Oasis Overland Adventure Travel

Mount Kenya Trek

Six days trekking the second highest mountain in Africa took away our breath, our appetite and a couple of pounds around the waistline and gave us fantastic views, friendly wildlife and a huge sense of achievement.

We chose the 6 day Sirimon/Chogoria route for its gentle slopes and beautiful scenery.

 

Friday 11^th December 2009

Nairobi 1700m   We got an earlier view of Mt. Kenya's peaks than expected, from the plane as we flew in this morning.  I couldn't tell which one was the peak we would walk to (Lenana, the 3rd highest at 4985m) but they all looked rather daunting and the plane didn't seem to be at a much higher altitude.  We've been putting time in to the gym and hill walking but I'm still not confident we'll make it!

 

Saturday 12^th December 2009

Old Moses Hut 3300m   Well, we've made it to the first hut!  We were picked up from Nairobi this morning and driven to the trailhead at Sirimon Gate, 2500masl.  After lunch we set off with our guide Peter while the cook and porters walked on ahead.  It rained on and off as we walked through woodland, big, dark mahogany trees a hundred years old with moss and lianas hanging from their branches.  Higher up, woodland turned to scrub and beautiful, colourful flowers lined the red dirt road and shimmering green sunbirds flitted between them.  It was a gentle gradient but the effect of the altitude was soon obvious as it got harder to breathe!  We walked for 4 hours and climbed 800m to Old Moses Hut which sleeps 30 trekkers plus their crew and seems pretty full tonight.  We can see Batian, the highest peak (5199m) and Steve spotted a herd of antelope, well camouflaged on a hill ahead of us.

 

Sunday 13^th December 2009

Liki North Hut 3900m       Another gentle walk today this time in the sunshine.  I spent a lot of time looking at all the unusual plants (ok, I was really catching my breath!).  The scrub gave way to tussock moorland dotted with water-filled and cabbage lobelias.  We followed buffalo and bushbuck hoof prints along the mud track and at about 3500m saw some elephant dung but no sign of who left it there!  We reached our highest point of the day and then descended into this remote and beautiful valley.  There is just a tiny hut where the crew will sleep and a loo and Steve and I will camp.  Cute rock hyraxes are shuffling around, little mountain chats are hopping up to us for crumbs and eagles are soaring overhead.  Apart from that we are alone!  We both had splitting headaches by the time we got here but a late lunch and a couple of painkillers have done the trick.  It's freezing but we warmed around a campfire with our crew: Peter, Benson, Charles, John and Jackson and filled our bellies with Benson's spaghetti.  We tucked up into our sleeping bags as a few spots of snow fell.

 

Monday 14^th December 2009

Shipton's Camp 4200m    We were warm in our tent but the inside of the fly as well as the outside was covered in frost this morning!  Setting off at 9am we trekked up a fairly short hill to 4000m and then down a long track through giant and ostrich plume lobelias to meet the track through MacKinders Valley.  All the main peaks, Batian, Nelion and Lenana, appeared ahead and huge, brown, vertical cliffs rose to our left.  A short, steep, rocky climb brought us to the camp.  It felt like a hard day again today, the lack of oxygen makes it exhausting but Peter said we had set a good pace and would be fine to reach Lenana tomorrow.  He reckons we've done the hard bit but I'm not convinced!  Lenana looks steep, rocky and very high from here!  We have a fantastic view of the snowy peaks from the hut and looked out at them while we had lunch.  What an awesome way to spend a Monday lunchtime! 

 

Tuesday 15^th December 2009

Mintos Camp 4250m (via Lenana 4985m!)      Peter lied!  We definitely had not done the hardest bit!  But we made it...  We set out at 2.30am into the night.  It was incredibly beautiful, the mountains silhouetted against a sky that seemed to have more stars than darkness.  We saw shooting stars every time we stopped to look up (ok, to catch our breath - which was a lot!).  Torches on, we took a slow pace, Peter leading the way.  The higher we got, the colder it got and it was slippery scree nearly the whole way.  By 5am my legs were tired and we needed to stop every few minutes to catch our breath.  The wind was biting cold.  Finally Peter pulled me up a sheer piece of rock onto a level stretch and there was the peak in front of us!  Jubliant but completely cream crackered, we staggered up and leaned on the Kenyan flag pole as the sun crept up over the horizon.  We did it!!

Half an hour at the top was all we could manage, it was freezing and we were getting headaches so we descended.  It was slippery scree again and I spent a lot of time involuntarily sitting down while Steve skipped down like a mountain goat.  It seemed a long walk but finally we reached this hut for breakfast.  We are completely shattered so it's been nice to relax here for the day.  

 

Wednesday 16^th December 2009

Mt Kenya Lodge Bandas 3000m       We headed off on a rocky, undulating path and then along a ridge, descending all the time.  More vegetation started to appear and after about 3 hours we reached a dirt road where we saw our first trees.  Antelope grazed in a pretty glen and there was a lot of elephant and buffalo dung around.  After an hour and a half we arrived here at the Bandas.  We think we may have died and gone to heaven - hot water, beds and beer, we can't believe it.  This is our last night so we had beers together with the crew in front of the fire.  Steve and I thanked the guys and handed out tips and the guys thanked us with a little speech from John.

 

Thursday 17^th December 2009

The end of the trek           I woke up in the night to a banging noise and Steve whispering urgently 'Ceris!  Buffalo!'  We crept to our window and there was a herd of buffalo, making a good job of keeping the grass short and banging their horns on the banda as they munched near to it.  We set off early this morning in case we saw more game but we only saw the usual evidence left behind!  A couple of hours down a rough dirt road, bordered by bamboo forest brought us to a clearing where a Landrover and driver were waiting for us.  Despite the difficulty breathing, the headaches and the slippery scree, it's been an awesome trek.  We're sad to leave Charles, John, Jackson, Peter and Benson but take with us fantastic memories and a big sense of achievement.

 

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