I shall now chronicle the whole frigid ordeal:
Saturday
We left Mpala and drove one hour to Nanyuki where we stopped at our favorite hang out, the Nakumatt! There, we said goodbye to Kelly and Frances, our Ecohydrology professor and TA respectively, and met Cool John - the man who would be leading us up Mt. Kenya. Before leaving the Nakumatt, I bought an ice cream cone eager for something sweet. In hindsight, a warm chocolate chip cookie would've been better because the next three days were about to be the COLDEST OF MY LIFE. But, oh well. We drove to the National Park entrance and met the porters who would be joining us on. After a quick lunch of PB&J, we began our hike. That first day, we hiked almost entirely on a service road that goes up to the Meterological Station. It was a mild uphill grade, but overall was not that bad. By four we were at our first "campsite." I put "campsite" in quotes, because I should explain that this was a luxury place to stay compared to the tents I had imagined. These were buildings! With running (freezing cold) water and flush toilets! We dropped our bags on bunk beds, changed into warm clothes, then proceeded to drink tea and play Presidents. While we played cards, our porters cooked dinner for us. See what I mean about luxury camping! There were British Army guys (BAGs as they're called here) sharing the huts with us and they had to cook their own food on WhisperLite stoves. As we were about to go to sleep, one of the BAGs came over and told us some of the beds we had chosen had bed bugs (luckily not mine!). Those of us that were on infected beds switched and luckily no one got bed bugs! But every night, I was convinced I would get bugs. Or I would freeze to death. Legitimately, that was the coldest I've ever been. My room at home is unusual in that it is the hottest room in the summer and the coldest in the winter, so I'm kind of used to being cold at night. But I also have an electric blanket at home, so that's got to help. Here, all I had was a warm water bottle and a semi-broken sleeping bag.
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| The bed-bug bunk-beds. |
Sunday
We woke up early on Sunday for our second longest day of hiking. Today, we were traveling to the camp at the base of the mountain. This was a more challenging hike than the day before (we were on a trail now instead of a road) and we had to go up and down through several valleys. Beautiful views of Nanyuki and the flower farms further north were sprinkled along the way. Further to the south, Mt. Kenya loomed in the fog.
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| View of Mt. Kenya from a valley in the mist. |
Monday AM
Cool John likes to climb Mt. Kenya in the morning so we can see the sunrise from the peak. This is both amazing and terrifying. It's amazing because you see images such as this as you're climbing up that inspire you to keep your legs pumping and GET THERE!
It's terrifying because, for the first two hours of our three hour hike up, I thought I was going to faint, fall down the mountain, and die. On that climb, I had three things going against me that I don't usually when I'm hiking.
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| Thin red line alerting us to the imminent sunrise as we hiked up Mt. Kenya. |
1) ALTITUDE! Base camp on the second day was over 13,800 feet above sea level. That's the highest I've ever climbed in my life (re: Wind River Peak, WY), and the last time I did that I felt horrible, like I was dying on the way up. So, yeah, we were hella high, meaning less oxygen, meaning less oxidative phosphorylation and the like. One of the guys on the trip, Rob, plays lacrosse so he was a major source of motivation up this mountain. He would shout, "GLYCOLYSIS!" and "OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION!" during the trek, but I'm telling you, all I was doing was glycolysis.
2) FATIGUE! Waking up at 2 AM to hike uphill for 3 hours is, like, ridiculous. I said this earlier, but I think it's important to re-iterate, every 5 minutes I mini-fainted a little in my head. At one point, my legs weren't even tired and I wasn't having trouble breathing, but I thought I was going to go narco and fall asleep.
3) SICKLE CELL TRAIT! I mean, having less than the full number of functional red blood cells isn't a big deal right? Especially when you're at altitude and also have sports induced asthma and are a woman (less iron). Whatever. I'm a FRAKKIN' CHAMP. I CLIMBED THAT MOUNTAIN WITH MY SICKLE RBCs, MY INHALER, AND MY UTERUS.
About thirty minutes from the top, we took a break because we were AHEAD OF SCHEDULE and Cool John didn't want us to dawdle at the top before the sun rise where it would be colder and windier. We all laid down on top of each other at the base of this cave lake overhang to stay warm. It was cute. After about ten minutes laying down, it was time to get going again, so we rallied and trekked up the mountain LIKE BOSSES! At the top, our porters gave us each a cup of tea, which was super necessary because it was so cold! Even though it was really cold, Caroline and I took off our layers to show off our Outdoor Action shirts and take a picture (not shown below).
After about ten minutes at the top, we began our decent, which was super scary! There was snow on the ground, and now we could SEE where we'd end up if we slipped - tumbling down a rocky slope into a tarn. It was slow going, taking us a little under the three hours it took us to get up. When we got back down, we had breakfast ready for us and ate before embarking on our second hike of the day, heading to the first campsite.
Sunday PM (slash really just 10 AM onward)
This hike was easier than coming out because we were going flat or down hill mostly except for two uphills. We again played OA trail games along the way. It was fun and I found myself less tired than I expected to be given that I got 5 hours of sleep and just climbed a mountain. I think the excitement from being on the top of the mountain was still powering me through. I wouldn't crash until that night, when around 7 PM, everyone got tired and went to bed after dinner. This time, we were sharing the campsite with a group of middle schoolers who were loud late into the night, so I laid in bed talking to my bed mate Suchana for an hour before being able to go to sleep. It was less important to get a good nights sleep that night though, because we had a light day Monday and didn't have to hike a mountain. But as always, when you need something, you don't get it. And when you don't need it, it comes to you. I slept my best that night...
Monday
Monday we hiked out for about three hours in the morning. We thanked Cool John and the awesome porters who made our trip so much fun, and headed back to Nanyuki. At Nanyuki, we went to (wait for it...) Nakumatt and bought some snacks and immenities. It was on the ride back to Nanyuki that I realized I had gotten sunburned. I've only been sunburned several times. Once was randomly one summer. I swam competitively twice a day outside every summer for twelve years of my life and never got sunburned except for once in that final year. If this isn't proof of ozone depletion, I don't know what is... The second time was hiking in the Wind River range at altitude. I should've realized I was going to get sunburned (and I know my friend Maisie will rag on me HARD for not wearing any sunscreen) but my bottle of sunscreen isn't very travel friendly (it's a pump bottle) so I left it at Mpala. So at the Nakumatt I bought a travel squeeze bottle for the future. We then went to this awesome place called Dorman's and gorged our faces with good food. I don't dislike the food at Mpala (I actually really like it and want to get some recipes for when I cook for myself at home), but day in and day out it gets a little boring. At Dorman's I got a vegetable panini with fries, a Coke, and a milkshake. It was DELICIOUS! I can't wait for when we go to Nairobi in a week for more non-Mpala, restaurant quality, food. While we were at Dorman's, it began to rain, the first rainy season rain any of us had experienced. To be honest, it was way less intense than those Chicago summer storms. But it was cool. I think one of the coolest things about studying abroad (or spending more than a couple weeks somewhere) instead of vacationing for a week or two is that you see a larger chunk of the place your visiting. If I had just been here during the wet season, I would totally miss the grass turning green and the breeding season of many animals and the burst of mosquitoes (but, why would I want to be around for that?). I can't wait to see the changes that occur here from dry to wet season.
The End
Today we learned that Dobson - our next professor - wouldn't be coming to Mpala until TOMORROW! This means that, although we were supposed to start class today, it looks like we've got a free day!
P.S. If we're friends (meaning if you're not some rando I don't know that's just randomly reading peoples blogs) send me an email and tell me how you're doing!
P.P.S. My computer totally started freaking out yesterday and wouldn't let me do anything without freezing and dying (sounds like me on Mt. Kenya). If it weren't for my super awesome roommate Devika, I wouldn't be able to post this or continue to talk to y'all on the interwebs (or finish watching season 3 of Downton Abbey).
Fun fact: We actually climbed the third highest peak on Mt. Kenya, Lenana, so it wasn't the second highest point in Africa... But still, over 16,000 feet. That's high.
About thirty minutes from the top, we took a break because we were AHEAD OF SCHEDULE and Cool John didn't want us to dawdle at the top before the sun rise where it would be colder and windier. We all laid down on top of each other at the base of this cave lake overhang to stay warm. It was cute. After about ten minutes laying down, it was time to get going again, so we rallied and trekked up the mountain LIKE BOSSES! At the top, our porters gave us each a cup of tea, which was super necessary because it was so cold! Even though it was really cold, Caroline and I took off our layers to show off our Outdoor Action shirts and take a picture (not shown below).
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| Me, at the top with the sun rising behind me and a cup of warm tea. |
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| The sun illuminating the peaks and sea of clouds surrounding the mountain. |
Sunday PM (slash really just 10 AM onward)
This hike was easier than coming out because we were going flat or down hill mostly except for two uphills. We again played OA trail games along the way. It was fun and I found myself less tired than I expected to be given that I got 5 hours of sleep and just climbed a mountain. I think the excitement from being on the top of the mountain was still powering me through. I wouldn't crash until that night, when around 7 PM, everyone got tired and went to bed after dinner. This time, we were sharing the campsite with a group of middle schoolers who were loud late into the night, so I laid in bed talking to my bed mate Suchana for an hour before being able to go to sleep. It was less important to get a good nights sleep that night though, because we had a light day Monday and didn't have to hike a mountain. But as always, when you need something, you don't get it. And when you don't need it, it comes to you. I slept my best that night...
Monday
Monday we hiked out for about three hours in the morning. We thanked Cool John and the awesome porters who made our trip so much fun, and headed back to Nanyuki. At Nanyuki, we went to (wait for it...) Nakumatt and bought some snacks and immenities. It was on the ride back to Nanyuki that I realized I had gotten sunburned. I've only been sunburned several times. Once was randomly one summer. I swam competitively twice a day outside every summer for twelve years of my life and never got sunburned except for once in that final year. If this isn't proof of ozone depletion, I don't know what is... The second time was hiking in the Wind River range at altitude. I should've realized I was going to get sunburned (and I know my friend Maisie will rag on me HARD for not wearing any sunscreen) but my bottle of sunscreen isn't very travel friendly (it's a pump bottle) so I left it at Mpala. So at the Nakumatt I bought a travel squeeze bottle for the future. We then went to this awesome place called Dorman's and gorged our faces with good food. I don't dislike the food at Mpala (I actually really like it and want to get some recipes for when I cook for myself at home), but day in and day out it gets a little boring. At Dorman's I got a vegetable panini with fries, a Coke, and a milkshake. It was DELICIOUS! I can't wait for when we go to Nairobi in a week for more non-Mpala, restaurant quality, food. While we were at Dorman's, it began to rain, the first rainy season rain any of us had experienced. To be honest, it was way less intense than those Chicago summer storms. But it was cool. I think one of the coolest things about studying abroad (or spending more than a couple weeks somewhere) instead of vacationing for a week or two is that you see a larger chunk of the place your visiting. If I had just been here during the wet season, I would totally miss the grass turning green and the breeding season of many animals and the burst of mosquitoes (but, why would I want to be around for that?). I can't wait to see the changes that occur here from dry to wet season.
The End
Today we learned that Dobson - our next professor - wouldn't be coming to Mpala until TOMORROW! This means that, although we were supposed to start class today, it looks like we've got a free day!
P.S. If we're friends (meaning if you're not some rando I don't know that's just randomly reading peoples blogs) send me an email and tell me how you're doing!
P.P.S. My computer totally started freaking out yesterday and wouldn't let me do anything without freezing and dying (sounds like me on Mt. Kenya). If it weren't for my super awesome roommate Devika, I wouldn't be able to post this or continue to talk to y'all on the interwebs (or finish watching season 3 of Downton Abbey).
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