Strength and endurance up Mt Elgon

The climb passes through a series of rough vegetation zones. Though a physically exhausting venture, its cool heights offer respite for people from the hot plains. Ferdinand Mwongela was there recently

Rising from the jungles bordering Uganda, Mt Elgon is an impressively craggy extinct volcano. I had been told this remote area makes for interesting trekking through deep forest and across moorlands and I was here to find out.

There was a time the region was synonymous with insecurity, hence my apprehension as we made our way to Mt Elgon National Park, which is just a few kilometres from Kitale. The Chorlim gate derives its name from Chorlim House, barely a kilometre away from the park, it was once occupied by the white family of Buster and Barbara Powles, between 1928-1960. It is now a guest house for visitors to the park.

From the moment we set our feet on Mt Elgon, it was immediately clear that the region had been unfairly classified as insecure. According to park officials and local residents, instances of insecurity were far removed from the park.

One of my main goals was to climb to the top of the mountain, at least to the highest point on the Kenyan side, which is Koitoboss peak at about 4,302 metres above sea level. Since it was late, the climbing was rescheduled for the following morning.

We settled down at the Kenya Wildlife Service’s Koitoboss Guest House within the park for the night. We were encouraged to get enough rest as the climbing was to begin early.

At 5:30am, in the company of two armed KWS rangers, we set off. Climbing all the way up the mountain on foot, we were told, can take about two days. No one was willing to spend two days on this exhausting venture, so we used the land cruiser almost half the distance and covered the rest on foot.

Question of fitness

We faithfully fell in a single column, like soldiers with a ranger in front and another up the rear. Mt Elgon looks deceptively wide and flat with cunning steep slopes at intervals. The morning dew made the ground slippery and I regretted why I had not come with proper shoes. Walking tentatively on the sloppy sides and skirting the hills it was soon clear that one wrong step would send me tumbling all the way down.

With less than five kilometres covered, the only sounds were our boots as we trudged through the grass and shrubs, and the thundering heartbeat in my chest.

Our pretentious little band had broken into two little groups pummelling though the narrow track. The rangers, on the other hand, seemed to have an uncanny ability to keep their eyes peeled, scouring the surroundings and keeping their foothold.

Our walking soon changed from the determined tumble through the grass to labouring up slopes and stopping to catch our breath in the guise of waiting for each other. The vegetation turned into slippery elephant grass then to a rocky patch with water seeping from underground.

Within reach

By 3,500 metres above sea level, we hit a moorland belt with a lot of giant lobelia and groundsel plants looking like a massive banana plantation.

Koitoboss peak now seemed quite near. It felt like I could just reach out and touch it, or just close my eyes and find myself at the peak. Our only salvation lay in getting to the peak fast so we could start on the downward trek to a shower and solid food.

In my moments of tiredness and breathlessness, I could have sworn it was smiling mockingly. The only thing that kept me going was the thought that no way was I going to be the schmuck who went up Mt Elgon and never got to the top.

A few heart-thumping minutes and scrambling on our knees, we got to the flat topped Koitoboss peak and what a sight it was.

Covered in a soft mushy blanket of yellowish green moss and overlooking the gently sloping land below, it was an image to remember. A few happy moments and a lot pictures later, we were on our way down.

Way down

Propelled by the thought of food, rest and shower, the journey down was more treacherous. Six hours later, all I could think about was a nap and a painkiller for my throbbing head.

A slight detour from the route we had used earlier brought us face to face with a mountain elephant in the bamboo belt. The massive beast glared at us through its beady eyes before slowly gathering himself for a charge.

Unlike their lowland counterparts, these elephants have had little contact with humans and are wild as they can charge at vehicles with little or no provocation. The timely intervention of one of the rangers by firing into the air saved us from the wrath of the beast.

The elephant moved off into the bamboos but kept a watchful eye. A little farther on we came to a podo carpus tree with a massive stem that would take about 12 adults holding hands to go around!

We got back to base about ten hours after we left, our bodies beaten by the rugged nature and crying for nourishment.