Kenya day 42 - Acclimatisation Day

This is an acclimatisation day, making sure we are as well used to the altitude as we can be before Summit Day tomorrow. I'm feeling a bit breathless at times, and my appetite is way down, but I don't have any headaches or nausea, so I reckon I'm doing OK.

So, on the principle of going up a bit further and then sleeping at the lower level, we went up to 4600m on the Hausberg Col this morning. The track up to the Col was quite steep and gravelly at first, which was a bit awkward. Further up it was small scree, not stable, but not too prone to sliding. We saw a few rock hyraxes.

Rock hyrax

Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird

Elijah

Looking bac down to Shipton's Camp

It's warm while you're moving...

 Once we got to the Col we could look down on two tarns on the other side of the ridge, Hausberg Tarn and Oblong Tarn.

Oblong Tarn and Hausberg Tarn

Me, Mark and Cyrus, wrapped up against the wind

We could also see the pretty little Kami Tarn on the Shipton's Camp side, surrounded by forest of giant lobelias.

Elijah and Mark, Kami Tarn below

Cyrus pointed out our route for tomorrow, up the morain ridge and then onto the ridge along the skyline. I think my route down diverges at the top of the ridge. Elijah, the other guide, and Charles, one of the porters, will go with me.

Route to Pt Lenana - morain ridge on left, up skyline, top is behind the peak

I'm writing this sitting on the rocks at camp, watching the birds and hoping for more hyraxes, but it's clouding over and will probably rain a bit. I hope it's clear in the early morning...

Striped Seedeater

Krapf Glacier

Gregory Glacier, just below Pt Lenana

Male Slender-billed Starling

Female Slender-billed Starling

My finger has cracked - I must have been too late putting my gloves on yesterday. Now I need to go in and wrap up before it gets too cold. My gear seems suitable, though my legs may be a bit cold tomorrow morning...

Kenya day 41 - Sirimon Route to Shipton's Camp

We were up at 06:00 and off at 07:30. It was fairly steep at the start, through the giant heather, then it levelled off and we contoured round int the Mackinder Valley. The vegetation changed throughout the day: giant heather to tussock grass end then giant lobelias, of which there seem o be several varieties. One type, "ostrich lobelia", looks like Cousin It. The real giant lobelias grow into trees with several branches.

Giant heather zone

Looking back to Old Moses Camp

Going well - still smiling!

Broken ostrich lobelia, shows the flowers among the leaves

Cyrus on a bridge - this bit looks very Scottish

We spotted an eagle, too far off to identify without binoculars and bid book. There are lots of Alpine Chats and Redwing Starlings (or maybe they are Slender-billed...), and several Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbirds - males are greenish with very long tails - which feed on the Cousin It lobelias. The flowers are hidden inside he fluffy leaves.

Alpine Chat

Male Scarlet-tufted Malachite Sunbird feeding

Starlings - Red-winged or Slender-billed

There were recent signs of buffalo and elephants, but we haven't seen any of the actual animals - probably fortunately...

Steve, Mark and me - our first view of Mackinder Valley

Mark with Cousin It

 

Giant lobelia country!

Lobelias

Mackinder Valley - still quite a way to go

It was very cold in camp once the sun went down; it's going to be perishing up on top... The camp is right underneath the big peaks, Batian and Nelion. I took a few photos, but am very tired, so bed at 8pm.

Arrived, and feeling chuffed about it...

Pt Lenana on left, Nelion and Batian on right

Shipton's Camp with Sendeo behind

Female Sunbird at Shipton's Camp

Bunk room at Shipton's Camp

Kenya day 40 - Towards Mount Kenya

We were up early to say goodbye to Sue and the rest of the team, while Mark, Steve and I stayed on at the Blue Line waiting for Cyrus and his mountain men.

Goodbye to the Moving Mountains volunteers

Knowing it would be a while before they arrived, I took a walk and found more great birds.

Young Cordon Bleu, before it got its red cheeks!

Spectacled Weaver

Black-lored Babbler

Still, we got away about 10:00 and drove to Nanyuki where we stopped for another shopping session. Having got all I needed yesterday, I just waited outside.Eventually, we set off and drove the 9km up to the Sirimon Gate. The porters divided up our big bags, their bags and the food and equipment, leaving us with day packs. They must be carrying at least twice as much as we are, and going faster for all that!

The whole team at Sirimon Gate

Yes, folks, that's bracken, just like in the UK!

Porters not slowed down by massive loads!

Crossing the Equator! Thankfully you don't get shaved...

Forest!

We walked through forest for an hour or two, Mark and I at the back with Cyrus, going "Pole pole" - slowly - and Steve forging ahead.

Picnic for three - this tablecloth became very familiar!

We had a picnic lunch of peanut butter and salad butties with fruit (those green things are bananas!) which recharged the batteries and we carried on, but it came on to rain and by the time we reached Old Moses Camp it was bucketing down and we were drenched.

Fabulous flower!

Uh-oh, it's raining...

Pouring rain at Old Moses Camp

Fortunately most of my kit was well wrapped, so it was my waterproofs and the clothes I was wearing that were really wet. A hot drink and a change of kit got me warmed up, and the sun came out again so it was fit to go outside for a bit, though it was getting chilly. Then a crowd of kids from a school in Nairobi arrived. They had reached the summit this morning and were very excited but soaked and tired out, so very loud!

Red-winged Starlings

Soggy school kids

Giant heather zone

The bunk room was a bit cramped but once in bed that didn't matter at all! ZZZZzzzzZZZZzzz...

Kenya day 39 - Foundations and Shopping

This morning's walk was a good one, some lovely wild flowers and an almost-clear look at the mountain.

After breakfast, we headed off to Tigithi School carrying spades and picks to dig those foundations. We had to shift the roots of a couple of cedar trees that were right in the middle of the new classroom. The stone for the building was being quarried near the river, and brought to the site in a cart pulled by two sad and weary donkeys.

After an energetic morning we walked back to the Blue Line for lunch and then took the truck to Nanyuki to get snacks for the mountain (for Mark and Steve and me) and for their time at the orphanage for the others. The truck needed some attention at a garage, so we had quite a long wait, and of course folk were trying to sell us trinkets or food if we wandered around, so in the end we just stayed in the truck.

I spent the evening finishing packing - almost everything was ready for the big day tomorrow!