The Marathon Mountain

Mount Elgon is the remnant of a massive volcano that was active 15 million years ago, and it has the largest base of any solitary mountain in the world. Some researchers say that it used to be the tallest mountain in Africa, but, as the oldest mountain in Africa, the 15 million years of weathering and erosion have reduced its height significantly. Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya are relatively young in comparison (Mt. Kenya is 3 million years old and Mt. Kilimanjaro is just a million years); thus, they have had less time for weathering to reduce their height. Mt. Elgon also has one of the largest calderas in the world, which is a valley created by the collapse of land after a volcanic eruption (the empty space left inside of the mountain from the ejected lava causes the collapse). In addition, Mt. Elgon features hot springs at 14,000 feet, numerous massive caves, and a host of wildlife and rare African plant species (including enormous, ancient trees).

For these reasons, my fellow teacher, Kennedy, and I decided to climb this unusual mountain.

The Uganda/Kenya border goes right through the middle of the Mt. Elgon National Park. This means about half of the peaks are on the Kenya side, and half of the other peaks are on the Uganda side.

Here is our climb in pictures:

Kennedy at one of the ancient, massive trees close to the base of the mountain. The trees get smaller as you go up.

After two days of hiking (about 35 kilometers) we finally see our first view of our final peak!

Our peak is getting closer!

Kennedy on break before the final push.

Looking back on our trekking. The picture makes it look less steep than it really is...

One of the creeks fed by the hot springs flowing from the top of the mountain.

A look from the final ascent.

The very top of the peak. It might not look like it, but there is no way that we could have climbed to the top without equipment. The guy with me is our "porter."

A look into Uganda--also, the valley is part of the Caldera

Between these guys and the peak off in the distance is the Caldera.

Relaxing at the top

Endebess Cliff - a cliff we saw on our way down the mountain

Another view of Endebess Cliff

A giraffe close to the base of the mountain. We saw a lot of animals, but none this close! All the others ran away as soon as they saw us.

At the end of the trip, Kennedy and I both agreed that we had a terrific time, even if hiking 80 kilometers with over 50 pounds on our back made the trekking arduous (and made our legs incredibly sore).

My Reason For Not Writing

Starting in January, I had planned to write a blog every two weeks, but I have already failed!

Why? There's not a moment to spare. In case you are curious, here is my schedule for a typical day:

5 AM - Wake up. Then, stumble around for 5 minutes in an early morning haze putting on my shoes and my long pants (which is my protection from mosquitoes).

5:05 - 5:55 - Drink up some home brewed Kenyan coffee in an old fashioned gas stove espresso maker (which was a recent Christmas present from my brother Erik) and eat a homemade cereal made with Kenyan ingredients: bananas, raisins, peanuts, fresh whole milk, and something called terrero which is like miniature oats without glueten (it is called Armanath in English).

6:00 - 6:45 - Mass with the boys at the nearby boys' boarding school.

7:00 - 8:00 - Off to school! The girls come at 7 AM to start the day off right with an invigorating mathematics lesson with Mr. Rathke. The girls have a deathly fear of mathematics, but at 7 o'clock for some reason, the freshness of the early morning seems to allay this fear. So, we start every morning with a heavy dose of mathematics. We are currently doing problems that take up an entire half page to solve--problems better left for those in college. In fact, many of the problems are better left for no one. We are currently using logarithm tables to solve complicated mathematical expressions. However, ever since the invention of calculators, logartihm tables have been rendered completely unnecessary (those Americans older than 50 might remember using logarithm tables when they were in high school).

8:00 - 4:00 - Teaching! The Kenyan system is much nicer on teachers than the system in the United States. I usually have 5 to 6 lessons a day (each 40 minutes long), which gives me ample time for planning and grading, so it is not too stressful (although our day is technically longer than in the U.S.). For my students, it seems like it is going quite well. I just gave them an English  exam, and they did extraordinary compared to their first exam in August. I remember the first exam when 75% of the reading comprehension and poetry questions were left completely blank (all my questions are open-ended). Their exam essays were also an unorganized jumble. Now, the girls are putting some effort into it! I don't think it is that I have really taught them that much, I think it is just that they are starting to really try. All the question spaces are being filled up, and they are putting some thought into their responses. This perhaps is why the class average has gone from the 30's to the 60's.

4:00 - 5:30 - Athletics with the girls! I was just asked to start a track team, and we started out today. It was a little bit of a mess... I opened up registration to all the girls, and about a third of all the students in the school showed up to practice today--meaning I had to organize 60 girls on a field that is shared with an elementary school that has 200 children prone to screaming and running around chaotically (the primary school teachers leave by like 3:00, meaning there are 200 kids completely free of their teachers' whipping cane--and they utilize such freedom). However, the girls still seemed to have fun, and I managed to get an idea of the girls that will be competitive for our track meets coming up.

5:30 - 8:00 - After school, I usually head to the track at the Boys' boarding school next door (our girls aren't allowed to use it) to run 5 miles or so. Then, I either finish up writing my lesson plans or I read (or both). This year, I have read the Count of Monte Cristo, the Fountainhead and Freakonomics--I recommend all three!

8:00-8:20 - Dinner with the priests and brothers--the food is home-cooked by a couple of girls that are from the countryside. It's always delicious!

8:30 - I am so utterly exhausted that I lay down in my bed and fall asleep as soon as I close my eyes.

On Saturdays, I teach and then do some chores (like washing clothes, cleaning my room, or organizing things for the next week).

Sunday is my day of rest. The past three Sundays have been so beautifully restful that I decided that it would be a shame to break such a reverie by getting on my computer and writing a blog--hence the reason why I haven't written recently.

We have a midterm break coming up and my plan is to hike through the tropical Kakamega Forest and trek up the second tallest mountain of Kenya known as Mt. Elgon. This trip will feature splunking in elephant infested caves (they come to lick the salt from the walls), hot springs at 13,000 feet, another 14,000 + foot peak, and hiking in a forest densely populated by animals. We will be camping this time instead of using lodges! I will travel with one of my fellow teachers--he doesn't know what he is getting himself into.