.Mount Kenya.

If someone were to ask me, “Would you agree to hike 30+ miles over a period of 18 hours in 48 hours’ time with about just 10-12 hours’ worth of sleep, all the way up to a 15,000 ft. altitude to the summit of Mount Kenya at 15 degrees Fahrenheit for $180 dollars, knowing that you will experience altitude sickness, treacherous landscapes, pouring, cold rain, and grueling, physical pain that makes you want to whimper?” I’m not sure I would have instantaneously said yes. After all, who wants to put oneself through that sort of torture?

Well, I suppose that some things are better left unknown BEFORE you jump into something like hiking Mount Kenya 🙂 But, I’m alive (a little worse for wear at the moment), and here to tell you my story of what I did between December 28 and 30th.

Below is the 3 day “Sirimon to Naromoru route” itinerary that I took, along with the entire Myrick family clan that I accompanied, making 9 of us in our group.

Day 1: Hiked 5.5 miles through Montane forest, bamboo and rosewood up to the Old Moses Hut, gaining an elevation range of 700m in 3-4 hours. Dinner and Overnight at Old Moses Hut (3300m). As it turns out, this part took us 2.5 hours, and we did it all in the pouring rain! It was quite miserable, but not physically that hard. Our porters, who were carrying all of our gear and bags, didn’t get to Old Moses until an hour and a half AFTER us, so we sat in our wet clothes until 8pm, and then didn’t get dinner till 9:45pm. So, that part was a bit frustrating, because typically, porters are supposed to be AHEAD of you the whole way and have everything available for you upon your arrival to the next base camp.

Day 2: Woke up at 6am, with our hike starting at 7am. A long and rather tiring day leading to the base of the high peaks. Today’s trek was largely uphill through the moor lands and the Mackinder Valley, with good views of the main peaks. Total walking time was 7 hours gaining 900-1000m in altitude. Dinner and Overnight at Shipton’s Hut (4200m).

This was a good day for me. I felt great, with the exception of a sore left hip flexer that I think I strained the previous day. We arrived at Shipton’s around 4pm, had dinner at 5:30, and went to sleep at 7:30pm in this tiny bedroom cabin that held 12 bunk beds and had 20+ people sleeping in it.

Day 3: Our Pre-dawn attempt of the summit started at 3am, with a 2am wake-up call. You basically hike straight UP for about 3 hours up steep scree slopes and across rugged rocks to Pt. Lenana (4985m = 15,000 feet approx.), the hikers’ summit.

This was by far the hardest part of the hike for me. I had been taking Diabox (high-altitude medicine) that prevents Edema twice daily, but when I woke up at 2am, I felt sick as a dog. Totally wiped, exhausted, naseous, and having to face the grueling thought of hiking in the freezing cold dark night. The hike began at 3am, and I knew it was going to be tough. My eyes were literally shutting from exhaustion, and I got sicker and sicker (I’ll spare you further details) with each step I took, even though we were going very slowly. In retrospect, I think the fact that I had slept in a bunk room with low ceilings and little oxygen and twenty-some people in it was what made me so naseous. We were already at 12,000 feet, and so it probably got to me before we had even woken up to start our ascent. Anyway, as we climbed, our guide, Isaac, pulled up me from behind and made me walk with him, giving my day-pack to one of the other porters. Then, at 5am, when I was almost at the point where I wanted to quit, Isaac calmly announced, “We have now reached the point of no return.” Well, there you have it! 🙂 I had to keep going. I WANTED to keep going. There was NO way I was going to stop now. It was too exciting. Over and over, I just kept praying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.” Brave and strong as I wanted to be, Isaac ended up taking my hand for the last hour and guided me each step of the way until we reached Pt. Lenana at 6am, just in time for the sunrise! After he took my hand, and I lost about 10 lbs. of weight off my back from the day-pack, I did feel slightly stronger. When we finally reached the top, I immediately sat down on a rock, and for whatever reason, my eyes welled up in tears…Overwhelmed with the majesty of God around me in His creation, overwhelmed by sickness and exhaustion, and overwhelmed that I just had accomplished this physical and mental feat. Unfortunately, because I didn’t feel well, and because it was only 10-15 degrees F at the top, I didn’t get as many pictures as I wanted to…and these certainly don’t do it justice.

One just can’t capture in a photo the actual, real beauty you see in person…the summit was was not the highest peak, because that requires a technical climb with ropes and belaying, but from Lenana, you could see Mt. Kilimanjaro, which was cool. As the sun rose in the horizon, my breath was taken away, not because of the lack of oxygen (although that was a factor), but mainly because of the sight I beheld. It was as if I was standing on the edge of heaven, and the Light of God was creeping and rising up over the clouds right before me. His character, power, beauty and holiness was visible to me, not in human form, but in the colorful sky, the light that began to warm my face, the forceful wind blowing around me, the strength and structure of the mountain peaks, the seamless lines of the horizon, the seemingly stillness of Time, and the endless, eternal distance of the clouds that stretched…forever.

PSALM 8

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,
4 what is man that you are mindful of him,
and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings [2]
and crowned him with glory and honor.

(The Frenchman joking and doing ballet against the sunrise)

After we took our photos at the top, we began our DESCENT. Wahoo for oxygen 🙂 But, the hard work wasn’t over yet.

We passed through this snow-capped Lewis Glacier section, up to the Austrian hut to join the Naromoru track and descended for 2 hours to Mackinder’s camp for breakfast. Here, we rested from 8:15 to 10:30am before beginning our gradual descent for the next 6 hours through the moor lands and the lower vertical bog.

Yes, BOG. Think Psalm 40.

40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.

This passage is all I could think of that entire last morning and afternoon, as we trekked through this sticky, muddy, miry flat bog for 2.5 hours, and then down a vertical rain-forest type bog in the pouring rain (again) for 2.5 hours. Each step had to be focused, strategic, and careful, because the rain had essentially made the main path an obstacle course of slippery rocks, streams, mini-creeks, and thick, shin-high mud. I knew hiking Mount Kenya was going to be a spiritual experience, but I didn’t realize just how allegorical it would become…. In fact, the Myricks, who had all hiked Mount Kenya before and even Mount Kilimanjaro, said that this particular hike was the hardest they had ever experienced themselves.

When we finally got out of the bog sections, we made it to the main road, and up to the Met Weather Station, from where you walk down on a wide dirt road leading to the Naromoru Park gate (2600m) where you meet the vehicle. This took 2 hours, and was basically an easy 5 mile walk, except for the fact that your quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves are screaming at you and my big toes were forming blisters from all the rough down-hill that we had done all that afternoon. But, let me just say, when the park gate came into my view, it was a sweet sight to behold. We had finished!

(Me and Isaac, the Guide)

From there, our group was transferred back to Mountain Rock Lodge for dinner before we made our 5 hour drive back to Kijabe.

Yes, this trip involved perhaps the most physically challenging thing I have ever done in my entire life. But, it was unforgettable, it was worth it, and now, it can be checked off my bucket list 🙂 I’m not sure I now want to be a mountaineering woman, but I CAN say that doing a triathlon, or 1/2 marathon, or even having a baby someday, somehow seems a lot easier than this. And, for those of you who know me well, I can now claim that I am not high-maintenance, because I didn’t take a shower for three days straight 🙂 So, if you are ever here in Kenya, and have the opportunity, I would highly recommend doing this climb. It’s quite exhilarating.

Thus ends my Mount Kenya saga.