Daring the Mountains

It was an exhilarating; awesome; awe-inspiring; mind-boggling; adrenaline pumping experience.

All ten hours of it.

Ten hours of constant, and what would otherwise have been arduous movement! But no, i felt no pain. Every moment was experienced live, in complete and sheer joy.

I had planned to do this, for the last two weeks. i had finally come to the point where hiking was going to stop being something that i invited others to do. No. My love for my adopted County was calling me to own the space. To touch; to feel; to experience the richness of the unique ‘countryside’.

This beautiful Sunday morning was going to be the day!

My guide and i had agreed to meet up at the staring point at 8.00am. It was not until 9.15 though, that i got to the rendezvous.

After he showed me a safe place to park, we started on the journey towards the gate to the Aberdare National Park. This the boundary that is there to minimise human-wildlife conflict. We paid the park fees, and proceeded on our way.

Once inside the electric fence separating the human settlement from the original inhabitants of the forest, we walked for a little while along the fence. From this vantage point the little Centre of Kwa Matu where we had parked the car to start on the day’s hike, was visible.

After a few minutes we branched into the forest, on the first leg of the journey to Table Mountain. Little did i know that this was only to be the beginning!

This extremely narrow path ran along the very edge of the first ridge. Through the abundant foliage, one caught glimpses of the rising layers of the thickly forested mountain across from us. The soft morning sun’s rays gave the spectacle a heartwarming beauty! But the treacherous nature of the path we were on meant that the eyes had to remain firmly on the ground. One false step and i could literally hear myself screaming as i rolled down the under-brush to the bottom of the canyon!

There was a noise i had started hearing faintly from afar; but that was becoming increasingly more audible. And just like that, it became unmistakable- the sound of running water. I stopped to listen more keenly.

“Come on”, urged the guide, “you will soon see where the sound is coming from”.

His words were hardly out of his mouth when i thought i saw a sparkle at the bottom of the valley. A few more steps and, peering between the clusters of trees and shrubs to the left through the thick foliage, in addition to the now very loud water sounds, i could see the crystal-clear water rushing through at the bottom of the valley! It filled my senses! The rays of the sun on the clear liquid made it sparkle like the most precious metals. The magnificent flow was purposeful in its intent. Nothing would stop it. Yet, the loud splashing sounds were refreshingly soothing! The sound seemed to be urging me forward, and suddenly, there we were, on the edge of the stream.

Our walk so far had been down-hill. By crossing the stream at this point we were now about to get to the other side of the ridge.

“This is the steepest part of the climb” the guide told me. “It is about 800meters”.

I remembered this stretch with a tinge of apprehension.

That last time; the first time i had ever attempted to go up the Aberdares, had been as unexpected as i had been unprepared; mentally or physically. I had been clueless about what to expect, and had been at the guide’s mercy. When he had said it was 800 meters, i had not been too alarmed, as i am in fairly good shape, physically.

This time, i had the memories of last time to accompany me. And they were not easy to carry! The thought of my heart beating almost out of my chest, was the first to rush to my mind.

But eight hundred meters can be deceptive!

Eight hundred meters is nothing, when you have a Golf course in mind. Well manicured , mostly flat grounds. After all, we do around 6,000 meters in one round of golf. Eight hundred meters of an almost vertical climb is another story altogether!

The narrow, winding path is defined by meandering through indigenous trees, shrubs, jutting roots that provide the ‘steps’. The incline is such that movement is achieved by literally finding a surface large and secure enough to place one foot, as you seek to identify the next suitable spot that can hold your weight. The trees along the trail bear witness to the grip of nervous climbers as they struggle to maintain their balance.

This stretch is deceptively short; but precarious. It took us all of one hour to cover the 800 meters!