Rwenzori: Mountains Of The Moon, A Rugged, Gruelling Trek
My love for hiking started in 2015. People take baby steps up gentle hills, before they attempt mountains, I took giant strides up Kilimanjaro, the highest peak in Africa and the highest free standing mountain in the world! This time, friends who hike regularly, put me in touch with a group of people who were interested in trekking too, and we began discussing climbing Rwenzori, which is the third highest peak in Africa. I had mixed feelings about this adventure because I had not trekked in a while and this particular trek would be the longest one that I would be undertaking till date and also involved travel to Kampala, in Uganda, from Kenya and from there by a small plane to Kasese.
19th February 2018: We flew from Nairobi, Kenya and an hour and a half later, we found ourselves in Kampala, Uganda, ready to board the tiny ten seater plane to Kasese, from where we would begin our hike up Rwenzori. Despite being aware of the weight restrictions, with all eight of us being of Indian origin, we exceeded the weight allowed! No surprise there! After a lot of negotiation, the excess baggage was finally allowed on our flight after paying extra baggage charges. Since we were to begin our trek the very next morning, there was no question of awaiting the arrival of some of the luggage by the next flight.
The next morning, an hour's drive found us in Rwenzori National Park where we had to register ourselves and also get trained on how to use hiking gear, especially crampons on our shoes to improve mobility on snow and ice, which we would encounter closer to the summit. The ranger there briefed us with the help of a map of our route up the mountain and introduced us to our team of five guides and thirty porters.
Finally it was declared that we were ready for set off and we began walking through a dense forest which had myriad shades of green. We walked through the forest for the entire day and the mountain lived up to the local meaning of its name, which means 'Rainmaker', and it rained so heavily that even my haversack, which was supposed to be water proof, was completely drenched. This essentially meant that my sleeping bag was soaked and my first task, upon reaching the 'Banda' (the hut), at the first campsite was to spread out my wet belongings in a futile attempt to dry them in the wet and humid air. Then we were called to have our meal which consisted of boiled matoke (raw banana), boiled arrow root and tomato soup. Needless to say, we had carried our very Indian staples of 'Theplas' ( Spicy Indian Chappatis) and garlic chutneys, which we added to the meagre mountain fare. This was washed down by hot water, which had to be sedimented before it could be drunk! This was to be our routine for the next eight days.
Early next morning, we woke up to 'Ujji', (a local porridge) and black coffee accompanied by bread. We had to rush and pack hurriedly as we had to tackle day two of our climb. We set off through lush green, tall bamboo forests, to the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling mysteriously through the bamboo fronds.
Then the terrain changed suddenly and became boggy and marshy and we had to be very careful where we stepped as there was the danger of being sucked in. We had to avoid getting too muddy to, as we were on a limited wardrobe! Despite all our precautions, once of my team mates sunk in right up to his thigh. That was a scary moment...Soon we were at the foothills, which were thickly dotted with trees. Here there are government maintained foot bridges to making walking easier for hikers and they add charm to an already picturesque location.
Squelchy mud is nearly knee high!
Hike made easier: Footbridges!
Day three dawned and was accompanied by fatigue, dampness, wet boots and a hike that grew increasingly more challenging. But this was offset by the marvellous site of multiple small, sparkling lakes and gurgling streams and babbling brooks. Soon the day ended and we wrapped it up by playing cards, listening to music and trying to get our sore bodies and fatigued minds to relax. We fell asleep anxiously musing about the following days hike which we had been told was going to be rather challenging, as compared to what we had already gone through.
For (wo)men may come and (wo)men may go but I go on for ever!
Day four: Tough, as anticipated, with a stony terrain which was getting increasingly steeper. Leaf green moss covered most of the stones and they slipped out of our grasp, as we tried to haul ourselves up the slope, leaving our fingers feeling cold and frozen. But the worst was yet to come. By mid day, the heavens opened and it poured buckets of water upon us. We were in two teams and the first team went ahead while we lagged behind due to the unexpected downpour. Mercifully we caught up with them after a while at the next camp.
Day five did not differ much terrain wise from the previous day but there were a few steep areas where we had to use metal ladders which have been permanently embedded into the rock and often run parallel to deep valleys on one side and rocky cliff faces on the other. The bright spot that day was that when we reached the campsite, we found that it was bathed in golden sunlight! We made full use of solar power by drying out damp boots and jackets and other gear. We also soaked in as much sunlight as we could as we knew that on the remaining days, we would be hiking through bitterly cold, snow covered areas. We also managed to collect some dry wood and started a bonfire, generating some more much needed warmth for ourselves! This was an unforgettable moment of the trek because we felt like we were going back centuries when early man warmed himself by a self created fire just like this one, and we had recreated that moment in a tough terrain, surrounded by hills and valleys.
Metal Ladder Goes Up and Above!
Sunlit View!
Warming Our Bones Before Dinner By The Fire!
Day six was the start of approaching the camp site, from where we would eventually try to summit. It had rained the previous night and so ice had formed in the crevices between the stones, making it very slippery to walk on. The vista was now dominated by the greens of moss, the blacks of stones and white ice and snow.
We then reached our camp site between three high peaks of the Rwemzori Mountain Range. It was extremely cold and it had started raining too. The time to use our crampons and our ice axes was now almost upon us. We prayed hard that the rain would stop and the sun would smile down upon us, as we tried to conquer the peak of the mountain. We had to start at 3:00 am but it was still raining hard. Then we decided that we would wait for the rain to stop and try to start off by 6:00 am. We started off through fog and snow and the vista had now changed to a white mountain.
Foggy White!
We continued hiking through the snow which soon turned into rain, which is more dangerous because it turns the snow on the ground into slush which can be fatal for hikers. We had four layers of clothing on us, including thermal wear and a waterproof layer! Not the most comfortable apparel to charter new territory in! Most of us were using the hiking gear for the first time but the view around us made it worth all the discomfort as it was completely mesmerizing.
A pool of rain water, covered by a thin layer of clear ice, doubled up as our drinking water too!
The combination of snow, mist and rain made reaching the final summit impossible on that particular day but we semi summitted the mountain and that, in itself was an achievement for all of us. We made a conscious decision to turn back because in the battle between man and nature, it nature who always triumphs...
Summitted at last!
The way down was an adventure too as we had to rappel down the mountain...This turned out to be more challenging than the way up but we were glad to have accomplished our goal of reaching the third highest peak in Africa. And lived to tell the tale.
As told to Anupama Ukidve Sharma. www.kenyankronikals.blogspot.com
19th February 2018: We flew from Nairobi, Kenya and an hour and a half later, we found ourselves in Kampala, Uganda, ready to board the tiny ten seater plane to Kasese, from where we would begin our hike up Rwenzori. Despite being aware of the weight restrictions, with all eight of us being of Indian origin, we exceeded the weight allowed! No surprise there! After a lot of negotiation, the excess baggage was finally allowed on our flight after paying extra baggage charges. Since we were to begin our trek the very next morning, there was no question of awaiting the arrival of some of the luggage by the next flight.
The next morning, an hour's drive found us in Rwenzori National Park where we had to register ourselves and also get trained on how to use hiking gear, especially crampons on our shoes to improve mobility on snow and ice, which we would encounter closer to the summit. The ranger there briefed us with the help of a map of our route up the mountain and introduced us to our team of five guides and thirty porters.
Finally it was declared that we were ready for set off and we began walking through a dense forest which had myriad shades of green. We walked through the forest for the entire day and the mountain lived up to the local meaning of its name, which means 'Rainmaker', and it rained so heavily that even my haversack, which was supposed to be water proof, was completely drenched. This essentially meant that my sleeping bag was soaked and my first task, upon reaching the 'Banda' (the hut), at the first campsite was to spread out my wet belongings in a futile attempt to dry them in the wet and humid air. Then we were called to have our meal which consisted of boiled matoke (raw banana), boiled arrow root and tomato soup. Needless to say, we had carried our very Indian staples of 'Theplas' ( Spicy Indian Chappatis) and garlic chutneys, which we added to the meagre mountain fare. This was washed down by hot water, which had to be sedimented before it could be drunk! This was to be our routine for the next eight days.
Early next morning, we woke up to 'Ujji', (a local porridge) and black coffee accompanied by bread. We had to rush and pack hurriedly as we had to tackle day two of our climb. We set off through lush green, tall bamboo forests, to the sounds of birds chirping and the wind rustling mysteriously through the bamboo fronds.
Then the terrain changed suddenly and became boggy and marshy and we had to be very careful where we stepped as there was the danger of being sucked in. We had to avoid getting too muddy to, as we were on a limited wardrobe! Despite all our precautions, once of my team mates sunk in right up to his thigh. That was a scary moment...Soon we were at the foothills, which were thickly dotted with trees. Here there are government maintained foot bridges to making walking easier for hikers and they add charm to an already picturesque location.
Day three dawned and was accompanied by fatigue, dampness, wet boots and a hike that grew increasingly more challenging. But this was offset by the marvellous site of multiple small, sparkling lakes and gurgling streams and babbling brooks. Soon the day ended and we wrapped it up by playing cards, listening to music and trying to get our sore bodies and fatigued minds to relax. We fell asleep anxiously musing about the following days hike which we had been told was going to be rather challenging, as compared to what we had already gone through.
Day four: Tough, as anticipated, with a stony terrain which was getting increasingly steeper. Leaf green moss covered most of the stones and they slipped out of our grasp, as we tried to haul ourselves up the slope, leaving our fingers feeling cold and frozen. But the worst was yet to come. By mid day, the heavens opened and it poured buckets of water upon us. We were in two teams and the first team went ahead while we lagged behind due to the unexpected downpour. Mercifully we caught up with them after a while at the next camp.
Day five did not differ much terrain wise from the previous day but there were a few steep areas where we had to use metal ladders which have been permanently embedded into the rock and often run parallel to deep valleys on one side and rocky cliff faces on the other. The bright spot that day was that when we reached the campsite, we found that it was bathed in golden sunlight! We made full use of solar power by drying out damp boots and jackets and other gear. We also soaked in as much sunlight as we could as we knew that on the remaining days, we would be hiking through bitterly cold, snow covered areas. We also managed to collect some dry wood and started a bonfire, generating some more much needed warmth for ourselves! This was an unforgettable moment of the trek because we felt like we were going back centuries when early man warmed himself by a self created fire just like this one, and we had recreated that moment in a tough terrain, surrounded by hills and valleys.
Day six was the start of approaching the camp site, from where we would eventually try to summit. It had rained the previous night and so ice had formed in the crevices between the stones, making it very slippery to walk on. The vista was now dominated by the greens of moss, the blacks of stones and white ice and snow.
We then reached our camp site between three high peaks of the Rwemzori Mountain Range. It was extremely cold and it had started raining too. The time to use our crampons and our ice axes was now almost upon us. We prayed hard that the rain would stop and the sun would smile down upon us, as we tried to conquer the peak of the mountain. We had to start at 3:00 am but it was still raining hard. Then we decided that we would wait for the rain to stop and try to start off by 6:00 am. We started off through fog and snow and the vista had now changed to a white mountain.
Foggy White!
We continued hiking through the snow which soon turned into rain, which is more dangerous because it turns the snow on the ground into slush which can be fatal for hikers. We had four layers of clothing on us, including thermal wear and a waterproof layer! Not the most comfortable apparel to charter new territory in! Most of us were using the hiking gear for the first time but the view around us made it worth all the discomfort as it was completely mesmerizing.
The combination of snow, mist and rain made reaching the final summit impossible on that particular day but we semi summitted the mountain and that, in itself was an achievement for all of us. We made a conscious decision to turn back because in the battle between man and nature, it nature who always triumphs...
Summitted at last!
The way down was an adventure too as we had to rappel down the mountain...This turned out to be more challenging than the way up but we were glad to have accomplished our goal of reaching the third highest peak in Africa. And lived to tell the tale.
As told to Anupama Ukidve Sharma. www.kenyankronikals.blogspot.com
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