Mountain Elgon, Uganda
by Belinda Swift
Elgon is an extinct volcano straddling the Kenyan-Ugandan border. Wagagai Peak, at 4321m, is the highest point on its huge 40km crater rim, from which many ridges radiate. Having first set eyes on the massif in 1969, I now, 37 years later, had returned to fulfil the once faint hope of climbing it.
This was not so much a mountaineering expedition as an exercise in finding the right companions; friends with a sense of humour, iron stomachs, stamina, patience and the ability of a camel to walk for hours without food, plus the nerve to overcome the unknown in an equatorial forest. So there we were, Anthea, Belinda and Christine, A,B,C.
Mt Elgon National Park was established in 1993 and is managed by the Ugandan Wildlife Authority. Our hotel base in Mbale was only 5 sweaty minutes from its head-quarters; it was January, the dry season and 38°C. Trekking is in its infancy here so organisation took many patient visits and eventually the decision to trial the start of the trek in advance.
Hiring a taxi, we drove 66km on tarmac, then 12km on marram road, which wound between mud houses and small holdings of coffee, maize, bananas, goats and cattle grazing. People waved and children called 'How are you?' Covered in pink dust, we arrived at the Forest Exploration Centre near Sipi Falls and set off into the forest with our guide, who was keen to tell us about its preservation. Trees soared into the blue sky, ribs of bark spiralling upwards like streaks in twisted candy sticks. We admired the revered, rare Elgon teak. Unidentified sounds assailed our ears, as if a minimalist composer was at work in a forest full of mobile phone ring tones.
Back at the Centre we had the excitement of sleeping in a forest banda. We were told an armed guard would be patrolling all night. This was somehow not reassuring. My bed blanket depicted a snarling tiger and a pile of foam under A's mattress suggested rats. Once settled, a thump from above gave rise to barely disguised squeaks of fear. Head torches revealed a hole in the roof space next to a sliding vent, which C hastily closed. Surprisingly we slept. The trek was on.
Two weeks later we returned with food for 5 days, 12 litres of bottled water and hired tents. Frances and Simon were to be our armed guides, with porters. On a breakfast of black tea and chapattis, we walked uphill and down through tall thick forest for 4 hours to Tatum Cave Camp. Frances took us to the middle of this huge cave where our breath was taken as our torches lit up myriads of bats’ eyes. At dusk they would leave with a whoosh of wing beats. The porters lit a fire and smoked skewered pieces of meat and boiled water for their posho and our pasta, carrots and sardines, menu 1 of 2. The water supply was drips from the cave roof. Here, as at each site, there was a pit latrine and a pit for rubbish.
After a good sleep and a breakfast of porridge, honey and tea, we set off beneath tall podocarpus trees, spied colobus monkeys dancing from their arms through the canopy, enjoyed the sunlit patterns of the bamboo groves, and emerged onto open moorland. Here scabious and violets grew. Feeling faint, we asked to stop for bread, bananas and dates, the Ugandans seemingly able to manage all day without food. Kageri Camp at 3383m was a lovely spot by a refreshing stream with a corrugated iron hut for the porters. It was a frosty night.
The next day we left at 7.45am in crisp, cool air. Now in open heath and woodland, we viewed the three ridges we must cross. It looked a long way. Drifts of everlasting flowers adorned the path and giant groundsel dotted this increasingly strange landscape. Our energy was sapped as the sun beat down. Moses said there were signs of hyenas but we saw none. The fourth and final ridge rise tested our stamina and after 8 hours we reached Mude Camp at 3500m, thirsty and dusty, only to find the stream dry and sizeable rats in waiting. Here for two nights, would the wet wipes last?
Then the summit day dawned, an estimated 850m to ascend and 18km return. Warmly dressed at first, we were soon able to take off hats and fleeces and within an hour we were jubilant on finding a small stream. In addition to giant groundsel, Frances pointed out the rare Lobelia Elgonesis, a shaggy plant, 4 feet high and asking to be stroked. Weird cinder-like rock formations indicated we were nearing the crater rim at 4000m. This was exciting and I was filled with amazement at first gazing across the crater, 8 km wide, trying to imagine how truly enormous this mountain must once have been. It was an emotional moment, realising all three of us had organised and physically managed the trek. By 1.00pm we were on the summit, gazing into the haze which was Kenya. We spread out our 1: 250,000 map, bought in Entebbe, and Frances was impressed, saying, with this we couldn't get lost! As his finger traced the border line, the colour wore thin and we laughed. After sharing a much travelled chocolate bar we retraced our steps.
Frances was doubtful we muzungus would manage the descent to the road in one day. We resolved to try and fairly rapid progress was made through the vegetation zones until, suddenly we were above the Mudangi Cliffs, looking down 500m to cultivated land below. We descended via ledges and wooden staircases, getting hotter and stickier, almost too tired to admire the beautifully patterned chameleon beside the path, just before Bumasoia village at 1770m. There all nine of us crammed into the waiting Land Rover and drove to the park office and the 'Last Resort Café'. We finished with smiling faces and drinks all round, by then a desperately needed first resort.
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Last updated: 04 December 2007