Saturday, July 16 – Barranco to Karanga

Last night we had a big dinner and I ate way too much for someone who is starting to have stomach trouble. I will need to watch it today. It was beautiful this morning with the sun coming up as we headed over to Barranco Wall. Yesterday August told us that it is nicknamed the Breakfast Wall because a lot of people “lose their breakfast” climbing the wall. It looks pretty steep from the Blue tent. This turned out to be my favorite part of the climb so far. We were really scrambling up the wall for about an hour and a half. A few areas were a little dicey, especially for the folks afraid of heights. It was great to see the sense of accomplishment on their faces when they overcame their fears coming up the wall. All the while Kili was our backdrop getting closer and closer. It was chilly in the morning because the shadow of the mountain was on us. As we climbed up to the top of the wall we came to a little plateau and the sun was shiny. We peeled off a layer at the break and took pictures of the glacier. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous day.

On our second break Suz jumped up on a big rock with Kili in the background and started singing More Than a Mountain – the song that Gina’s friends wrote for our trip. It was so moving my eyes filled with tears of emotion. It was just amazing. We weren’t ready for it but Tina managed to grab her camera and get part of it on video. When she finished several of us had tear filled eyes but the moment quickly evaporated as the group started talking about all the gas they were passing all night and Suz made a wise crack that she almost “sharted”. About that time Ben rounded the corner and caught up with the group. He said he heard the whole thing – the song and the shart comment. We all got a another good laugh. We were at the halfway point and the group was making good time. We had to go down two more sections and up one and then we would be at camp. The elevation gains on some of the segments don’t really tell the story since you go up and down and up and down again. Its generally more elevation gain that the basic stats tell you. We had a pretty large group for most of the day – Gina and Sarah were up at the front with me and I was learning a lot more about MS from Sarah. April was up with us too and she was telling us about the various symptoms she’s experienced over the years. I am still in awe of the courage it has taken for her to attempt the adventure.

The last down hill is pretty tough and April tweaks her knee a little bit. There is some scrambling required to get down and a few icey patches. As we make it to the bottom we see the trail going uphill to the camp. There are two choices – one straight up to the camp looks pretty short and another that is winding and gradual and looks about twice as long. Sarah and I ask August if we can go up the steep route. We are looking for a challenge. He takes us that way and the rest of the group stops to rest before heading up the other trail. John, Nathan and Daniel stop briefly and head on up the trail while the rest of the group is still taking a break. The straight up route ends up being a lot easier than it looked from our vantage point at the bottom. We are up the trail in about 15 minutes and greeted by Ramso with a tray of juice. Ramso is the young guy who serves in the food tent and we always see him on the trail carrying up kitchen supplies and the plastic flowers from the dining tables. For the first three days he kept forgetting my name and I kept calling him Rambo. We’ve finally figured out each other’s names now.

Sarah and I pick our tents and a few minutes later John, Nathan and Daniel come popping over the hill from the other trail. This is our shortest day and we will have plenty of time to soak up the sun and relax. Karanga camp is very dusty but beautiful. It is fairly spread out and the top of Kili is right on top of us. Below us is a blanket of clouds and the view is majestic once again.

We got camp set up and I washed my face and my trekking shirt which was covered in dust at this point. I hung the shirt inside the tent which was getting very warm. It didn’t take it long to dry in there. My stomach is starting to feel worse and I am going to the bathroom way more than it seems should be necessary. Time to eat less food! Every time I eat it just wants to hurry up and come out the other end. I think this is one of the most common problems on the mountain. Its funny but everybody is starting to talk about their gas and bathroom habits. Topics that would normally be taboo are the subject of constant chatter. I guess that’s just how it goes on the mountain.

We have a delicious lunch of french fries (two helpings), deviled eggs, fried fish, mixed veggies, cabbage and fruit salad. After the tent cleared out I stayed behind and talked to Eric for a while. This was really the first time I had spent with him since we started the trip. I asked him about how he learned to make wine. One of his good friends from college attended the wine making program at UC Davis. He traveled the world learning the art of wine making and eventually landed at a big winery inviting Eric to come work there and learn the business. Eric travels with Alpine four months out the year – so I guess he primarily does Kili in the summer and winter seasons. The rest of the year he’s working on his winery. He’d like to turn it in to a profitable venture if he can do it without it taking over his life. Isn’t that the trick with everything – maintaining the balance. Its why I quite working – it had taken over my life to the point that I no longer had one. I love my life now – otherwise, I would never have had the time to train for and do this climb. I would hate to ever give my lifestyle up again for the ball and chain of corporate life. But sometimes I miss the excitement and challenge of the old work world.

After lunch we sat around outside our tent in the sunshine. Sean was sunning on a big rock and I took a picture of him to send to the “planking” website. As the sun started to drop in the sky we headed back to the blue tent for popcorn, tea and another briefing on the climb to high camp and then the summit. People are starting to feel worse and many have my stomach issue. I am not sure if it is the exertion, the water supply or the fact that the body knows its going to shut down digestion at high altitude and its just trying to dispose of everything in anticipation. Tomorrow we will hike until 1 or 2 and then we will rest fro a few hours, eat dinner, rest again and then leave for the summit before midnight. That seems like a really exhausting schedule. Eric will assign summit groups tomorrow.

Suz sings the More than a Mountain song again before dinner and several of us tear up again. She sings so beautifully and the song has so much more meaning now that we are here and climbing together. I ate light and left dinner early because the “free super colon cleanse” was about to get started. Who knew that this trip included a daily clay mask exfoliation, super tanning and a free super colon blow! They could bill this as a spa vacation with spectacular views!

John came to the tent a few minutes later and managed to dig up the immodium for me. I was hoping it would work right away but NO. I was basically back and forth to the potty tents off and on all night – so not much rest the night before the beginning of the final assault.

I had a dream that we were in camp and this obnoxious guy from another group was harassing me about how easy the Alpine Ascents team has it with all the nice tents, food, etc. He was blocking the staircase and it was really frustrating me. I finally woke up and realized I was dreaming.

Hard to believe Day 4 is over. The summit is within our grasp.