Experience of Mt. Kenya--Part III

reach to the peak:
In order to catch up the sunrise, we woke up at 2 am and started to climb at 3 am. There’s no light at 3 am so we had to use torches all the way. I was happy that we started early because the way to the Austrian Hut (one hour away to the peak) was extremely tough. There’s nothing but stones and sand (it’s too high for plants to survive there) on the way and it’s too steep to rest on the half way. We had to finish it at once for 4 hours. That was the time when I realized what a good guide is. A good guide will never show his or her pity to climbers. A guide has to be faster so that all group members won’t slow down and delay the trip. Time is very important when climbing. If we couldn’t get to the camp before the dawn, we would face the danger of starving, attacking of animals and harsh weather. I was chanting all the way and this time I really concentrated on chanting because that’s the only way to keep me walking with hard breath and freezing air.

Competing with the time to catch up the sunrise:
It’s just few minutes before we got to the Austrian Hut and caught up the sunrise. The sunrise only lasts for few minutes so we tried our best to reach there and when we saw the sunrise we were very excited and touched by the magnificent view.

Stick to Point Lenana (4895 meters):
With exhausting body and starving stomach, unlike other teammates, I still didn’t give up my dream to the peak. Besides, by strong practicing of Buddhism, I was confident that I will make it no matter how hard it is. When Gatoto, the guide, asked me ‘May, do you want to try it?’ ‘Yes.’ I answered without hesitation. Gatoto told us it’s just one hour from Austrian Hut to the peak but it’s very hard because of the weather and steepness. There’s nothing but icy stones and snow there.
With strong confidence, I started the last but also the hardest part to the peak. On the way there, I could hardly feel my hands because my gloves were soaking wet and the windy weather made my fingers stiff. I ignored the pain and starving inside my body, only focusing on my goal—Point Lenana. Surprisingly, I spent only 45 minutes to the peak. The moment when I reached to the peak, I cried. This is the first time I cried because of success. It’s the strong belief which brought me to the summit. The brilliant view from the summit is the best gift of all trip.Gatoto was happy and proud of me. We were happy and hugged each other on the summit. He said the happiest thing for him is bringing people to the summit. Another thing I wanted to show off is that I was the only Asian on the peak at that time; even on the way of climbing, I didn’t see other Asians except Rain, one of my teammates. To be honest, I felt vomiting and faint when I came back to the campsite because my body was overloaded by the extreme and intensive exercise. Except this, everything was fine.
We came across with heavy rain when we went back to the first campsite with our shoes soaking wet. I felt like trekking on the pool and rivers on the mountains because we took the different route (it’s very dangerous for us to walk on the main road because it’s very muddy and slippery) and looked terrible when we arrived at the lodge. We didn’t meet anybody climb up when we went down.


Thanks to my strong belief, I came back safe and sound. When I look back to the route which I took this time, I am still very shocked by the power of my religion. Without strong practicing my religion, I wouldn’t have reached to the peak. (I had no experience of climbing before.)
Well, I had serious muscle pain made me look funny when I was on the way down to the gate of national park. Chantale couldn’t stop laughing at my stupid walking. Anyway, the sky was clear on the last day. We saw cops and the skins of leopards in front of the gate which were hunted by poachers with spears. This is my first time to see the ‘raw materials’ of luxurious overcoat. Now I understand that if I wanted to see leopards, I’d better hire the poacher to be my safari guide (just kidding, hunting is always illegal and cruel!!)

Experience of Mt. Kenya--Part II

Good diet keeps you away from sickness:
Physical power and mental power are the main reasons why I succeed during this trip. Thanks to nutritious food at my host family and multi vitamin everyday, I had enough energy to get to the peak.
Lovely forest and lodge:
The Mt. Kenya national park is brilliant. From the bottom to the top, I experienced different weathers and plants, from the tropical to the frigid. We climbed just for 2 hours on the 1st day because we needed time to get used to the altitude. The lodge where we stayed at the first and third nights is 3048 meters high. It’s a lovely lodge. 10 people share one room and there’s a fire place in it (we met people from different countries like Scotland, Austria, and Germany, but none of them are from Asia.). We had brilliant meals (spaghetti with tomatoes, cucumbers and potatoes and hot soup for dinner and fresh toast, fried bananas, luxury sausages and hot chocolate for breakfast) which Christopher cooked for us. There’s no electricity on mountains so we didn’t take shower for three days. The only thing we did after meals was chatting. We had rubbish Brandy with hot water outside the lodge, appreciating countless twinkling stars above the sky. I have to say that hot Brandy with hot water is the real inspiration of cold weather. I didn’t sleep well during these three nights because my sleeping bag was not good enough. At the midnight, I trembled in my sleeping bag and stayed awake till the early morning. Animals are our big surprise in the morning. We saw elephants, buffalos and blue monkeys around our lodge.
When the climbing was getting tougher and tougher:
On the second day, we climbed for 8 hours, which is quite long. The route was getting harder and steeper. When it rained, the climbing got worse and more dangerous. The hard climb was beyond description. The other two girls suffered a lot during the climbing, one having headache and the other smoking a lot. Since I was chanting and praying all the way, even though I was worn-out, I felt confident and good.
I still remember that the last summer I was at a summer camp with aboriginal school children in Eastern Taiwan. The theme of the camp is ‘Let’s climb the mountain.’ On the way of mountain climbing, we will face many difficulties like laziness. However, with strong Buddhist religion, we can beat down the weakness inside my mind. Buddhism always reminds me to use my wisdom and perseverance to conquer difficulties of my life.
The second campsite which we stay at is 4300 meters high, where I saw the main peaks very clearly. I made up my mind and prayed for good weather and successful trip on the next day. In the evening, we saw many starts and falling stars on the sky, which was the most beautiful sky I’ve seen of my life. We were surrounded only by quietness, coldness, darkness, peace and shiny stars.

Mt. Kenya--my experience of the holy mountain

Once in a while, I would like to do extreme sports or try something completely out of my comfort zone for challenging myself so as to renew the body and soul. Besides, I enjoy basking in a smug glory by showing off to my friends and family. This time I made a bold decision, targeting on Mt. Kenya, 4985 meters high, the holy mountain in Kenya.
There are totally three of us, Rain, Chantale and me, all working on the same project. We hired one guide, Gatoto, and two porters, Christopher (who is a cook as well) and Amos. It’s always a smart choice to hire guides and porters because you will get more chances to get to the top and avoid the chances of altitude sickness. I never regret hiring two porters during the trip, who helped us carry gears, water, cookers, and food.
Cost: 5500 NT per person for four days (three persons of a group cost including accommodation, food, guide, two porters, ticket, transportation, fuel, hired shoes and backpack). It’s a good price because we know other tourists paid more than us (300 USD or more).
Weather: It’s very cold at the peak. The nightly temperatures could drop down to minus10 degrees.
Route: There are seven routes and we, as inexperienced trekkers, took one of the easiest one—Naro Moru. It’s the most straightforward route although it’s not as scenic as other routes (Had we had more days off, we would have taken other routes with beautiful lakes and views).
The peaks: The highest peaks are Batian (5199m) and Nelion (5188m), which can only be reached by very well-experienced climbers. According to our guide, it took him 600 USD to climb the Batian for the professional climbing gears are very expensive. The peak I reached to is Point Lenana (4985 m). Well, Point Lenana is not an easy one, either. People die on mountains every year.
The gears: Due to the harsh, windy, cold weather, good sleeping bag is necessary. Hiking shoes and few sets of warm clothes will make your climbing easier. Don’t be stingy when choosing hiking gears. Walking sticks are alternative. I didn’t have them with me. Other gears like head torch, raincoats, monkey cap, and gloves are required as well.