Mt. Kenya Climb

I successfully reached the 16,355 foot peak of Mt. Kenya. Our stellar team of eight Americans, two Kenyans and one Canadian climbed for three days across spectacular terrain to reach the peak.

The air was thin and the chill wind cut through us like glass, but we managed to prevail against all of Mother Nature's forces. The landscape reminded me of Patagonia, with a dash of the Utah Canyonlands, but populated with trees and plants from a Dr. Seuss book.

In following with standard protocol, our expedition hired five porters to carry gear and cook the food. I had lugged my frame pack and camping equipment all the way to Kenya and, to the porter's surprise, I was not about to let someone else carry my stuff. We hiked to two campsites before our final ascent. The campsites consisted of crude huts that were packed with bunk beds. Nevertheless, they managed to keep the cold at bay.

Paul, our Kenyan guide, was a professional marathoner from the famous Kalenjin tribe of Kenya. The Kalenjins produce a vast majority of the top Kenyan runners and Olympic medal winners. Paul completes a marathon in about 2hrs 20min and had little trouble hiking the mountain. The rest of our team included three Americans from Georgia. Their accents brought back good memories of my days in Nashville.

Other than the occasional fat Rock Hyrax, we saw very little wildlife. On our hike to the bottom, our guide noticed Jaguar prints and trailing hoof prints of the deer-like Dikdik. An angry bull elephant knocked an enormous tree down just as we turned a corner, but stomped away before I could get a picture. Climbing Mt. Kenya has given me the confidence to climb Kilimanjaro or maybe something in the Himalayas.