Journey to the Mountains of the Moon - 1994 (5)

After breaking camp at Sirimon Gate we had to pay the Park Ranger for the necessary permits. Being in the park costs US$20 each per (planned) day - $12 for admission and $8 for camping. Like other public facilities in Kenya, visitors pay much more than local residents. When we lived in Kenya in the ‘70s we had benefited from this but now we had to pay the full tariff. We had calculated that it would take us four days to get up to Pt Lenana and back out of the park.

Starting out just after 9am the first day’s walk was up through the dense forest on the lower slopes and would take us above the tree line some distance before Judmaier Camp. The track is steep and the going was slow with the approximately 25kg that each of us was carrying so stops for breath were frequent. The rests did, however, give us time to appreciate the natural beauty of these lower slopes. Shortly after departing Sirimon gate we saw Bushbuck and further on there were Guinea Fowl. We saw many forest birds, and monkeys abounded in the trees. There were signs of buffalo, elephant and hyena along the trail as evidenced by their distinctive piles of droppings. We didn’t want to meet any one of them face to face but if we did we were trusting to our walking poles to provide some degree of defence.

It took us about five and a half hours to ascend the 800 metres over about 8 km. The last one and a quarter hours we were trudging through a fierce hail storm. Even with the hood of our Goretex waterproof jackets up the hail stung and the track soon became a mini-river. We were now above the tree line and the terrain wasn’t quite so steep. It was just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other and eventually we came to the Old Moses Bunkhouse at Judmaier Camp. Danish couple Jacob and Tina, who had passed us just before the hail started, were already there. Although we had the tent we were cold and wet and didn’t relish the idea of setting up camp in the still-falling hail so we opted to spend the night at the bunkhouse. At Ks 650 it was worth it to spend a drier and more restful night.

Shortly after our arrival a group of eleven straggled in followed by a group of four Australians from Perth. The change into warm dry gear was most welcome. That evening we cooked a light meal using some of the dired fish which had bought in the City Market in Nairobi. They were edible but particularly palatable and Dominic's stomach revolted at eating them. And it had seemed like such a good idea when we bought them.

After a cosy (and dry) night in the hut, our start at a little before 8am was through frozen hail which made it very crisp underfoot. Our plan today was to make for Liki North Hut and spend the night there. From there it would be releatively straightforward to go to Point Lenana and then get back to Liki North Hut in one day. With the frozen hail on the ground it was hard to imagine that we were just a few kilometres south of the Equator. However, the equatorial region plays little part in the local climate when you are over 3500 metres above sea level.

I found the going very tiring and after three hours we had made a bare 200 metres in altitude and about 3 kilometres in distance. Even though it was a bright sunny day and I was wearing my Goretex shell I was feeling cold which was a sure sign of very low blood sugar. I had a very real fear of developing altitude sickness and we were still at least 400 metres in altitude and five kilometres in distance from Liki North Hut. Reluctantly we decided to go back down to Old Moses Bunkhouse for another night and re-assess the situation there. It took us about one and a half hours to make the return, downhill, trip. It felt almost as hard going down as it was going up but that was probably just the result of extreme fatigue.

Even though we turned back the day was far from wasted. At this altitude the unique mountain flora is abundant with giant lobelia and groundsel (Senecio) as well as giant heath. They provide a rich environment for small bird species such as the Malachite Sunbird, larger birds such as Guinea Fowl, and for several types of mammals such as Bushbuck and Hyrax.

On re-reaching Old Moses Bunkhouse I got into my sleeping bag to try to warm up and rest for a while. Dominic cooked up some packet Thai Hot and Spicy noodles which had a very beneficial effect.

Two Welsh guys were camped nearby on their way up the mountain where they planned to do two climbs.

And so to bed to rest up for whatever the new day would bring. The early night gave me a chance to think things over a bit and reflect on my condition.

After a decent sleep Dominic and I discussed our options. An obvious one was to try again for Liki North Hut having had another night to rest. I didn’t feel that I had recovered enough for it to be really that much different from the previous day though so I suggested that we head back down and then go down to Naro Moru where he could get a portered trip up the Naro Moru route which would take about three days total. I’d stay behind in the Naro Moru River Lodge and recover ready for my real objective – the Ruwenzoris. I was disappointed at not being able to make it but I had done the ascent to Pt Lenana once and Dominic deserved a chance to do it without me jeopardising the effort.

So at eight-thirtyish we started out back down the mountain to Sirimon Gate. From there we would play it by ear to get a ride back to Nanyuki and thence to Naro Moru.

The walk down to Sirimon Gate was uneventful and took us about two and a half hours. Waiting for a matatu to hitch a ride back to Nanyuki gave us a chance to rest for a while.

We finally managed to arrange a ride back to Nanyuki for Ks1000. A guide from another party tried to hustle us into staying at Nanyuki and arranging for Dominic to do a porteraged trip from there up the Sirimon route. We’d made our minds up, however, and we would do the Naro Moru option as we had agreed.

The trip back to Nanyuki was uneventful and there was a bus leaving ‘soon’ for Naro Moru. KS50 each and the same for our packs saw us on our way. I might have offended the local bus guys a little as I kept popping out of the bus to make sure our packs were not being offloaded from the roof while we were inside. However, better safe than sorry and I had heard some stories of backpackers arriving at their destination to find that their luggage had not. The bus trip was not without its amusements. One of the passengers was a self-proclaimed evangelist who had taken it upon herself to save the rest of humanity from the burning fires of hell. She copped a lot of flak and abuse from other passengers but she didn’t go far and it was quite peaceful for the rest of the trip. Of course, arrival in Naro Moru gave us yet another throng of hustlers to deal with but we fobbed them off with a ‘we will get back to you’ and carried on to walk the three kilometres to the Naro Moru River Lodge.

We were able to secure a self-contained cottage for US$45 per day and an extra US$23 for full board. Dominic arranged his trip up the Naro Moru route to start the following day and I would stay behind and recover. For US$450 he got a guide and two porters with all accommodation, park passes, and food included.

After this eventful day we finished off with an excellent dinner of six plus courses. The self-contained cottage was set off by itself in a very peacful area of the grounds. We were able to get some essential laundry done and relax a bit which was very welcome.