausea, or a headache, so it was a well-timed lunch stop for food and rest. It was during this rest that I realized my heartburn was most likely being caused by the goo packets I was putting in my oatmeal, and I would not be eating them again on the trek.
After a lovely lunch that included soup, biscuits, french fries, and I think chicken (I can’t remember the specifics), we got ourselves geared up to start our descent to Baranco Camp. Before we started the Kilimanjaro trek I wasn’t really aware of how much descending we would be doing throughout the trip, outside of the final two days. As I mentioned before, the philosophy for a good climb is to “hike high and sleep low”, so we did a lot of climbing up and then descending to camp for the night for the first few days. After walking a little ways from the camp, we came to our first big section of tough downhill hiking, where there were switchbacks that cut through an opening in the wall of lava rock. We could see the trail continuing into the distance until it disappeared over the hill, but we were focused on our footing and ensuring we were using our poles to prevent any falls. Continuing our way down this steep section, we finally made it to the bottom, where the trail evened out enough to cross a small bridge. Once we reached the other side of that bridge, I turned around and was once again stopped in my tracks.
The Watchers On The Wall
Lava Tower was more massive than I realized. Seeing it from this angle, I was reminded of The Wall that the Night’s Watch patrols in Game of Thrones. Although that fictional wall was made of ice and magic, and this real wall was made of lava and time, Lava Tower carried some magic of its own. It was menacing, harsh, and breathtaking - much like Kilimanjaro itself. Hiking in its shadows, I felt I was in the lands of the epic fantasy tales I love to read. And in a way, that’s exactly where we were. The landscape of Kilimanjaro is ever changing, and it wouldn’t stop here. In our three days on the mountain the landscape morphed from lush jungles to barren alpine deserts to soaring peaks to dangerous descents to simple strolls…the perfect setting for an epic journey of our own. A journey that was full of courage, discovery, curiosity, and discipline. We were in the middle of our own adventure, and Lava Tower was a reminder that we were just getting started.
As we continued hiking toward our camp for the night, we started our steady downhill journey that would take us into the fog. As we hiked along a stream, the Dr. Seuss-like trees of Kilimanjaro started appearing one by one. These trees, originally known as senecio kilimanjari (later reclassified), come in all shapes and sizes - kind of like cacti in the Southwest USA. These trees are markers of water sources, and as we were hiking along a flowing stream that was sprinkled with waterfalls, these trees were everywhere. Since it was so foggy, we couldn’t see all the trees that were surrounding us, but rather one by one as they emerged from the mist. I appreciated that we couldn’t see all the trees, because everytime one appeared it was a moment of gratitude and excitement all over again.
We continued our descent, enjoying the hike but also looking forward to breaking for the day. With about an hour left in the hike, our amazing porters met us again and took a couple of our packs to camp for us. We joined a large group of people making the final descent into Baranco Camp, and hiked in what felt like the longest line of people all trip. With a soundtrack of waterfalls, foot slips on rocks, and porter greetings of “Mambo!”, we made the last push into Baranco Camp, where we signed in at the ranger station and of course got our group picture with the camp sign.
Hiking completed for the day, we all took some time to get ourselves and our tents organized. I had a bit of a headache at this time but thankfully my heartburn was gone. At this point, it felt very windy, but in the next couple days we would find out what real wind speeds were possible on the mountain. (Hint, it escalated to dangerous levels). Overall, I thought Day Three’s hiking was challenging, with the second half descent from Lava Tower to Baranco Camp being harder than the first half of climbing up from Shira Cave Camp to Lava Tower. Hiking downhill is a whole different type of challenge, taking a lot of mental sturdiness along with physical strength.
OH! It’s UNO!
After we got ourselves organized and got our hiking boots off, we went into the mess tent for some popcorn and tea, dinner still being a few hours away. After we had a bit of a snack, Katie opted to have a lie down in the tent while Kim, Danny, and I stayed in the mess tent with Abuu to play cards. Abuu attempted teaching us a game, but we were having a very hard time understanding his instructions on how to play. There was a lot of “ignore that card” and “this card doesn’t mean what you think it means”, and seeing looks of confusion on our faces he called Jimmy in to show us how it’s played. Funny enough, Jimmy also didn’t understand Abuu’s instructions so they changed the game. Abuu told us to watch him and Jimmy play a hand, and would explain a few things along the way. As we were watching them play, and they were speaking in rapid Swahili, we were all wide-eyed and mentally lost as to what was going on. But then, after a second round of plays that seemed vaguely familiar, we realized they were playing Uno! Since it was a regular deck of cards, it took us a while to grasp what were “wilds” and what were “draw 4s”, and all the other rules of Uno. Understanding the game, we were all dealt in and had a great time playing cards in a mix of English and Swahili.
After a few rounds of cards we all rested for a bit before dinner, which was carrot and ginger soup, a heaping pile of noodles, and a vegetable stew. At this point, the only meat we had moving forward were the breakfast hotdogs, as higher altitudes affect your digestion. Because of this, we were given a lot of carbs and vegetables for the rest of the climb. Dinner completed, Abuu and LuLu came to the tent around 7:45pm for our evening health check and to brief us on Day Four. That evening my blood oxygen was at 89 and my heart rate at 101, and I still had a small headache. After our health checks, they briefed us on Day Four, which we learned was Abuu’s favorite day of the Machame Route trek. We were scaling Baranco Wall in the morning, a rock face about 1000 feet high that we would climb to the top of, and then (you guessed it), hike back down for a couple miles. Day Three behind us, I felt so much gratitude and fulfillment and confidence. I took those warm and fuzzy emotions, bundled up in my sleeping bag, and hoped (as always) for a restful night of sleep.
Day Three Stats
Day Three starting elevation at Shira Cave Camp: 12,598 feet
Day Three lunch stop elevation at Lava Tower Camp: 15,091 feet
Day Three ending elevation at Baranco Camp: 12,959 feet
Hiking distance: 6.2 miles, 2493 feet of elevation gain, 2132 feet of descent
Highs and Lows
A nightly tradition during dinner was to share our Highs and Lows for the day. It was always a fun way to recap the day and see what everyone took away from it. Sometimes one person’s Low was another person’s High. I’ll share my own Highs and Lows for each day at the end of every blog post.
Day Three Low: allowing my lower blood oxygen number to get to my head at the beginning of the day, creating unnecessary anxiety and pulling me from the present
Day Three High: playing cards, my heartburn going away, and the view of Lava Tower after the first descent from camp
Health Checks
Morning Check at 8:05am - Blood oxygen: 88 | Heart rate: 96
Evening Check at 7:45pm - Blood oxygen: 89 | Heart rate: 101
Note To Reader
If you are reading this purely for entertainment, awesome! This disclaimer does not apply to you. If you are reading this in preparation for your own climb of Kilimanjaro, it’s important for me to note the following things. Before my climb of Kilimanjaro:
I was living in Colorado at an elevation of 5350 feet above sea level
I was in excellent physical condition and was 36 years old
I did not smoke, rarely drank alcohol and did not have any for two months prior to the trip, and did not have any other medical issues
I had been hiking to elevations above 12,000 feet for years and hiked in the mountains every weekend for three months before the trek
I physically trained for a year before my trek through cardio and weight training at OrangeTheory Fitness
I had a lot of gear already, although I did purchase a lot
Why do I include this information? Because research will be a part of your trip preparation and you’ll most likely read a lot of blog posts like this. A trend that I saw in my own research was that people didn’t include their personal background before giving advice or recaps of their own trip. To best understand my experience, I want to give you a basic understanding of me as a human, and the benefits I had before embarking on this journey. This may help you better prepare for and relate to the experiences I had along the trail.