Mount Kenya Blog

Harry Minter: Man vs. Mountain

Mount Kenya is the highest mountain in Kenya and the second highest in Africa, after Kilimanjaro. The highest peaks of the mountain are Batian (5,199 metres (17,057 ft)), Nelion (5,188 metres (17,021 ft)) and Point Lenana (4,985 metres (16,355 ft)).  Mount Kenya is located in central Kenya, just south of the equator, around 150 kilometres north-northeast of the capital Nairobi.  Mount Kenya is the source of the name of the Republic of Kenya.

Mount Kenya is a stratovolcano created approximately 3 million years after the opening of the East African rift. Before glaciation, it was 7,000 m high. It was covered by an ice cap for thousands of years. This has resulted in very eroded slopes and numerous valleys radiating from the centre. There are currently 11 small glaciers. The forested slopes are an important source of water for much of Kenya.

There are several vegetation bands from the base to the summit. Different types of forest cover the lower slopes. Many alpine species are endemic to Mount Kenya, such as the giant lobelias and senecios and a local subspecies of rock hyrax. An area of 715 km² (276 sq mi) around the centre of the mountain was designated a National Park and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997. The park receives over 16,000 visitors per year.

Day One – 11 km – en route to ‘Old Camp Moses’

After ensuring that both my bag and belly were fully packed, I set off to Nanyuki Prep School to meet my guide to escort me up Mount Kenya. Nicholas arrived around 10 am in a taxi that was to take us on a 45 minute drive to the base of the mountain and the start of our ascent, and whilst the bags were being loaded into the car all the children from the school came to wave me off which was rather nice yet a tad embarrassing.

It was about 27km to the beginning at ‘Sirimon Gate’, so I used this time to get to know my guide and ask some of the many questions I had. Before I knew it we were entering the national park and entrance to the mountain, although I wasn’t sure we would even make it due to the fact our beaten up old saloon was being torn apart by large rocks and boulders on the worst road I have ever seen. I doubt the same car would be picking us up. Sirimon Gate stands at 2650m above sea level and is where I started my journey after showing my passport to the park ranger; we then set off on our 10km climb to ‘Old Camp Moses’.

This part of the walk was relatively easy and I was able to ask Nicholas about possibly every plant, animal and bird I saw. About 15 minutes in I stumbled across what I though was a bail of hay but turned out to be elephant dung! I quickly took a picture and moved on. 

My mind was constantly active today as a vast, dense forest full of activity constantly surrounded us. At one point I heard monkeys shrieking and was informed that they we Baboons fighting. 

After lunch we continued up the path towards our resting place for the night and it wasn't long before we were investigating elephant tracks and the trail of flattened trees and bushes from where the elephant had  muscled through.  Not long after we arrived at our destination, ‘Old Camp Moses’.

Day Two – 16km – en route to ‘Camp Shipton’

Today I had to wake up at around 6.30am, so I decided to get up and get some photos of the sunrise, as I was surrounded by views.  I then went to freshen up and stock up on energy for the day.  Breakfast consisted of Uji, followed by pancakes, sausages and eggs!! After whopping down this mammoth meal I got my things together and we set off at 7.30am.  The first task at this early hour was to climb a gradual slope to the Kenyan Weather Station which stood at 3550m above sea level, being as full as I was this wasn’t as easy at it sounds. Although once I reached the weather station and turned around it was already worth it as the view was spectacular and definitely something I’d consider getting out of bed for again.  We then started to descend towards a small stream (this is actually the river that flows past where I had been staying), and I thought YAY this is great! Until I reached the bottom and was informed that we would be climbing up the other side which was steeper and much higher than what I had just happily strolled down.  As I climbed up the other side I was startled by what seemed to be a glittery blanket, which appeared to cover the majority of the surrounding landscape.  Nicholas, my guide told me that millions of years ago Mount Kenya used to be a volcano that is now thankfully extinct and that these little stones, called Quartz were left embedded into the mountainside.  We carried on clambering up until we reached the top of this little valley and were greeted by another view! Except this one took the biscuit! The peak’s stood tall and proud to the left, Nanyuki and surrounding villages to the right and the unique ‘Mckinders vally’ in between.  We now had to follow the valley to the base of the peak’s and our next camp.  So we continued down towards the floor of the valley with the peak in constant view and after walking for about another hour or so we stopped for lunch. Whilst eating my instant noodles and baked beans the temperature suddenly dropped and I realized we were surrounded by clouds actually close enough that I touched them, Nicholas didn’t seem to be bothered but I was far to excited that I grew child-like and began running around in them with my arms gesticulated.  After lunch we continued along the river towards to mountain, which gave me more opportunities to take photos of the wildlife such as the Malachite Sunbird and the Rock Hyrax, which to me looked like giant Guinea Pigs.

Eventually I reached ‘Shiptons Cave’s’ which were fascinating to look at and marked the start of some real climbing. Reaching the ceiling of these caves was a huge leg burner as most the way up my calves and quads were actually on fire, but with the promise of our camp only 200m vertical I found the determination to keep going at a steady pace. Once at the top of the caves at approximately 4150m above sea level I was able to look back over the 6km valley we had just hiked along which was amazing and gave me a bigger boost to reach the summit. 

After taking pictures and resting my legs for a second we then set off to complete the days journey by climbing about another 50m to our camp. After a 7 hour, 16km trek we were greeted at our camp by a ridiculously heavy hailstorm!