This was the day we decided to skip one of the camps along the way to Barafu Hut. Given that I had opted for the 7 day time climb, we figured it was best to keep an extra day for summiting should anything go wrong. So the plan was to trek upto Karanga Camp, stop for lunch and carry on to Barafu hut – the final stop before attempting to summit the mountain.

The day started like most others with morning tea followed by breakfast. And the fact that this camp actually is the convergence of 3 different routes, namely Machame, Shira and Lemosho, it is a large camping ground armed with nice brick and mortar toilets. Its was finally nice to be able to latch the door!
 

Given that in the pat couple of days we had managed good pace, the decision was to continue to start as we usually did at 8:30. However most larger groups left an hour earlier to try and tackle the wall that stared at our face. The Barranco wall looked daunting. But the great thing was we managed to get to the top of the wall in an hour and 15 minutes flat despite traffic. That and it turned out to be much easier than it looked from a distance. It was not nearly as risky as I had thought.

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With jubilation all around, we stopped for a few photographs at the top with the scenic Mt. Meru behind us peaking through the clouds. We took a short break and left with Karanga in our mind. From here on, there was a nice undulating slope and as are most camps, right when you can catch it within your sights and think 'thank God its here', you come close only to realise that there is steep climb down the valley and a climb back up to camp. We got to Karanga at 11am. 
 

The mess tent was set and we lounged about for an hour as lunch was prepared. We packed up at a quarter to 1 to move along to Barafu.
 

I mentally believed it would be an easy 2 hour walk. Boy was i mistaken again.
 

It turned out to be a gruelling slope up at 4000m and anything but easy. I was out of breath right from the get go and decided to concentrate on my two feet with my head firmly down. It was even better when I had 2 more feet in my guide to follow without having to look up at all. It helped me conserve all my energy and use it for walking up. With the destination no where close to near, looking up simply would have sapped out all hope and energy.
 

In the end we finally got to the point where the camp seemed visable at a distance. But as we got closer (And I should not have been surprised), the smile went away. A steep and slippery climb down to the valley was in store. Bits of ice, a little stream dropping down, slippery and narrow, it felt like hours.
 

Once we finally made it up, i just reached the ranger’s cabin and just sat there outside for a half hour. At 4600m we were at the highest camp- and the camp was on a rift, rocky and uneven.
 

But despite all the tiredness, just watching the clouds roll below me, and flowing along with slopes on the mountain, in my view it was a sight worth the climb. The clouds simply glided softly over these slopes, and where the slope was sharp, the cloud came from below and launched into the sky right before my eyes.
 

My whole body now ached and i finally found use for my thermals. While the sun played hide and go seek, it seemed to be hiding more than it could be seeked. It was a game the sun was good at. The temperature dropped and dinner was served even earlier. At 6 pm the table was set.
 

Now the only decision was to figure if I had it in me to try summiting tomorrow or whether the day would be a rest/acclimatization day. There was an 6 hour trek to the summit in really thin air that awaited. And this did not include the 2 hours to get back down and 2 hours to the lower camp.

At just 4 days down however, i had the time and opportunity to afford a mistake or even fail without worrying.