“Cliffs are meant to be awe inspiring, and respected. Cliffs were also meant to be scaled and conquered.”
(Anthony T. Hincks)
July 14, 2017
Day five was brutal. This was the day that we had to climb the infamous Barranco Wall.
I woke up early on the morning of July 14, 2017, in order to prepare for the long eight-hour climb ahead. I did not get much sleep during the night due to the heavy winds and the cold temperatures. Therefore, I was already exhausted before I took my first step on the trail. I knew deep in my soul that I was going to struggle both mentally and physically throughout the day. I prepared myself the best way I could to suffer through the pain.
It was very cold this particular morning. We were well above 15,000 feet and I knew that it was just going to get colder from here on out until I reached the summit in two days. We left before sunrise.
Our guides informed us that this day would probably be the most physically challenging climbing day other than summit day. We knew we were going to have to hike between seven and eight hours in order to get to our next camp. We were also told that in order to get to the next camp we would have to climb up the steep Barranco Wall. The Barranco Wall is a very dangerous wall on the side of the mountain that required climbers to scramble and climb up a huge, rocky cliff. Luckily, I was familiar with this part of the climb because I watched a gazillion YouTube videos that other climbers recorded of their experience climbing up the Barranco wall. While watching these videos I was both fascinated and scared to death.
However, we did not arrive at the Barranco Wall until several hours into our hike. For the first several hours we had to hike down a long valley. The views were breathtaking. And the walk down the valley was a nice relief. My legs and back thanked me.
Although I knew that this day was going to be rough, I knew that I had to be patient. I knew teamwork was going to be the only way for us to successfully climb the Barranco Wall.
We finally arrived at the base of the Barranco Wall after already hiking for several hours through out the morning.
Climbing The Barranco Wall!!!
I was really tired once I arrived at the base of the Barranco Wall. But I had to suck it up. And after a short break, I was ready to take on the challenge.
I finally conquered the Barranco Wall after nine tough and long hours of climbing. The last three hours of hiking was rough on me both mentally and physically. Physically, my ankle that I sprained previously in April started aching, my shoulders grew sore from the weight of my day pack and my lower back was hurting from supporting my daypack that I had being carrying with me for the last five days.
Mentally, I felt like I did not have enough energy to make it to the summit. However, I felt a lot better after drinking a ton of water, eating an amazing dinner, and several hours of sleep.
Climbing To The Roof Of Africa 