So, will try and keep this brief.. haha.. yeah.. that's it.. ;)
Scheduled with my ticket to leave to Tel Aviv, Israel this Saturday -
just for everyone who wants to know the DL of what's going on.. but,
keeping to the task at hand..
For my last touristy task, I decided to tackle Mt. Kenya - the second
highest mountain in Africa. Over the period of 5 1/2 days,
(3 1/2 days were the actual hiking)), we (myself and Boniface) decided
to tackle the 4985m high mountain. (Pics to come) After buying second
hand boots and stocking up on mountain food - we headed for the
mountain. Arriving in Nanyuki, 2 1/2hrs away by public matatu shuttle
bus, we decided to catch a ride ($38 US, rip off for Kenya) and camp
outside the gates. The next day - the big haul. In a journey that was
supposed to take 3 1/2 to 4hrs to get to the 'Old Moses' campsite, we
cleared it in a spankin' 2 hrs flat! We were supposed to camp there,
but NO! Our egos one upped us and thought, hey, why not skip a day and
go for the next point! So, we did. An additional 13km later (28km
total (est.)), fully loaded packs on our backs, we headed to the next
point - Shiptons camp. Unfortunately, this was NOT a smart idea.
Thinking we could have made it there before it got significantly dark
out - we thought wrong. We almost made it to the final camp, but had
to setup shop when it started to rain and we couldn't really see our
hands in front of our faces. Feet starting to hurt and starving, we
setup shop for the night.
So far, all in all, not an eventful story - but a very scenic trip
nonetheless. To summarize the rest of the trip. The next day we walked
an estimated total of 34km. And ladies and gentleman, this isn't just
on tarmac'd road. This 34km involved getting up at 2am, going to
summit the mountain in subzero temps, coming back down and hiking past
2 campsites to get to the final camping spot. A total of 14hrs of
straight hiking with only one 30min lunch break in between, peppered
with many mini-stops that needed to have been made. Apparently we are
gluttons for punishment as Bonny wratched his knee on the way down the
scramble from the peak, and both my feet were blister ridden and
bruised from all the rocks banging into the soles of my boots on the
way up and down. Oh yeah, the peak was beautiful, too. To be precise,
it was amazing. Sitting above the cloudline, mist everywhere - we saw a
sunrise with no obstructions or interferance at all - just the misty
cloudline and the horizon - beaming a fiery orange and red explosion,
preparing the skys for the sun to present itself momentarily.
Next, was the trek down.. the hell began here.
(continued...)
Getting into the final camp, 'bandas', the mud was literally 8-10" deep at some points, and with our shaky limbs, wet packs and gear and mud-caked shoes, we were ready to crash hard - even taking effort to make simple camping stove food was debatable whether or not we should be getting off our asses to make. Getting up that morning was hard to do, but we pryed ourselves out of our cold, wet tent and tried to find our ride down the rest of the mountain to the park gates - eventually leading to the town of Chogoria. Turns out it rained terribly the night before and the mud got even worse. Instead of having a truck waiting for us, waiting to charge us 6000 or more shillings (approx 93$ CAD) we had to pack up all of our gear and start on a 10km trek down to a 'pickup point'. This wasn't our most favorite option, to say the least, as my feet were actually feeling like the I was caned for the last 3 hours on the bottom of my soles by a Thai prison guard, and bonney was hobbling like an old man with his 2 walking sticks. We probably couldn't have been walking faster than 3km/H, at best.
After walking over 13km, we figured something must be up. It was starting to get late, and along this mountain trail - it just ain't you. Leopards, elephants, buffalo and the like are wandering around, and with no rangers or cell phone signal - your bowstaff fighting skills better not be too rusty, otherwise.
Hurting, throbbing feet. Mini-breaks every 15 minutes to alleviate the pain on the feet - we eventually made it to the gate just as the sun was going down. During the last stretch of road, for some reason, I felt a burst of adrenaline and shot off like a dart. Running top speed with a full pack on my back, I sped all the way down the hill in search of the gate. On my left near the end of the gate, I saw a group of people playing soccer in a makeshift field. They looked over and saw me tearing down the road like a bat out of hell. All of a sudden I heard applause as the group of 8 players started clapping in recognition of my sprint down the terrain to the bottom. I have almost never felt that euphoric-like feeling or adrenaline and determination as intensely as I did that day. I made it to the gate and felt the adrenaline leaving my body. The feet reminded me once again that pain can be deferred, but not eliminated like that. Pain came, henceforth for the next 3 days I was a disabled man, waiting for the pain fairy to fly away. A total of approx. 25km was walked and we survived.
All in all, I learned alot about my mindset, what my physical mental limitations I constantly impose on myself. As bonny so intelligently put it (and I am paraphrasing), even though I struggled through it and it was hell, I know now that wasn't my 'potential', but my actual ability of what I just did. Now that I know what I can do, my potential is beyond that, so what could I do now? Next time I come to Kenya, I will bust through that mountain bitch in 2 1/2 days, when it normally takes 4 for the average person. I can't wait to get back to Canada and get back into the summer groove in Banff.
Reflection Time with Andrew Bennett(tm):
I feel this trip I really have come into my own. I wasn't 'looking' to 'find myself' or anything like that, but in doing this trip - I have. I believe I am significantly more confident, more eager to challenge any confrontation head on instead of pussy out. My skills with the ladies, in my opinion has increase 10 fold, learning (dues to Kelly on this one) the art of being the 'Nice Asshole'. hahah.. I feel more seasoned with life and have a new, REAL and permanent oulook on life. I realized that half the reason we (namely I,) don't achieve, is because I really didn't WANT to that badly. I will go work out, but it's because I feel I have to. I did my job and did enjoy it, but the passion wasn't there like it was during the honeymoon phase. I wouldn't go out of my way to dress as well as in the past, because I didn't feel I was 'looking' for anything.
Taking this trip has put the fire back into my belly. I can't wait to start swimming for my exercise. I have no lung strength at all and can barely do 8 laps without wheezing - and I can't wait to challenge myself to be able to get up early in the morning and do 30. I am going to come back and throw out my wardrobe and start dressing with a purpose again. I am going to come back to LM and even though I may have other business ventures going in my mind, I am going to give it my all - fail or succeed.
My biggest worry is that I will come back, full of piss and vinegar, and burn out after 2 weeks and fall back into the same system of living as before. But, something has changed knowing that I like tomotoes on toast now, that I want to work out because I love being active; not because I HAVE to. Knowing a thing or two more now on how to treat and communicate with people, WANTING to get out and try these skills on home ice. I wont and, frankly, can't be the same person as before. I have seen too much now. Not only has this trip been a change that way, but spiritually as well. I am not a bible thumper or anything of the like - but I am staunch in my belief now of the type of person I am supposed to become. My morals are set out there in front of me - and now it is the time to test my willpower and adherance to this new ideology of life.
I have said it once before, and will say it again. If you have struggles in your life, questions you want answered - Travel. And I don't mean jumping on a tour bus and being carted around like cattle to the pre-conditioned 'Board of Tourism' hotspots. I am talking - TRAVEL. See people in small villages, meet and greet, share experiences. The situations, people, senses and experiences you have are sure, better yet, GUARANTEED to make you question yourself and grow. It's inevitable. This all sounds like a motivational speech or some self-help rhetoric, but I have lived it and by jove, it has some stick to it.
I am so glad I have done this. I will save for retirement, I will try REAL hard. But I have decided that travelling by far outweighs any need for a bigger car, TV or any type of expensive entertainment. I would sooner blow $4000 on a trip to a far off country than have 20 small $200 baubles laying around and decorating my house. No question.
Day after tomorrow, I am off to Tel-Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa and maybe more there - then, off to ChaingMai in Thailand to take a week long professional cooking course on Thai food, fruit carving and more. What better place to learn Thai cooking, than IN Thailand?!? God, there has to be a career/business opportunity in here somewhere... ;)
Good luck and God bless...
Andrew
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