Sunday, January 3, 2016
Distance hiked: 7.9 km / 4.8 mi
Elevation Gained (Lost): 719 m / 2,359 ft; End: 3,504 m / 11,496 ft
This morning, the crew sang us a song to welcome us, and we took a group photo.
The porters are incredible. They haul large green bags with all the gear (tents, food, toilet tent, kitchen utensils, our main backpacks, and much more) up the mountain, passing us on the trail since they break down after we leave and set up before we arrive (rainbow bonus in photo below).
These men work for very little (by our standards) but it is a lucrative job here in Tanzania. A lot of vertical ascension today. It’s fascinating to see the changes in the vegetation as we rise higher and higher.
We started the day in rainforest and ended in low alpine bushes. Approaching the camp in the valley, we were treated to some amazing views. Our camp for night 2 is just above the green patch in the middle of the photo if you have a hi-res screen, you may be able to make out the blue roof of the ranger’s station.
In order to help us acclimatize to the altitude, we hike to a high point and then drop down to sleep. Beautiful, clear night. The views of the light-unpolluted sky are spectacular.