Day 7: The Luxury of Dry Clothing

We did a long trek today, 8 miles.  It took about 8 hours.  Distance here in the Rwenzoi's s different from distance elsewhere. For reference here are the flavors of trail in these mountains: steep muddy uphill; steep muddy downhill, rocky scrambles either up or down; flat muddy bog.  It makes for slow hiking.  But this place is magically beautiful.

After leaving camp this morning we climbed a 4500m pass on a new trail.  It was new to us but also only recently built.  We had lunch at the highlands not long after cresting the pass.  It was stark but lovely.  White quartz everywhere, deep and lush yellow moss I lay down in after eating.  The moss was soft and warm.  We transited areas that look so different: rocky highlands, bogs, forested areas that had burned, a bit of everything.  At one point it began sprinkling.  I placed my camera bag into my day pack and donned my rain shell.  Our guide asked if we wanted to put on rain pants.  silly us, we declined thinking it would not last.  Plus it had turned to small hail.  The precipitation alternated between rain and hail for several hours as our pants got quite wet.  Luckily it was cool but much warmer than it has been.  So it was tolerable. 

Now we are at our last camp.  We've changed into dry clothes which seems such a luxury.  Tomorrow we hike out to the hostle.  I don't know how long we'll be hiking but I do know a warm shower and clean hair after 8 days will be most welcome!  

Trip to East Africa

Well, I have been out of work for three weeks now.  It’s strange.  Mostly it’s strange because I don’t feel the least anxiety about it.  But hey, grand adventure awaits.  As I write this one of my good friends is in Jordan, after visiting Morocco and Egypt.  Another close friend is in Australia.  I am feeling a bit behind the power curve.  But that all changes, soon enough.  I bought airfare to Entebbe today.  I am heading to Uganda to climb Margherita Peak on Mount Stanley.  I originally planned to visit Africa because I’d be out of work in the winter and in bad need of a vacation.  It seemed to me a logical choice as I haven’t been to Africa yet.  I wasn’t sure what I wanted to see there…. But I have always thought I’d end up climbing Kilimanjaro.  So I looked into climbs on Kili.  I decided I wanted to do the Northern Route as it is about the least traveled path to the summit.  No one seemed to be running it in Dec or Jan.  Then I stumbled on one outfitter that already has 2 folks doing that trip.  So I asked to join them.  That got me to looking at other mountains.  Mt Kenya looks like fun.  Meru looks fun…. But then I learned about the Rwenzori mountains in Uganda.  They look amazing.  And one of the peaks is quite technical, over 5,100 meters elevation and I can claim to have climbed in both Uganda and the DRC as it straddles the border.  What is not to love?! 

Now I have a week or so to sort out the rest of the trip, pack, prep and jump into the abyss.  In between these climbs I’ll have a dozen days that I still need to plan.  I am thinking I should see Zanzibar and probably Kenya.  Life is best lived as an adventure!  I shall post as I am able.  Merry Christmas!!