On Top of Kenya

For the past nine years that I have lived in Kenya, I have always wanted to climb Mt. Kenya, the 2nd highest peak in all of Africa.  Now I can say I have finally done it!  My friend Kim Davey, who is a missionary in South Sudan, presented the idea to me and did a little persuading to push me into missing the first week of Term 2 so that we could do it.  Everyone we talked to thought we were a little crazy for going to climb Mt. Kenya during rainy season, but the two of us are usually ready for an exciting adventure.   

I travelled to Nairobi last Tuesday and met up with Kim.  My friend Muhia referred me to his friend who runs a climbing business.  On a day's notice he set up the trip and we travelled three hours on a public van to Naro Moru early on Thursday morning.  They had an early lunch ready for us and drove us up to the park gate. 



Day 1
Our guide, 3 porters, cook, Kim and I all set off on foot from the gate to begin the adventure.  The hike was about 3 1/2 hours that afternoon.  It was an overcast day, but we only got showers for a short while.  We reached the Met Station Lodge (10,000 feet) around 5:00 pm and put down our bags before our guide told us we would hike up 30 more minutes before coming back to rest.  I asked if there was anything there to look at and he said there wasn't.  I didn't understand and told him I thought I had gone far enough for today and would like to rest.  Finally he explained that hiking up 30 minutes further and then coming back down to sleep would help with acclimitization.  Relunctantly I agreed since it seemed to make sense.  After the hike, we came back down to the Met Station for dinner and a good night of sleep with a fire to keep us warm.  Our porters were great cooks.  I ate much better than I normally eat at home.  The food was so good, but maybe all the hiking made it taste even better.

Day 2
We were told that day we would have to hike for around 7 hours, but with our fast pace we finished the 7 mile hike within 5 1/2 hours.  Mackinder's Lodge is situated below the main peak with a good view of the big mountain.  When we first arrived, the sun was shining bright, but within a short time the clouds covered it and the temperature dropped dramatically.  We hiked up again for about 30 minutes to help with the acclimitization and then back down to rest.  The only problem is that it is difficult to rest and relax when it is so cold.  We were now at 14,200 feet and ready for the final ascent early the next morning. 

In the lodge we met an American couple that were also on the same path as us.  We realized later that the four of us were the only visitors in all of Mt. Kenya National Park for those four days.  I guess there weren't many other climbers daring enough to attempt it during that time.

Day 3
 
I tried to sleep, but even with 4 layers of clothes and a great sleeping bag, I was too cold.  I might have slept for an hour or two, but it didn't seem like it when my alarm went off at 2:00 am.  We took some chai, prepared our equipment and headed out by 3:00 am.  After a short climb through some lose rocks, we hit snow very early, much lower than it normally is.  We climbed 4 1/2 miles up to the summit in 3 1/2 hours.  We were hoping to reach the summit in time for the sunrise, but the high level of snow and ice slowed us down more than we thought it would.  That morning it was also snowing lightly.  It was difficult to get a solid footing as our feet kept sliding on the compacted snow, but the guide would use his snow axe to dig a little to give us traction.  There are some ropes connected to the stones towards the top of the peak, but most of them were buried in the snow.  There were a few points where the ice was slick and there wasn't much room for error on either side.  I tried not to think much about it and focus on reaching the peak.  We finally reached Point Lenana (16,355 feet) about 15 minutes after the sun rose and God had given us a beautiful clear day.  You could see for miles and miles.  Without a doubt I was the highest person in Kenya and maybe in all of Africa (depening on who was on top of Kilimanjaro at the same time).  All of the snow made it absolutely gorgeous up there.  We spent an hour on the peak taking photos, drinking chai and enjoying the scenery. 

After a lot of coaxing from our guide Stanley who was worried about the weather changing quickly, we started going down the other side of the mountain towards Chogoria at 7:45 am. The 12 miles down that side were beautiful with lakes, rivers, waterfalls and deep canyons. We probably didn't enjoy it enough because we were tired and wanted to make it down to the camp. Unfortunately, it began raining about three hours before we reached. It was hard to complain since it was rainy season and God had spared us for the past two days. It never let up though. We had to eat lunch in the rain and finish the hike while getting completely soaked from head to toe. We were thankful for a warm cup of chai, a hot shower and a fire when we reached the Mt. Kenya Lodge.

















Day 4
The hiking was finished and all that remained was a drive to the main town of Chogoria and then catching a public van back to Nairobi. Seems easy enough, doesn't it? Unfortunately, the road was terrible. I have seen many bad roads in Africa and have been stuck many times, but I have never seen anything like this road before. You had to have the old style of Land-rover to make it, plus several strong men ready to push it through the mud (or in some cases hold it up so it doesn't tip) while the driver negotiates the obstacles. Probably the best way to describe it is this: it took us 3 1/2 hours to go 22 miles!

All in all, it was a wonderful safari. God blessed us with great weather. I had great company throughout. My body was strong and healthy (except for a few small headaches and a little nausea from the altitude). And I got to see some absolutely breathtaking views of God's beautiful creation. Climbing Mt. Kenya during rainy season is a little risky and I probably wouldn't recommend it, but the scenery was unbeatable!

Some lessons I learnt:
- You must pick the right guide and be ready to listen and trust him!
- Keep looking at the ultimate goal in front of you, but then focus on each step to get there.
- You must have the right equipment and be prepared.
- We all need help because we can't make it alone (porters, guides, friends).
- Anything worthwhile requires a lot of hard-work and sacrifice.

- You can always go beyond what you think is possible.