Boggy Wonderland...
After a month of cycling through Tanzania and Kenya, it was time to climb another rmountain! I didn’t plan on climbing Mt. Kenya, had already sent all my warm gear home in fact, but being in Nanyuki and seeing it’s peaks rise above the clouds, the mountain called: climb me, climb me!
I had to do it alone this time, and am not that experienced that i could do it without a guide. I decided to carry my own pack but chose the luxury of sleeping in huts, and set out last monday. Mt. Kenya turned out to be very different from Kilimanjaro. Where Kili is more ’ one big mountain’, Kenya has valleys and different peaks. Ofcourse Kili is about 1000 metres higher, so there’s still snow, whereas I only saw one glacier on Kenya. Apparently a lot of people get altitude sickness on Kenya, because you ascend so quickly. I left monday around lunchtime, and was at the top of 4985 metres on wednesdaymorning 6 am!. Point Lenana, that is. Mt. Kenya’s highest peak is Batian with 5199 metres, but it’s a technical climb and not suitable for hikers.
The mountain is gorgeous. I took the Sirimon route and started in thick forest with elephant poo all over the track, and gradually climbed to alpine moorland. A one hour rain- and hailstorm left me drenched, as i was wearing my cycling boots without the clip-ons (which left a hole in the bottom..)! After a night spent in Old Moses’ hut, we hiked for 6 hours the following day to Shipton Camp, set in a beautiful spot surrounded by King Lobelia trees. The track was very boggy, and again the water and mud found there way up in my boots, leaving my socks feet nicely wet and muddy! Another hailstorm made it very cold, but after the clouds had passed and a warm lunch, I could truly enjoy the scenery. Batian rose high above the camp and you could see the track where we would ascent to the summit the following night. At 3 am, we started hiking towards point Lenana. it was cold, and the track on the frozen skree was sometimes steep, but just before 6 we got to the top, right on time to enjoy the sunrise! I was incredibly lucky to be the only person (aside from my guide) at the summit, as severa other hikers returned that night because they felt sick. It felt like i had the whole mountain to myself : )
We will soon continue BEeTRoUtE (www.beetroute08.blogspot.com) towards Ethiopia, this time cycling over 4000 metre high passes before we reach our next destination: Sudan.
Till next time!
Aukje.
