Day 1 – What were we thinking?
Distance hiked – 9 km (5.6 miles)
Starting altitude – 2,600 meters (8,530 feet)
Ending altitude – 3,300 meters (10,830 feet)
Distance ascended – 700 meters (2,300 feet)
I was so excited and really nervous as I packed just about every warm piece of clothing I brought with me to Kenya in preparation for our attempt at reaching Point Lenana, the highest point on Mt. Kenya that you can reach without being an experienced technical climber. It was kind of hard to sleep the night before we left, and I was still both excited and nervous the next morning when our guide, Josiah, arrived in a minibus to take us to Nanyuki, the starting point for our journey.
We arrived in Nanyuki, passing the equator a few kilometers earlier, and there was something somewhat comforting about being back “home” in the Northern Hemisphere. We grabbed lunch as Josiah and the porters bought the food we would eat for the next four days. (Someone needs to introduce dehydration/rehydration technology to Kenyan mountain guides – I felt so bad at the amount of stuff the porters carried, and it would have been a lot less if they just had to boil water to rehydrate little packages of food, rather than cooking from regular ingredients.)
We then switched to a four-wheel drive minibus to take us up a really bumpy road to the park gate. Now when we left Nairobi, it was nice and sunny. When we arrived in Nanyuki, it was fairly sunny there, but we couldn’t see the top of Mt. Kenya because it was covered in clouds. As we got closer and closer to the park gate, it got darker and darker. As we got out of the minibus to pay the park fees, put on our packs, and start hiking, it started to pour down rain. I’m talking monsoon-strength torrential rain. So we all got out our raingear, put it on, and waited for the rain to subside a bit, all of us looking like hunchbacks and/or turtles with our packs on under big ponchos and raincoats. It was at this point that I thought to myself, “what were we thinking?”
But the rain slowed down a bit and we started our hike to the first hut at Old Moses Camp. The hike was actually the least enjoyable of all 4 days because of the rain, and the fact that there was so much water streaming down the trail it was a bit like hiking up a river. But we all made it in one piece.
In total, there were about 40 or so other hikers (and their guides/porters) staying at Old Moses Camp. The main hut was one long building divided in half length-wise. One half was further divided into little rooms w/ bunk beds, and the other half was one long room with long benches and tables. We sat a while and played cards, ate dinner, and then got to bed early so we could wake up early the next day to try and make it to the next camp before it started to rain.
Starting altitude – 2,600 meters (8,530 feet)
Ending altitude – 3,300 meters (10,830 feet)
Distance ascended – 700 meters (2,300 feet)
I was so excited and really nervous as I packed just about every warm piece of clothing I brought with me to Kenya in preparation for our attempt at reaching Point Lenana, the highest point on Mt. Kenya that you can reach without being an experienced technical climber. It was kind of hard to sleep the night before we left, and I was still both excited and nervous the next morning when our guide, Josiah, arrived in a minibus to take us to Nanyuki, the starting point for our journey.
We arrived in Nanyuki, passing the equator a few kilometers earlier, and there was something somewhat comforting about being back “home” in the Northern Hemisphere. We grabbed lunch as Josiah and the porters bought the food we would eat for the next four days. (Someone needs to introduce dehydration/rehydration technology to Kenyan mountain guides – I felt so bad at the amount of stuff the porters carried, and it would have been a lot less if they just had to boil water to rehydrate little packages of food, rather than cooking from regular ingredients.)
We then switched to a four-wheel drive minibus to take us up a really bumpy road to the park gate. Now when we left Nairobi, it was nice and sunny. When we arrived in Nanyuki, it was fairly sunny there, but we couldn’t see the top of Mt. Kenya because it was covered in clouds. As we got closer and closer to the park gate, it got darker and darker. As we got out of the minibus to pay the park fees, put on our packs, and start hiking, it started to pour down rain. I’m talking monsoon-strength torrential rain. So we all got out our raingear, put it on, and waited for the rain to subside a bit, all of us looking like hunchbacks and/or turtles with our packs on under big ponchos and raincoats. It was at this point that I thought to myself, “what were we thinking?”
But the rain slowed down a bit and we started our hike to the first hut at Old Moses Camp. The hike was actually the least enjoyable of all 4 days because of the rain, and the fact that there was so much water streaming down the trail it was a bit like hiking up a river. But we all made it in one piece.
In total, there were about 40 or so other hikers (and their guides/porters) staying at Old Moses Camp. The main hut was one long building divided in half length-wise. One half was further divided into little rooms w/ bunk beds, and the other half was one long room with long benches and tables. We sat a while and played cards, ate dinner, and then got to bed early so we could wake up early the next day to try and make it to the next camp before it started to rain.
Us on the Equator.
Oh the rain! (Photo courtesy of Eleonora)
Old Moses Camp.
View from Old Moses Camp.
“Dining room” of Old Moses Camp. (Photo courtesy of Eleonora)
Stay tuned for Day 2 ...
posted by Erica at
5:45 PM
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