The trip up Mount Kenya was nothing short of amazing. It has been the experience of a lifetime and I will never forget it.

We had a good reminder before leaving for the summit that the trek would not be easy, as we struggled on a hike in freezing rain.  The next day, day two, we walked to Mintos, which ended up being one of the biggest dumps in the world.

It took us 7 hours of hard slogging to get there, and we were hoping for something scenic, picturesque, even ordinary. Instead our home for that night was a smelly pit. I found it interesting that Mintos felt as though we were on another planet. It was not an enjoyable stay, and this was reinforced when the hail and snow began. That night, we had supper in one tent, and all we wanted to do was go to bed. the conversation over dinner was pretty desultory.

This was also the night that we all started to feel the effects of altitude sickness. I can only describe this illness by asking you to imagine a vice being slowly tightened around your temples. Then it gives you a headache that just will not go away. Mine became a little better during the night but Anjali really had a hard time with hers.

We were not sorry to leave Mintos at 02:50am, 20 minutes late according to our guide, but not a bad time for our slow group. We were intent on tackling the peak called Lenana. It is the third highest peak in the Mount Kenya range, and the highest one accessible without needing technical climbing equipment and skills.

The morning was pitch black and everything was frozen. All you could do was stare at the person’s heels in front of you and hope that they didn’t take a wrong turn. Anjali was having a really hard time with the altitude at this point, and I was pretty nervous about having to turn back. Fortunately, she started to feel better after taking some diamox which sometimes helps altitude sickness.

And, even though it was brutally early, it was quite something to be out under the African stars, with no city lights anywhere close. The sky was like a blanket of pulsating lights, and I have never before seen the sky like this. We all wished we knew more about stars and constellations, but I enjoyed pretending that I knew more than I did and I made up names as we went, occasionally dropping references to the Southern Cross, Andromeda  or Orion.

We had left so early that morning because we were trying to reach the peak before the sun came up. This is not quite what happened, but we came close. We were part way up the mountain, just below the summit, as dawn arrived, and the experience is something that will never leave me.

To be honest, I had convinced myself that I didn’t really care about getting to see the sunrise. I was thinking that I might have preferred a good night’s rest and lie in. But, once I saw the colors of the sun coming up, the sight of dawn breaking as we stood on the upper reaches of an African mountain, made the whole experience worthwhile. Of course, all the pictures we took can never do the experience justice.

We ended up summiting at around 07:00 or 07:30 am. It had been a brutal hike, and we were all exhausted on arrival, but we were also really proud of ourselves for making the ascent. We tried to savour the intensity of the moment, but slowly we remembered that now we had to get our butts back down the mountain.

 Descending the Mount Kenya was the worst part of the whole trip. We could see the camp far below us and it NEVER seemed to get any closer. The going was icy, snowy and even the dry areas were covered in loose shale. It took over three hours of knee destroying effort to descend back to the camp. The hike down took over 8 hours of exhausting hiking, and on arrival we were ravenous for breakfast!

However, for the rest of that day, all we did was sleep; eating any other meals was too much of a chore.

The next day we woke up early to see dawn, and basked in the memory and knowledge that we had climbed the mountain and seen the breaking of dawn from its summit. Next morning, we walked down for another 5 hours to Old Moses. It was a beautiful walk, made all the better by the knowledge that we were done and we were heading away from the mountain. Every step we took also made our altitude headaches ease: A huge relief.

We spent the night there, and then left early the next morning for the Sinmon Park Gates and the end of the trip. This final walk was a short one, and we received the perfect send off: Right before reaching the gates, we came across an elephant. This confrontation was much scarier an experience than I had imagined it would be.

I was relieved, even upsettingly happy, to see an armed guard come from the camp gates and scare the animal away- I thought I didn't like guns??

This has been a trip I will never forget. What an experience. Of course, I can also tell you that a shower has never felt better. However, I think I am going to have to throw out the face cloth I used on this trip. It is utterly black! (sorry - too much information).

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