Day 4 of the Kilimanjaro expedition

Kili summit

Key variables

Start : Machame camp (3000m)
Finish : Shira camp (3830m)
Difference in height : + 830m
Duration : 3h
Distance : 7km

First effects of the altitude

During the night I felt the first effects of altitude sickness. I woke up twice with a disturbing impression of suffocating. Nothing too serious but when it happens in the middle of the night, it makes you fell worry.

After a breakfast under the surveillance of Kibo, Kilimanjaro'top, we start the day by a rocky and dusty trail. The more we walk the more gorgeous the view on >mount Meru and tanzanian plains. It is the less difficult day of the trek, nevertheless our guide suggest that we walk slowly and enjoy the landscapes, noticing the vegetation changes while we climb. On our way to Shira we encountered a chameleon and few senecios, Carduus keniensis and lobelia deckenii.

The more we climb the more vegetation gets seldom. We reach a crest formed by an ancient lava flow, the slope gets steeper until we reach the ideal place for our lunch break. But it is only 10.30am so we decide to keep on walking as far as Shira camp. The hardest part of the day is now behind us, we now walk between rocks until the desertic caldera of Shira we reach one hour later.

After lunch and a two hours nap we go for a walk to the ancient Shira campsite. It's a pleasant one hour return trip. Back to the new Shira campsite the sun is low on the horizon which illuminates the area while the Kilimanjaro is already in the dark.

At night, a strong cold wind obliges us to wear warm clothes.