Mt. Kenya Adventure and Cozy Christmas

The headlines of the last two weeks are found in the title of the blog; but first we need to catch up on a few other aspects of life. 

Youth group: We hosted our first Nairobi youth group hangout -- something we had the intention of doing ever since we moved to our house in Ridgeways. It was nice to see our space being well used by about 20 teens to play outdoor games, hang out, and then move indoors when it got dark. Mostly, we just provided the space and Lavington Vineyard Church youth pastor Joshua led the program. We had a few adventures with learning about how pizza delivery service works in Nairobi to our house, but overall, things went well. 

Right after the youth left, Paul and I took off for the airport to go pick up Oren. He arrived on a Friday night, and we were able to spend the weekend relaxing and spending time with him. It's been quite a semester of adjustments for him since he transferred to Goshen College in Indiana back in August. This smaller Mennonite liberal arts college has been a much better fit for him, and he quickly found a group of international transfer student friends. He also changed majors, from chemistry to accounting. But there have also been some hard adjustments, and we needed to talk through those with him. We intended to take a walk with him in the nearby Karura forest, but 10 minutes into our walk, we ran into a downpour and had to retreat back to our house to continue talking in the rain.

Paul and I had one more week of critical work to finish before the Christmas holidays, and David had final exams, so we left Oren to sleep off his jet lag on Monday. There were project proposals to review and budgets to finalize and we were working on signing a lease for a new MCC Kenya office space (More on all that later when we can say more officially). On Tuesday, we brought both our young men into the office to join in the MCC staff Christmas party. It was a very fun gathering with nice snacks and games to start out the morning. Paul and I led a round of “the Name Game” which is a favorite we learned from the Taylors. Then we played a very rowdy version of the white elephant gift exchange, with an entirely appropriate amount of stealing and teasing. Finally we feasted on goat and pilau and an enormous Fruit cake, given as a gift by the regional finance officer for our team work as early adopters of the new financial software.

We anticipated spending the rest of the time in a quiet week plugging away at administrative tasks. However, unplanned adventures always seem to arise. Overnight on Tuesday, one of our short-term volunteers became very ill. Her symptoms were so alarming that we decided it was necessary to call an ambulance and bring her into Nairobi from where she lives 4 hours away. From 2 am, we were on the phone every half hour with the ambulance service we subscribe to, and with our volunteer coordinator. Fortunately, the ill volunteer is placed with a co-volunteer who accompanied her on the ambulance. For the next two days, Paul spent most of the day making sure she was properly admitted to the hospital and treated appropriately, and I tried to keep all the other aspects of work running, also stopping in to visit and pray. We were very glad for other team members who stepped up to help, including another volunteer who is a nurse who actually stayed the night with the patient. We were very relieved that the volunteer’s health condition improved enough for her to be discharged on Friday, just as we were driving out of Nairobi towards a planned adventure…

Since moving to Kenya, Paul has been dreaming of climbing Mt Kenya again, something he did as a young adult in 1980 with his two brothers when his parents lived in Nairobi. Having just gotten his hip replaced in May, and following 6 months of strengthening, he felt like he was in better shape than ever to do it; and I also felt like it is the kind of thing one ought to do in Kenya, and I’m not getting any younger. David was game to try; he’s young and strong and has no trouble hiking at high speed. As for Oren, well, both Paul and I kept chickening out on breaking the news to him that he was going to have to come along with us – but finally we got up the courage to inform him about two weeks before he flew out. Our neighbors helped us greatly with filling out the necessary gear for the trip, and we got a good guide contact from our colleague Wawa: https://hiramsafaris.com/

We picked up David from school after his last exam Friday morning and then headed north to the East side of Mt. Kenya. By the time we got to the Park gate, it was about 3 pm, but our guide Hiram was there waiting for us to sign us in. We drove another 26 km up into the park to Lake Ellis, through eucalyptus plantings, past the bamboo forest and then up into higher altitude forest. The rest of the trekking team met us up at the Lake and prepared a nice campsite for us with a beautiful view across the water up to the cloudy peaks. We walked around the heather shrubbed hills for a bit as the sun was getting low and tried to adjust to the higher altitude at 3450m (11,300 ft). Paul immediately noticed he was not feeling great – that’s what you get for driving directly rather than hiking up, but we didn’t have enough time that day to hike up.

As the night air rapidly cooled, the team invited us to sit in the mess tent and enjoy some fresh popcorn and hot tea and stay warm. They then prepared an amazing supper for us, including soup, fresh fish and guacamole. We didn’t stay up too late – it was better to stay warm in our sleeping bags than try to huddle in the mess tent.

In the morning, we woke up early on a beautiful morning for our first day of trekking. The trail led us around to the other side of Lake Ellis, up a gradual hill and then back down into a gorge, across a bridge and then up a very long ascent to a ridge that seemed to go on forever. As we walked, Guide Hiram told us more about alpine vegetation around us (proteas, heather, giant groundsels and then ostrich plume lobelia as we got higher). He counseled us to walk slowly and take our time to acclimatize. At first, David was racing ahead, but then Hiram talked to him about staying with us and he was very patient after that, especially keeping me company and playing walking games like 20 questions. Paul stuck with Oren, and they listened to a history book together as they walked. Overall, it was a very pleasant walk through beautiful scenery with amazing views back to the lowlands, and though we were huffing and puffing walking uphill, there was nothing too tough about it. On the way, we stopped for lunch at a spot looking down into a magnificent gorge to Lake Michaelson, a spot for trout fishing. We reached our first campsite after about 6 hours, Mintos Camp at 4300m (14,100 ft) and right away enjoyed some tea and popcorn and a little time to lie flat on our backs to recover.

The camp itself was in a hollow of slaty rock, sheltered from the wind and not all that attractive on its own. But just behind it was a beautiful tarn or mountain lake, with gorgeous clear water and spectacular views towards the Delemere peaks. We all took turns exploring the hill and the tarn behind it, enjoying the antics of the fat little rock hyraxes and feeling the exhilaration of the mountain air. Sadly, Oren was not feeling so great, having only recently come in from closer to sea level. We gave him the prescribed medication to help with altitude, but he definitely wasn’t as happy with the whole situation. At night, to take his mind off the cold and discomfort, we played a lot of Spades and reorganized our sleeping arrangements so that he and Paul could keep listening to the history book.  

At some point during the night, it started raining. Later, I heard other trekking groups rising at 2 am to make their summit attempt from Mintos in wet and foggy conditions. When we got up at 6 am, it was actively snowing at Mintos and the whole mountain was shrouded in clouds – I felt very sorry for those poor souls who had been up walking all night. We heard from them later that the climb to the summit had been very icy and slippery and they really couldn't see anything.

Our team had a different plan, and so we waited until the clouds burned off and the tents could dry a bit before we packed our gear and headed up the mountain again. We had to pass through some flat and boggy areas until we reached a steep hillside, where we picked our way up the scree on a switchback path. It was quite a hike uphill for about 45 minutes, but all in all, it was not bad for a two-hour walk of just 2 km. Walking takes a lot longer at high altitude, when we reached our next camp, Simba Col at 4550m (15,000 ft).

The porters had passed us all on the way up there and had just got our mess tent set up when the rain started again. For the next few hours, we just hung out in the mess tent, resting and playing cards and trying not to go out in the wet. We had an early supper and then tried to sleep – it was a bit more challenging because the tent David and I were supposed to use was leaking in the rain, so we relocated the inside of the tent shell into the mess tent. Also, my camping mat did not hold air, so it was a bit cold and hard, and not easy to sleep. Therefore, I mostly lay awake all night, praying that the weather would improve. At about 1 am, I got up to inspect the bushes and was overjoyed to see a clear sky bursting with starlight. There is nothing like mountain stars, undimmed by light pollution, and it was such a relief to know we would not be hiking in wet weather.

We officially got up at 3:30 am to make sure we were warmly dressed and ready with lightened packs. Oren elected to stay in bed while the other 3 of us summitted: he had never been that motivated or interested in climbing this mountain, but he was a good sport about coming along most of the way. At 4:15, we set off with headlamps in the dark, following Hiram step after step, and accompanied by 3 other porters in case of any emergency. Most of the path was just a steep climb over scree that was nicely solid due to the ice holding it together. But in the last 40 minutes, we got to a spot where we needed to use all fours to scramble up some rocks. Our team helped us know where to put each foot and hand to make the ascent safely. Finally, the golden dawn cracked the edge of the sky as we approached the last climb to the summit, holding onto cables and climbing a ladder set into the rock to reach the peak, Lenana Point at 4985m (16350 ft). The early sun lit the higher peak of Nelion (a technical climb) behind us, and we had a stunning view across most of the mountain. We felt incredibly blessed to have a perfect morning after about 30 hours of rain and clouds beforehand. We snapped pictures and were grateful that we had made it, but it was very cold at the summit and so we didn’t spend long before descending.

David ran back down to Simba Col without any trouble; it took me a lot longer to descend on the steep slope that was now melting and loosening. Hiram and another guide were very helpful in giving me a hand when I needed it so that I didn’t slip. Back at the camp, we enjoyed some very delicious porridge and banana fritters and sausages and had a bit of time to rest and catch our breath. But by 9 am we were off again, heading back down the mountain to Lake Ellis where we had left our car.

Having not slept much, and then having summitted and come back down, it felt like a very long downhill walk to me and a few too many kilometers to be fun at the end of the day. I personally much prefer walking uphill; but anyway, the walk down was still beautiful, and the weather remained absolutely perfect for us up on the mountain, even as we could see that we were surrounded by clouds and rain in the lowlands. Oren had decided that there was no point in prolonging this whole hiking business and so he took off much faster than the rest of us so that he could take his shoes off and rest. David kept me company for part of the walk until I gave him a particularly difficult word to guess in 20 questions, and then he decided that Paul would be better company. At that point, I was too tired anyway and needed to concentrate on my footing. But the scarlet-tufted sunbirds at lower elevation were still delightful along with various other wildflowers and the air was still clear and the views of Lake Ellis lovely. And at the end of the day, all of us made it safely without any injury.

We ended our trek early the next morning, December 23, with a final thank you speech to the team of 9 porters, cook and guide. And then we drove off to drop Hiram at the park gate and continued our drive back to Nairobi. It wasn’t a very quick drive this time with strange holiday traffic, but we still managed to enjoy the time together in the car, listening to music and catching up on news (Oren had made us all make wagers about what terrible things could have happened in the world while we were off grid – fortunately none of our worst fears were realized).

Back at home, there was unpacking and laundry and we used grocery delivery for the first time ever in Nairobi so that none of us would have to go out again anywhere. We were tired and glad to be home and enjoy the comfort of our beds again.

On Christmas Eve, the kids were very tired and asked to do nothing. Paul and I were happy to go visit our small group families for a Birthday brunch for Steffi. It was wonderful to see them and enjoy a bit of company to celebrate Christmas. But after that, we just stayed home with the young men, playing games and enjoying quiet time together. Our seasonal baking happened all that day – the kids and I made a lot of cinnamon rolls and Paul created his annual gingerbread house and baked in. In the evening, we sat together in the living room and listened to the Nine Lessons and Carols from Kings’ College in Cambridge on the BBC. After dinner, we shared our traditional viewing of “the Polar Express” and then headed for bed.

On Christmas Day, David allowed us to sleep later than ever—7:45 am! Before declaring that it was time to get up and open presents.  Both my parents and Paul had brought back some fun presents from family in the US. But I think David gave the most awesome and creative gifts this year: a handmade kooksa (wooden cup) for Paul, a beautiful cutting board for me (made in woodshop class also), and a real sheepskin rug for Oren. We played more games and then Oren helped to arrange a charcuterie platter for our lunch. We all joined forces to decorate Paul’s gingerbread house as thoroughly as possible with candy. There was time for napping and more games.   Later, we enjoyed a traditional dinner, as I taught Oren how to make Stuffing and candied yams, and we heated up thanksgiving turkey kept in the freezer. We chatted with extended family back in the US at various times. We even made fresh eggnog. It was truly lovely to stay at home and not need to be or do anything else.

On Boxing Day, we were more social – going out for lunch to visit the Ali family, missionary friends from our Ethiopia days. They used to give David a ride to school at Bingham every day but just moved to Kenya last August. Their college-aged kids were also visiting, and it was nice for our kids to hang out with them, playing Catan and basketball and talking. Later in the evening, we invited our neighbors over to share about the Mt. Kenya trip – the parents have both been up the mountain several times. We also enjoyed a ritual breaking of the gingerbread house, with the following liturgy, generated on the spot by AI:

The Rite of Crumbling Walls

Leader: We stand before this frosted fortress, built with spice and held by sugar.

All: It was a labor of art; it is now a feast of joy.

Leader: Do we regret the snapping of the roof?

All: No, for it is crunchy.

Leader: Do we mourn the falling of the gumdrop eaves?

All: No, for they are sweet.

The Invocation of the Snap

All place a hand over the house.

"Gingerbread, you served us well as a centerpiece. Now, fulfill your highest calling: becoming a snack. From ginger you came, and to the belly you shall return."

The Shattering

The youngest or oldest present delivers the first tactical strike to the roof.

Leader: The walls fall!

All: Let us eat!

Saturday was another quiet day – Paul, David and I took some time to prepare music for the Sunday service and we needed to pack for the Renew conference. But again, it was such a relief to just have time to rest and be with the kids.

On Sunday morning, we led music for a shorter prayer service at church. Then we celebrated Ethiopian Christmas a bit early by taking 4 MCC volunteers and Solomon, an MCC colleague from Ethiopia, to enjoy wonderful Habesha cuisine at a local restaurant in the pouring rain. We have many good, shared memories with Solomon and so it was nice to catch up with him before he heads back home this week. And then, we all drove out in a caravan to the Renew Conference north of Nairobi. And we will close out 2025 here at Renew. More news from us next year. 

 

 

click here for a link to a video of our Kenya summit