Bujuku - Mubuku - Day 4 - Stuck in a hole

  Rwenzori Mountains, Uganda
Thursday, February 2, 2006

4km 1400ft ascent and descent.

Lake Bujuku with groundsel in foreground

Happy birthday to me. Up before dawn, Weetabix and a stroll back down to Lake Bujuku to see if I could spot Mt. Stanley through the clouds (morning and evening are usually best), no such luck though! Nice hike up to the Scott-Elliot Pass. Good views back down onto Lake Bujuku and also saw glimpses of Mt. Stanley, Mt. Baker and Mt. Speke through the mist. Found out the Joshua trees were actually groundsel and one section of our trail was called the Groundsel Gully. The path was so steep ladders were put in places.

Porter at Kitandara Lake

Porters on the pass

Scott-Elliot Pass

On the pass the hail and rain finally came. Treacherously slippery rocks up there and I managed to slip into a big rock hole, just big enough for a person, right up to my chest. My guide thought I was a goner and was a bit surprised when I hoisted myself out and said let's go!

Despite the rain good views up to the glaciers on Mt. Stanley and down to Kitandara Lake and the hut where I would spend the night. Once there I sorted out all my wet gear and jumped into my sleeping bag for a while to warm my chilled bones.

Everlasting flowers

Kitandara Lake Hut

More Everlasting flowers

It's amazing what a bit of sun can do though! 1 hour later and the sun was out and my clothes were drying on nearby bushes. I went with the porters for another incursion into the Congo and up to what was a nice viewpoint of Mt. Baker and got my camera out and tried playing with the macro capabilities on my camera with the local flowers. One in particular, the Everlasting Flower was particularly beautiful.