Spurs Of Endless Beauty

Spurs

Of Endless Beauty M y h i ke u p M t L o n g o n o t t h a t c h a n g e d m y p e rc e p t i o n o f h i k i n g a n d t h e m o u n t a i n i t s e l f .

Growing up in Kenya comes with several perks. One of which, is .. well .. NATURE. You get to see pretty much all there is to be seen. From the hills and valleys to the animals and most importantly, the people.

As a child, I spent a few school vacations in Naivasha. At the time, before the levels of roadside developments had reached its current level, it was an even more beautiful place to either stay or pass through. More zebra by the roadside and a bunch of other animals. There is one thing that always stood out, aside from the lake, and that was, Mt. Longonot, in all her magnificence. You can’t miss it.

Longonot comes from the Maasai word Oloonong'ot, which means "mountains of many spurs" or "steep ridges". And it lives up to its name. It is such a sight to behold. So after many years of passing by it to get to Nairobi or going in the opposite direction, a friend finally managed to convince me, to go UP the mountain. Of Course, by this time I was a full-grown man who had in a way got used to the idea of the mountain, but not really got over the curiosity and mystique that came with it.

The Journey

As a group, we decided to go on a hike. I was finally going to climb what had been a mystery for the majority of my life. We left Nairobi, early morning, heading down towards what would end up being perhaps one of my most memorable trips. We had the customary stopover at the viewpoint on the way there so we were a little late to the gate of Mt.Longonot National Park, which is where the mountain is found. (This wasn’t a sarcastic statement.)

A few hellos and outfit checks, some briefs from the rangers, an introduction to the guides, and just like that we were off. I was excited but clearly NOT prepared. You see at the time, I hadn’t really read the mountaineering manual. Prepping and dressing right and all that jazz, was only for the movies. I was about to learn on the job, just how wrong I was. I was exhausted by the time we got to the foot of the actual mountain. They should NOT have put the mountain so far from the gate. I felt targeted.

The Ascent.

If it was any comfort, I wasn’t alone in my lack of hiking knowledge. A lot of people ran to the base of the mountain and could barely even start the ascent. I had some idea of how NOT to spend my actual climbing energy so I put that knowledge to some use.

As the inevitable chatty member of the slowest group, I actually had the time to savor the ascent. The sites of the entire landscape from the standpoint of the mountain as you get higher is just breathtaking. Obviously, the site of people giving up and returning to base gave me some kind of cruel triumph so that might have enhanced it a little bit. The climb seemed endless. It was exhausting. At the time, I had never really felt a hike so steep. In the early afternoon, we finally got to the rim. I was done. The guide at the back, who is typically there to make sure no one is left behind, allowed us a bit of rest then asked us what we wanted to do. Sit there until the other party made it round the rim or go round it as well. We barely had enough time to think when a few started the walk. We had to be on a schedule so we joined in.

The rim

The climb was nothing. THIS was the real deal. Not only is it a longer trip around the crater than up the mountain, but there is less ground to walk on and it’s ashy and unstable. On top of that, it also has a climb of its own to the highest point of the crater. At this point we all really just wanted to get it done. No more jokes, no more ‘positive vibes’.

Then we looked down onto the surrounding plains.

A breathtaking view of the landscape, with some of the animals beginning to come out in the evening sun, was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I did not know that it was possible for nature, without any boost, to look like a moving painting. The views of lake Naivasha and all that surrounded it was beyond anything I could have imagined. Our moment of awe was soon ruined by our guide telling us it was time to go.

The descent

For those who have hiked, you know how hard descending can be … when you came in the wrong shoes. As I had mentioned before, this was my first real hike and I was NOT prepared. Every step I took, was painful. My toes hurt and the insufficient grip made my descent less than comfortable because I felt like I was snowboarding half the time, but without a snowboard, and with aching feet. The only comfort that was offered was the fact that as it got later and cooler, more animals came out to graze and play under the beautiful backdrop of a gorgeous, almost unreal sunset. It was getting dark as we got back to base for a small, quiet party before heading back to the city, sharing stories of how much fun we just had while silently dealing with our exhaustion.

This was indeed an experience of a lifetime. A lesson full of beauty, wonder, exhaustion and friendship.

Oloonong'ot ... mountains of many spurs

Beautiful Maasai Woman Image: Alex Strachan