Wednesday, June 9th -- Mount Kenya = "Mountain of Light"

I woke up this morning at 6:00 am after getting 7 hours of sleep. I slept in my sleeping bag on top of my bed. Luckily, there weren't any mosquitoes! We did see a few grasshoppers that are about 5 inches long but harmless. I ate a continental breakfast of pineapple, melon, fried dough, egg whites, and a delicious cup of coffee. Kenya exports their tea and coffee beans.

Julia and I were picked up at the hotel at 8:00 am by our driver, John. The owner of the hiking company, Daniel, who we made our reservations through met us at the hotel also. The team of employees they have is very professional and accommodating. John drove us 4 hours in a little Toyota with our hiking backpacks to the town of Nanyuki. Driving here is much different than it is at home. The roads are poorly paved and the drivers are fearless. We ate a quick lunch, of vegetable soup, a biscuit, and a chicken leg, in Nanyuki where we met our enthuiastic hiking guide, Robbin. Robbin is 32 years old and has been a guide for the past 5 years. Robbin drove us another hour to the base of the mountain to the start of the Sirimon Route which is at an elevation of 2,440m. During our ride through the base of the mountain, we passed by many "squatters" (people who live at the base of the mountain to farm during certain seasons to grow crops such as snow peas and maize). We kept our windows closed because some of the children would come up to the windows to ask or money. This was extremely heart-breaking to see.

We met our team of hikers at the gate to the Sirimon Route at 2:00 pm. Julia and I will be traveling with two porters, two cooks, our main guide (Robbin). The other group of 8 hikers from Austrailia decided to stay for a night in Nanyuki to get adjusted to the high elevation. LUCKILY, Julia and I found out that we will not need to carry our 20 lb backpacks up the mountain since that is the job of the porters! We later realized how much of a blessing this would be. We each carried some of our belongings (layers for the hike, nalgene of water, and rain jacket).

We reached Old Moses Camp of 3,200 m (11,000 ft) at 5:00 pm after hiking 8 miles uphill. Many hikers turn back after the first day! Although parts of the hike were difficult after sitting on a plane and in a car for so long, we finished the first day of hiking just fine. Parts of the trail's terrain were similar to a rock quarry so concentrating on each step is key. Getting adjusted to breathing at the high elevation was not a problem. The fresh air is very refreshing after breathing in the polluted air in Nairobi. It rained occasionally on our hike which is common during the afternoon. We saw a baboon! We also saw traces of elephants. The wildlife on the mountain is incredible.

I enjoyed talking to Robbin on the hike. His English is excellent. We talked about everything from U2, to Michelle and Barack Obama, to the importance of family in both the US and Kenya. I also learned that Mt. Kenya is only 700 ft shy of Mt. Kilamanjaro! Tonight I'll be staying on the top bunk in a green shack-like building at Old Moses Camp. It feels surreal to be here! I'm getting to see first hand how you can survive and be very happy living with the bare minimum. Although I didn't have much of an appetite, for dinner, we ate white fish, potatoes, and mixed vegetables. I went to bed at 8:45 pm in my mummy sleeping bag with every layer on that I packed since it gets very cold on the mountain at night!