Mt. Kenya

We decided to hike part-way up Mt. Kenya in advance of a full expedition to the summit sometime in the future. Our friend Kaarli and a guide named Boniface joined Stephanie and me for the three-day trip. We were hoping to get up to the second camp, which is about a day shy of the summit, depending on how fast you climb.

We set off on a Saturday morning for the beautiful three-hour drive up to the Central Highlands and the Laikipia Plateau. We reached the trailhead by about 11am and began the four hour hike up to Old Moses Camp (3,300 meters). The rain began to fall about a half hour before we got to camp, so we were pretty cold and wet upon arrival. Fortunately, the rain clouds cleared just before dusk, so we got a great view of the craggy peak looming overhead.

Unlike all of the other hikers spending the night, we had decided to forego porters to haul our gear as well as a cook to prepare our meals. So, we got down to the business of making a rich ragu with pasta. After dinner, we rolled into a cold night at about 9pm. Unfortunately, by about 4am I was retching the ragu back up. I also had developed some sort of hives on my arms and legs, which actually started on the hike up, but subsided overnight.

Feeling miserable, and with little to achieve by heading up to the next camp, we decided to call it quits and head home. Unfortunately, the adventure was not over. About three-quarters of the way down, I was feeling so weak that we decided to bring the car up to meet us along the road. Kaarli hiked down to get it, while Stephanie tended to my sorry state. About 45 minutes later, Kaarli returned with a Kenya Wildlife Service ranger and a half-flat tire. Here’s where it got interesting. We replaced the tire with the spare, only to find that it too had some sort of slow leak!

Out of options, we gingerly drove the car back to the ranger station, where we learned that the nearest pump was about 45 km away in the town of Nanyuki. Of course, the first 2o km or so was across a rough dirt track. We got the number of a taxi just in case we didn’t make it to town and headed off. Somehow, as if the gods of Mt. Kenya felt pity for my pathetic state, we made it all the way to town without blowing out. With no tires for sale on a Sunday, we pumped up the two we had and headed back to Nairobi.

I hope the next safari goes better than this one.