Mt. Kenya

I've had some pretty amazing experiences recently, but am feeling remarkably uninspired in writing about them. But here are some photos of places of beauty worth far more than any number of my words.

My friend and Rosedale roommate, David Wolfer, came to visit from Cape Town where he is earning his MPH. He decided we needed to climb Mt. Kenya on a Thursday afternoon, so we grabbed some gear and set off at 0530 the next morning to attempt a 16000 ft summit. We drove upcountry, dealt with the hassle at the gate and set out across the heather.

(The guard was shockingly helpful, but recent regulation changes made payment a challenge. Note: Kenya National Parks no longer take cash, you must pay by M-Pesa or bank transfer. This can be challenge when there's no cell service, no banks within an hour drive, and you have no money in M-Pesa)

We hiked for four and a half hours, crossing 12 km along the ridge above this gorge, waterfall, and mountain lake. Not shabby for a hike from 2950 - 4000 m (10,000-13,000 ft). Especially for David, who had come from an elevation of 10 ft just a week before.

The altitude proved quite exhausting so we camped just below Mintos Hut around 13k ft. On the side of the ridge overlooking the gorge, I could hear the waterfall from its plunge out of lake Michaelson two or three kilometers away. On the other side it was completely, utterly silent. No distant bass from matatus, or roar of a highway. No wind, birds, insects, or even crawling ants. I have only experienced this two other times in my life, and it is an odd sensation (or lack thereof.)

David lay on his back for a while re-oxygenating his blood, and I sat on some rocks and watched the sun set behind our goal - Point Lenana (the slightly rounded peak in the center. To the right are Batian and Nellion, the true peaks, but these require climbing gear. Another day...)

Dawn broke to reveal a frost encrusted world well above the clouds

So we continued up the ridge, past Lake Michaelson (on whose shores I intend camp next time.)

By 1500 we reached Austrian Hut and set up camp. It was quite cloudy, but I struck off alone to the summit in hopes of a clearing. I was blessed with a few minutes of stellar view of the surrounding crags and glacier.

(which I got to crawl inside of - Visit Ice Cave: Check).

It sleeted a bit during the night. A bit more than we realized, and we woke up to white out and four inches of snow.

The hike to the peak was a bit harrowing, traversing an ice covered hogback ridge with several hundred feet down on either side.

But we made it! And down the other side. We didn't even get lost in the fog and fall into a crevasse when we ditched the trail and went scrambling through a trackless, snow covered boulder field with twenty feet of visibility. Topo maps are a wonderful invention, but I need to get some with higher resolution.

And I was elated to find a snow-melt waterfall to bathe in.