5/16/19
I met my guide, Sammy, and the cook, Joseph in the morning. We drove into Nanyukiand shopped for the trip at the new cedar mall (replacing Nakumat as the popular place for expats now). We then drove to the Mt. Kenya National Park gate and began hiking. It was a pretty straightforward and easy hike through the rainforest, bamboo, then heather, and finally above tree line to reach Old Moses Hut (11,064 ft) where I journaled and read. I took an acclimatization hike up to a global atmospheric watch weather station.
Dinner was amazing: butternut squash soup, chicken curry with vegetables and noodles, cooked salad, and tomatoes, and avocado with lime. For dessert there was banana and oranges. The cook said "Please try to eat it all, we have a very long day tomorrow." No problem for me! We watched a gorgeous sunset over the plains with 3 grey duikers browsing in the bushes below the hut. After sunset, the clouds lifted from the pointy high peaks. I am the only one at the hut, well...me and a cute mouse.
5/17/19
Hiked in the alpine all day to Shipton's Hut. It was a super beautiful trail through SO many giant lobelias (3 species: giant, ostrich plume, and water-filled). It was a lobelia garden wonderland, like a Dr. Seuss world. And there were FANTASTIC views of Mt. Kenya. Along the way we saw elephant, buffalo, and hyena scat, as well as leopard footprints. These animals will live all the way up to 14,000 feet. Shipton's hut is in a beautiful amphitheater location surrounded by the many sharp peaks of Mt. Kenya. There are a few tiny glaciers visible. The camp sits at 13,880 feet and has tons of fat rock hyraxes running around. I did an acclimatization hike up to a pass at 15,020 feet that had nice views of 2 lakes. During the hike, the mist was going in and out of the jagged peaks, making them look all the more enchanting and dramatic.
In Swahili, Mount Kenya is Mlima Kenya. In Kikuyu it is Kirinyaga, which means ostrich as Mt. Kenya looks like a male ostrich with the black rock and white snow. I'm all alone in the hut again.
5/18/19
I woke up at 3am for an alpine start. It was a full moon, so everything was lit up. The guide led us "pole pole" (slowly) up the mountain. As we were hiking up, the mist came in. I reached the summit at 6am (2hrs and 40 mins up) for the sunrise, but there was no sunrise because of he clouds. There were a few snow flurries (on the equator!) and plenty of frost up on top. We waited for nearly 2 hours, but it stayed mostly cloudy, with the views obscured. Sammy started getting cold (even after I had given him one of my jackets), so we headed down. When we reached the bottom, it cleared to bluebird. I had a discussion with the guide about going back up. He was too tired and worried about time, but he was already impressed with my mountain skills, so he said, although it was a risk to his job (he would get in trouble if I got hurt and it was found out he was not with me), that I could climb back up. The rainforest mist from below was starting to rise, so I was trying to beat it. I hustled up and at 10:20am the mist came in, and I reached the summit at 10:37. I was so bummed because I had pushed so hard, but luckily, it cleared again for a bis, so I spent 20 minutes on top enjoying the views of the other peaks. From the top you could also see the biggest glacier (though rather small) and also lots of lakes.
The peak I climbed is called Lenana Peak and is the 3rd highest peak on Mt. Kenya. The other 2 peaks are technical and require ropes, they aren't often climbed. Point Lenana is 4985m (16,355 ft) and the highest, Battion Peak is 5199m (17,057ft). Near to the summit of Battion is a tiny hut a German guy constructed using a helicopter. After enjoying the views, I hustled back down for brunch. I finished brunch a bit before 1230, and then we began the long march back to the park gate. It was mostly raining the whole walk down. We stopped at Old Moses camp to warm up with tea and ramen noodles, then we did the last 5.5 miles down. It was just a light rain as we hiked below Old Moses and the sun was shining on us from the horizon, so the light was beautiful and there were some very vivid rainbows. On the way down we saw some mountain zebras and baboons.
On the matatu ride back to Nanyuki from the gate, there was just an incredible number of flying termites. It was basically a mist of them! The driver had to turn his lights off, just to be able to see since they are attracted to light. When we arrived to the first village, locals were out catching them as they make high protein snacks.
All in all, I was hiking/on my feet from basically 3am until 6pm (16hrs) and walked ~25 miles. I gained ~7000 feet of elevation and descended about ~12,000. The 2nd time I went up the summit, I did it in 1 hr and 4 minutes, which according to Strava is the fastest it's ever been done by someone with a gps watch.
5/19/19
I took a before sunrise matatu (local van transport) to Nairobi. Mount Kenya was clear and had a lot of snow on it as we drove by in the morning. From the matatu stand in Nairobi, I walked through part of downtown to catch another Matatu to the suburb of Karen. I then took a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to our eco camp, Wildebeest Eco Camp. Wildebeest was a nice camp with really nice grounds, a pool, pond, guava trees, and vervet monkeys. Elisha and I took an Uber (the first Uber we've ever taken!) to Nairobi National Park to go to the animal orphanage, but it was too expensive, so we ubered to a fancy mall where we had ice cream, and Elisha got some Indian food. Then we just hung out at Wildebeest and enjoyed the grounds, and steaming hot solar showers. For dinner we shared some amazing cheese dish with Will and had a burger.
While I was climbing Mt. Kenya, the group had another day in Nanyuki. Elisha went to the new fancy shopping complex there and to the giant "thrift shop" known as Motumbo. The next day, they went to Lake Naivasha, where they stayed at a nice campsite and visited the Born Free Foundation and home of Joy and George Adamson--who raised orphaned lion cubs and were conservationists. Then they had British high tea and pastries, which Elisha loved
5/20/19
We said goodbye to Eric today and welcomed Lewis (UK). We also now have a chef, Denford, from Zimbabwe. He made a super delicious chicken stew.
Today we drove to Eldoret with a viewpoint stop over the Great Rift Valley. We camped at this really cool and unique lodge. It was empty, but some rich guy built it and upkeeps it. The grounds are really cool with swimming pool, forest, covered picnic areas, cool tunnels, cave hang out areas, huge hangout areas under thatched roofs, swings, and more. The bar area was really cool with creeks running through, statues, fireplace, cool heating stoves, and this weird atrium thing. It POURED rain all evening and after dinner we hung out around the fire.
I met my guide, Sammy, and the cook, Joseph in the morning. We drove into Nanyukiand shopped for the trip at the new cedar mall (replacing Nakumat as the popular place for expats now). We then drove to the Mt. Kenya National Park gate and began hiking. It was a pretty straightforward and easy hike through the rainforest, bamboo, then heather, and finally above tree line to reach Old Moses Hut (11,064 ft) where I journaled and read. I took an acclimatization hike up to a global atmospheric watch weather station.
Dinner was amazing: butternut squash soup, chicken curry with vegetables and noodles, cooked salad, and tomatoes, and avocado with lime. For dessert there was banana and oranges. The cook said "Please try to eat it all, we have a very long day tomorrow." No problem for me! We watched a gorgeous sunset over the plains with 3 grey duikers browsing in the bushes below the hut. After sunset, the clouds lifted from the pointy high peaks. I am the only one at the hut, well...me and a cute mouse.
5/17/19
Hiked in the alpine all day to Shipton's Hut. It was a super beautiful trail through SO many giant lobelias (3 species: giant, ostrich plume, and water-filled). It was a lobelia garden wonderland, like a Dr. Seuss world. And there were FANTASTIC views of Mt. Kenya. Along the way we saw elephant, buffalo, and hyena scat, as well as leopard footprints. These animals will live all the way up to 14,000 feet. Shipton's hut is in a beautiful amphitheater location surrounded by the many sharp peaks of Mt. Kenya. There are a few tiny glaciers visible. The camp sits at 13,880 feet and has tons of fat rock hyraxes running around. I did an acclimatization hike up to a pass at 15,020 feet that had nice views of 2 lakes. During the hike, the mist was going in and out of the jagged peaks, making them look all the more enchanting and dramatic.
In Swahili, Mount Kenya is Mlima Kenya. In Kikuyu it is Kirinyaga, which means ostrich as Mt. Kenya looks like a male ostrich with the black rock and white snow. I'm all alone in the hut again.
5/18/19
I woke up at 3am for an alpine start. It was a full moon, so everything was lit up. The guide led us "pole pole" (slowly) up the mountain. As we were hiking up, the mist came in. I reached the summit at 6am (2hrs and 40 mins up) for the sunrise, but there was no sunrise because of he clouds. There were a few snow flurries (on the equator!) and plenty of frost up on top. We waited for nearly 2 hours, but it stayed mostly cloudy, with the views obscured. Sammy started getting cold (even after I had given him one of my jackets), so we headed down. When we reached the bottom, it cleared to bluebird. I had a discussion with the guide about going back up. He was too tired and worried about time, but he was already impressed with my mountain skills, so he said, although it was a risk to his job (he would get in trouble if I got hurt and it was found out he was not with me), that I could climb back up. The rainforest mist from below was starting to rise, so I was trying to beat it. I hustled up and at 10:20am the mist came in, and I reached the summit at 10:37. I was so bummed because I had pushed so hard, but luckily, it cleared again for a bis, so I spent 20 minutes on top enjoying the views of the other peaks. From the top you could also see the biggest glacier (though rather small) and also lots of lakes.
The peak I climbed is called Lenana Peak and is the 3rd highest peak on Mt. Kenya. The other 2 peaks are technical and require ropes, they aren't often climbed. Point Lenana is 4985m (16,355 ft) and the highest, Battion Peak is 5199m (17,057ft). Near to the summit of Battion is a tiny hut a German guy constructed using a helicopter. After enjoying the views, I hustled back down for brunch. I finished brunch a bit before 1230, and then we began the long march back to the park gate. It was mostly raining the whole walk down. We stopped at Old Moses camp to warm up with tea and ramen noodles, then we did the last 5.5 miles down. It was just a light rain as we hiked below Old Moses and the sun was shining on us from the horizon, so the light was beautiful and there were some very vivid rainbows. On the way down we saw some mountain zebras and baboons.
On the matatu ride back to Nanyuki from the gate, there was just an incredible number of flying termites. It was basically a mist of them! The driver had to turn his lights off, just to be able to see since they are attracted to light. When we arrived to the first village, locals were out catching them as they make high protein snacks.
All in all, I was hiking/on my feet from basically 3am until 6pm (16hrs) and walked ~25 miles. I gained ~7000 feet of elevation and descended about ~12,000. The 2nd time I went up the summit, I did it in 1 hr and 4 minutes, which according to Strava is the fastest it's ever been done by someone with a gps watch.
5/19/19
I took a before sunrise matatu (local van transport) to Nairobi. Mount Kenya was clear and had a lot of snow on it as we drove by in the morning. From the matatu stand in Nairobi, I walked through part of downtown to catch another Matatu to the suburb of Karen. I then took a boda boda (motorcycle taxi) to our eco camp, Wildebeest Eco Camp. Wildebeest was a nice camp with really nice grounds, a pool, pond, guava trees, and vervet monkeys. Elisha and I took an Uber (the first Uber we've ever taken!) to Nairobi National Park to go to the animal orphanage, but it was too expensive, so we ubered to a fancy mall where we had ice cream, and Elisha got some Indian food. Then we just hung out at Wildebeest and enjoyed the grounds, and steaming hot solar showers. For dinner we shared some amazing cheese dish with Will and had a burger.
While I was climbing Mt. Kenya, the group had another day in Nanyuki. Elisha went to the new fancy shopping complex there and to the giant "thrift shop" known as Motumbo. The next day, they went to Lake Naivasha, where they stayed at a nice campsite and visited the Born Free Foundation and home of Joy and George Adamson--who raised orphaned lion cubs and were conservationists. Then they had British high tea and pastries, which Elisha loved
5/20/19
We said goodbye to Eric today and welcomed Lewis (UK). We also now have a chef, Denford, from Zimbabwe. He made a super delicious chicken stew.
Today we drove to Eldoret with a viewpoint stop over the Great Rift Valley. We camped at this really cool and unique lodge. It was empty, but some rich guy built it and upkeeps it. The grounds are really cool with swimming pool, forest, covered picnic areas, cool tunnels, cave hang out areas, huge hangout areas under thatched roofs, swings, and more. The bar area was really cool with creeks running through, statues, fireplace, cool heating stoves, and this weird atrium thing. It POURED rain all evening and after dinner we hung out around the fire.
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