Our first steps out of the Barranco Camp at 8:30 this morning brought us to the Great Barranco Wall. It can be an intimidating feature when seen from a distance as it appears to be just that... a wall. But there is a trail of ledges and handholds and well-worn steps over the lava outcroppings that can work just fine for scaling the wall. Our entire team was climbing well and strong and as it turned out, our main concern was traffic. It was rush hour on the wall. Hundreds of porters and climbers from other teams were all trying to squeeze through the ledges at the same time. Things eased by the halfway point as the crowd spread and we were able to concentrate on the big steps. We were up the wall in about an hour and onto much easier hiking. We'd enjoyed some pretty decent views upward toward Kilimanjaro's main peak earlier in the day, but we were still seeing nothing below but a sea of clouds. Gradually we came to be under a giant umbrella of cloud centered on the summit. It was a relatively short time before we dropped into the Karanga Valley and climbed out its steep opposite side to walk into Karanga Camp. We are all getting into a pretty smooth routine now of breaking camp, climbing and then moving into new camps. We sheltered in our tents for some light afternoon rain showers, and were happy to come together in the roomy dining dome for afternoon tea and dinner. Partial clearing after dinner allowed great views of the lights of Moshi, glowing far below. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map