In January, we organized an excursion to hike Mount Satima, the 3rd highest peak in Kenya at 4001 meters (13,126 ft). The highest peak in Kenya, and second highest in Africa, is Mt. Kenya. Nyeri Town, where we are living, is between the two. On the map, Mt. Satima is in the northern quarter of Aberdare National Park, the darker green area to the left. It's a trail walk from the parking area to the top, but most of the time you are walking above 12,000 ft and any time you have to go up, it's difficult to breathe.
We hired a driver with a 4-wheel drive van. Three teachers from the school and a friend of one came with us.
The National Parks are so big that they have multiple entrances. We entered at one of the more remote gates because it got us closer to the trailhead.
We were the only group at the gate but it took nearly 3 hours to get into the park. If you're not a Kenyan citizen, then you have to go through a web portal to pay your fee. Sometimes the portal works and often it doesn't. Our issue at this gate was that our bank wouldn't approve the transaction without a security code and we couldn't receive the text without a good WiFi connection.
The gate had a couple solar panels and a car battery for storing some of the electricity generated by the solar panels. Cell phones were charged from the car battery and could create hot spots. This wasn't enough for us to receive the text messages from our bank with a security code. The Kenyan Wildlife Service personnel at the gates are very strict about following the protocols. Eventually, our driver made a call and the contact gave the gate personnel permission to allow 43 Kenyans to enter the park, which is the equivalent to the cost for 2 non-citizens (Chris & KK) to enter. Once we got back to the house that night, we both received the security code texts on our phones...
The National Parks are surrounded by electric fences to prevent wildlife conflicts with neighboring farms and settlements.
We had a beautiful day and it wasn't hot at this elevation. An armed guard accompanied us just in case we encountered any wildlife. We saw signs in the trails but no animals. There is so much park, it's hard to imagine them spending much time where it's cooler and harder to breathe.
These trees reminded us of Truffula trees from Dr. Seuss' The Lorax (in the book, not the movie.) I believe they are
Dendrosenecio johnstonii, some kind of giant groundsel.
At the summit!
A view from the summit
Back at the car after the hike
It was a very fun day after the frustration at the gate.
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