Day 3: Lava Tower
I am going to use this semi quiet week to try to capture the rest of the Kilimanjaro trip before going to Disneyworld for a race. It has been hard to motivate to write these blogs because it is hard to capture the spirit of the climb.
First off, as I wrote in my planning blog, I took a steroid to help me fight altitude sickness since I am allergic to an ingredient in Diamox. I have taken some steroids in the past to help me with asthma, but I don't remember them having an impact on my body. The one I took on this trip gave me never ending energy. I barely slept at night because my body just wasn't tired. I would lay in a dark tent with my eyes closed wishing myself to sleep. It usually didn't work and I was so thrilled when the guides came to wake us up so I could get going again. Amazingly, I never ran out of energy, despite limited sleep, the entire 6 day hike. It was incredible. I loved it. Everything was fun and amazing. I sang songs in my head to keep myself busy since my friends didn't want to hear me most of the time. I realize I was probably a little too peppy and positive (and yes, even I can admit I was annoying at times), but I think I always drove my friends crazy. They even told me later that they really didn't care for me on the mountain. I don't think I will be doing another altitude vacation with any of them again, as I plan on being that happy on every mountain from now on. Especially since it was not a great thing to hear given I loved my energy and happiness on the mountain. But my view of the hike is definitely different from the others. I loved every minute of it and that is what I am trying to express here.
Day 3 started at 7am (or the night finally ended for me). It was a chilly morning, but the views were still perfect. For breakfast we had porridge, omelets, hot dogs and toast. Corinne also tried the Milo malt powder and I will just say that no one else tried it after that. We started late again today, but it gave Corinne time to do some yoga. The morning hike was perfect. We hiked up the ridge with the sun burning bright to warm us up. We walked through the moorlands and into the artic desert. There were interesting rock formations along the way. It was a long morning of hiking though. As we were approaching lunch at the Lava Tower, the clouds rolled in and the sky got dark. We could see the Lava Tower from a distance, but we didn't make it before the storm hit. We have a few minutes of walking through small hail until we got to the lunch tent at Lava Tower Camp (~15,000 ft).
We had read in blogs and on the itinerary that you could climb Lava Tower if time permitted. Given the weather and the fact that we were always running behind, we didn't even get the option. It was beautiful though. A large imposing rock formation kind of in the middle of nowhere, although the mountain was always looming in the background this day. Lunch was delicious! We had chicken flautas and watermelon. I couldn't get enough of the flautas. This is the meal that I realized people's appetites were slowing down. Some didn't each much the rest of the trip. That was never a problem for me and I probably ate too much . (Definitely no weight loss on this trip). Oh and the private toilet continued to be amazing since they set it up every lunch and we could use it while it was raining safely.
The hike after lunch was mostly a decent. We enjoyed plenty of pictures as we went down, especially with different views of the Lava Tower and the top of the mountain. The valley we went through was just stunning. There were new trees and the mountain top would occasionally show up. Also there were small waterfalls to enjoy. Despite the downhill, my knee held up pretty well (not the case later in the week). We reached our campsite at Baranco (~13,000 ft) with plenty of time to relax a bit before tea time.
None of these pictures capture the Baranco wall that we would be climbing the next morning. It was an imposing wall, but something to look forward to. Dinner consisted of leek soup, pancakes, beef stew, rice, and bananas. I really enjoyed the beef stew over the rice. Overall, another great day! People were getting tired now, but the mood of the group was still pretty positive. This was our last normal night of sleep before the summit so we tried to take advantage (although I was still up most of the night). Also Corinne and I finally did a tent talk video which proves the we were in pretty good spirits about the day. We had planned on doing this every night but ended up exhausted and instead I just quickly jotted down the day's adventure and meals so I could blog it here.
First off, as I wrote in my planning blog, I took a steroid to help me fight altitude sickness since I am allergic to an ingredient in Diamox. I have taken some steroids in the past to help me with asthma, but I don't remember them having an impact on my body. The one I took on this trip gave me never ending energy. I barely slept at night because my body just wasn't tired. I would lay in a dark tent with my eyes closed wishing myself to sleep. It usually didn't work and I was so thrilled when the guides came to wake us up so I could get going again. Amazingly, I never ran out of energy, despite limited sleep, the entire 6 day hike. It was incredible. I loved it. Everything was fun and amazing. I sang songs in my head to keep myself busy since my friends didn't want to hear me most of the time. I realize I was probably a little too peppy and positive (and yes, even I can admit I was annoying at times), but I think I always drove my friends crazy. They even told me later that they really didn't care for me on the mountain. I don't think I will be doing another altitude vacation with any of them again, as I plan on being that happy on every mountain from now on. Especially since it was not a great thing to hear given I loved my energy and happiness on the mountain. But my view of the hike is definitely different from the others. I loved every minute of it and that is what I am trying to express here.
Day 3 started at 7am (or the night finally ended for me). It was a chilly morning, but the views were still perfect. For breakfast we had porridge, omelets, hot dogs and toast. Corinne also tried the Milo malt powder and I will just say that no one else tried it after that. We started late again today, but it gave Corinne time to do some yoga. The morning hike was perfect. We hiked up the ridge with the sun burning bright to warm us up. We walked through the moorlands and into the artic desert. There were interesting rock formations along the way. It was a long morning of hiking though. As we were approaching lunch at the Lava Tower, the clouds rolled in and the sky got dark. We could see the Lava Tower from a distance, but we didn't make it before the storm hit. We have a few minutes of walking through small hail until we got to the lunch tent at Lava Tower Camp (~15,000 ft).
 |
| Corinne's morning yoga |
 |
| Super excited to start the day |
 |
| This was a fun group |
 |
| I don't believe in selfie sticks since my arm does a great job already. |
 |
| I have so much admiration for the porters. |
 |
| The ever changing landscape |
 |
| The dark sky starts rolling in as the rock formations started getting fun. |
 |
| Holly loving the climb. |
 |
| It is basically a single file march for most of the hike. |
 |
| Most of our breaks turned into photo sessions and Corinne wanted to try a jump photo. I love the progression that follows. |
 |
| The top of the mountain disappeared often behind the clouds |
 |
| Driven by the fact that we get lunch at the Lava Tower. |
 |
| The Lava Tower! |
 |
| I made it, but with more layers than earlier as the temps were dropping. |
We had read in blogs and on the itinerary that you could climb Lava Tower if time permitted. Given the weather and the fact that we were always running behind, we didn't even get the option. It was beautiful though. A large imposing rock formation kind of in the middle of nowhere, although the mountain was always looming in the background this day. Lunch was delicious! We had chicken flautas and watermelon. I couldn't get enough of the flautas. This is the meal that I realized people's appetites were slowing down. Some didn't each much the rest of the trip. That was never a problem for me and I probably ate too much . (Definitely no weight loss on this trip). Oh and the private toilet continued to be amazing since they set it up every lunch and we could use it while it was raining safely.
 |
| Our lunch campsite |
 |
| Too bad I couldn't explore more around the Lava Tower. |
The hike after lunch was mostly a decent. We enjoyed plenty of pictures as we went down, especially with different views of the Lava Tower and the top of the mountain. The valley we went through was just stunning. There were new trees and the mountain top would occasionally show up. Also there were small waterfalls to enjoy. Despite the downhill, my knee held up pretty well (not the case later in the week). We reached our campsite at Baranco (~13,000 ft) with plenty of time to relax a bit before tea time.
 |
| Starting the descent |
 |
| We did have a lot of fun |
 |
| Group shot with the Lava Tower |
 |
| How can you not celebrate this view |
 |
 |
| This always made me stop and wonder how I would be at the top within 2 days. |
 |
| I loved these trees |
 |
| The entire walk through the valley looked like this. |
 |
| Yep, we made it! |
 |
| Such a clear night |
 |
| One of my favorite shots (Thanks Amanda!) |
None of these pictures capture the Baranco wall that we would be climbing the next morning. It was an imposing wall, but something to look forward to. Dinner consisted of leek soup, pancakes, beef stew, rice, and bananas. I really enjoyed the beef stew over the rice. Overall, another great day! People were getting tired now, but the mood of the group was still pretty positive. This was our last normal night of sleep before the summit so we tried to take advantage (although I was still up most of the night). Also Corinne and I finally did a tent talk video which proves the we were in pretty good spirits about the day. We had planned on doing this every night but ended up exhausted and instead I just quickly jotted down the day's adventure and meals so I could blog it here.