So it was toward the end of our stay in Kenya, specifically
Kiminini that a group of us had desired to climb the tallest mountain in the
area. We had talked to many people and
most people said that you couldn’t do it in a days trip. Well this news time and time again really was
putting our spirits down. Well as we
were rounding the last week, we were really asking what are things that we
wanted to get done, spiritually and physically and hiking the Mount Elgon came
to mind for a few of us.
As we
started planning, we were looking at all different options and how much it
might cost and how we can get there and back in one day and if we would need to
rent a van and/or get someone who knows the roads there, as the roads in Kenya
are not quite clearly marked. It turned
out that actually the contact of another team was willing to take us as long as
we covered the cost of the fuel…no problem.
Well
departure day came and we were going to meet the other team in Kitale, a
slightly larger town and a central meeting time, very early in the
morning. The 3 of us that were going from
our group arrived at the coffee shop at 7 as we were suppose to get to an early
start. Well we waited, and waited and
waited. The coffee shop opened an hour
later and still no sign of the other group so we went on inside and had a
little breakfast as we thought it might be a good thing to have some energy for
hiking. We waited another 30 minutes or
so for the other group to arrive, but when they arrived we were thinking the
vehicle was ready to leave. To my
demise, it wasn’t. Their contact had
taken the car the night before to get checked out and the car wasn’t ready yet.
AHHHHH!! So we waited a bit more and
finally he arrived. We loaded up and
took off for quite an adventure.
After
about an hour, hour and half we arrived at the park entrance. We knew the fee was a bit steep for visitors
outside of Kenya, ie White People, so they were charging us and arm and a leg
to get in. As we were about to pay we
saw some different signs that mentioned different discounts like student and
business oriented discounts. So we
thought we might try even though no one had any sort of ID that would help our
case. So we wait around another 30
minutes or so crammed in a little 5 person SUV filled with 8 people in it
trying to talk our way into a discount. At this time, I am done with the trip already. I would just almost prefer to go back because
its noon time and we hadn’t even started yet. As we wait, we found out through reading the brochure that it is
possible to get to the top of the mountain and you can drive almost the whole
way. Well this certainly excited many of
us but it also required another 2 hour drive or so. Suck…. I would have rather preferred to just hike but many people wanted to get
to the top, so I consented.
2 hours
later, with the tank of fuel on empty we arrive at the top part of the
mountain. Unfortunately, the little SUV
couldn’t quite make it to the top with the load of 8 people in it, so we
decided to walk to the end of the road in hopes of seeing the trail
marker. So with it being close to 3pm we
start our hike to where, we don’t quite know but the fact that we are out of
the car and walking excites me. Quickly
we find the trail marker and start our hike.
The hike was strenuous to start, almost right up the side of the
mountain but then quickly levels out. And as good of a shape that I am in…oh wait that was before the Race…as
I am in a shape, I managed to hike my way to the top. It turned out to be a beautiful view and
actually was a bit chilly because we were at an elevation of 13000ft or
so.
After
we rested at the top for a little bit and grabbed a bite to eat we started our
descent back down the vehicle and in time. As it was a little after 5 and we didn’t want to be stuck in the park
after dark for the roads are actually pretty bad with all sorts of pot holes
and huge ditches. We had managed on the
way back to take a few wrong turns and had to get out and push the car up a few
hills but other than that, I was just ready to be done. I had enjoyed the hike but not spending more
time in a car, than outside hiking. We
finally reached the front gate just in time for the park personnel were about
to send a jeep to look for us. During
our time, we did manage to get to see some wild zebras and a fun looking monkey
that looked like a cross between a skunk and monkey…we ended up calling them
skunkeys. Looking back, I decided that
I did enjoy the trip but will think twice about hiking a mountain in Africa
again. Praise God for His provision, for
I did notice that our tank was nearly empty at the top of the mountain and we
managed to drive 2 hours and not run out of gas, Praise His Name.
