Mt. Longonot National Park

So last Sunday I went with another group of interns and JPOs to hike Mt. Longonot, a dormant volcano in the middle of the rift valley. (For anyone keeping track, that's my fourth national park in four weeks.) Most of the way, the road to Longonot was pretty decent -- we were on a relatively new highway, but then we had to turn off onto a dirt road and drive for 13 kilometers on one of the bumpiest roads that I've been on since I've been here (and that's saying something). Also, they're building a paved road right next to the dirt road, so there were all these trucks and construction vehicles driving around and kicking up so much dust it kind of felt like being in a sandstorm (or how I'd imagine being in a sandstorm would feel). I'm also noticing a relatively large number of bruises on my arms and legs with no recollection of how I got them. I think it's from banging into the side of the car/whoever is sitting next to me as we drive down all these bumpy roads!

The hike was really steep (but that's good -- I need practice for Mt. Kenya), we went up about 2300 feet in elevation! And when we got to the top and could see into the caldera (the hollowed out part in the middle of the volcano), it was really neat because the ecosystem inside the caldera was completely different than the ecosystem at the base of the volcano. So as we were hiking around the path that goes around the edge of the whole caldera, if you looked down to your right, you saw the grassland and savannah of the rift valley, and if you looked down to your right, you saw a really lush, green forest inside the caldera.

Unfortunately, it was pretty cloudy, so I didn't get many really good photos. (Mom and Dad, it was a little like hiking through the clouds last summer in Grindelwald!) But I think it's often pretty cloudy up there -- as we were hiking, I heard what sounded like rain, which was strange, because I couldn't feel any. Then I looked up and I saw a tree that looked like it had rain coming out of its branches, and the ground under it was completely soaked, even though everything else around it was dry. I think the leaves from the tree take moisture out of the clouds and condense it into water droplets, so that the tree can basically water itself!

OK, Anuradha tells me I've been spending too much time in national parks, so she'll be happy to know that this weekend I'm going to Zanzibar (yes, I know how lucky I am to be able to type that phrase), so I'll be spending my time checking out Stone Town and the beaches there. (Oh, and Jennie, I hear you've talked Anuradha into going camping -- good for you and I think you should definitely take her hiking as well!)



(That's me and the view into the caldera.)