After an improved nights sleep, we were once again woken at 6:00am with hot tea and breakfast calling. After packing our daypacks we headed out of camp with a goal to reach Lava Tower for lunch, before descending to camp for the night. This was the day that we would begin to ‘feel the mountain’ according to our guides, and we were all on the look out for signs and symptoms of altitude. This was an important acclimatisation day, and there were many ‘pole pole’ calls (slowly)

The hike up to Lava Tower was a delight as there wasn’t a single step in sight! This was literally a long walk up a big hill, and became my favourite day of the trek! We made it to Lava Tower in time for lunch, and we were sitting at 4600m, the same height as the nearby Mount Meru, who’s been watching over our progress, peeping above the cloud line.

After lunch we headed down to Baranco Camp for the night, our porters racing past us with the mess tent so they’d be set up ready for when we arrived at camp later. A couple of the group had experienced some altitude symptoms during the day, but the descent had cleared these for them and we arrived at Baranco Camp at 3900m, ready to settle in for the night after dinner with the Baranco Wall looming over us as it waited for us tomorrow.

The stars were incredible as we were now well beyond any light pollution, and a few of us stayed up to photograph the Milky Way, which was right above our camp. The photos will never do justice to the beauty of the night sky, but it gives you an idea of what we were seeing at least.