Stacey's greatest expedition ever
A week before I flew back to Singapore for the December holidays, I received a rather spontaneous invitation by the Thai Embassy boys to follow them on a trip to Mount Kenya. I hesistantly agreed to go along on this 4 day 3 night trip, because climbing Mount Kenya has always been one of my "die die must-go, must-do" list in Africa. A day before the actual climb, it was a flurry to gather all the equipment and gears that was needed such as good waterproof hiking boots, thick ski jackets, gloves, scarves, backpacks, altitude sickness pills, sleeping bags etc. We had to scour so many places and borrow from other people, but i guess we pulled it off and got all the necessary stuff we needed.
Started off Saturday bright and early to meet the rest of the group at the Thai Embassy. It was going to be 5 of us (3 guys, 2 ladies - 1 lady was 50 years old!). We drove 3 hours to the base, met up with our guide and started our walk from an altitude of 2400m. For a group of 5, we were going to be accompanied with 8 porters (who will carry all our barangs), 1 cook (who will prepare fantastic meals for us as we will come to learn in the next few days) and 2 guides (1 who was pure annoying and one who was basically absent for most of the time). Was a relatively hot day and after just 3.5 hours of walking, we reached our first base, the Met station which was now at 3000m. Everyone's energy was quite high, it was an easy day, we settled in a quaint cabin lodge, eating our dinner of Beef with Mash potatoes while the outside temperature hovered around 10 degrees. Some pictures of the lodge can be seen below:
Sunday morning, we started our 7 hours trek! The terrain changed from a tropical jungle feeling (imagine the treetop walk in Singapore landscape) to one that was open, vast and filled with tall, brown grass and huge plants and flowers. The group kept things light by taking lotsa pictures, jumping around, horsing around and playing with the wildlife we came across. Unfortunately, this wildlife was limited to chameleons (Haha I can imagine all my aunties reading this shuddering at the picture below, because this family has an inborn fear of anything lizard-like).
Walking for 7 hours straight was not easy and everyone was getting tired but imagine our excitement when we were trekking and starting to get bored cause we were seeing the same landscape over and over and out of the blue... The fog lifts, and we see the peak! The sight of these snow capped mountains right in front of us just gave us that burst of energy to make it to our second base by mid-day! You can see below the photos we took with the majestic view of the peak as we were walking towards the camp! It's so beautiful! 
Had an early dinner (pasta and fish) because our wake up call, believe it or not, was 1am. We needed to start ascending before sun-rise so we can reach the summit before 6am. The most torturous day of my life had just begun. Within an hour, our landscape changed from grass, to rocks to ice. Moving around with the just the help of moonlight was an unbelievable experience. At this altitude of 4200m, we were struggling to breathe, to move and the cold was taking a toll on us. Where we used to take a break once every hour, we find ourselves crawling at a snail pace and taking a break every 15 minutes. At least everyone came prepared with walking sticks, gloves, scarves, caps and thick jackets to fight the icy wind. I thought I was pretty fit, going to the gym and all regularly but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of this climb. After 6 hours, we literally started to MOUNTAIN CLIMB, with the help of wire cables, we were pulling ourselves up rocks, climbing and scaling towards the peak. PURE EXHAUSTION, But completely worth it. When we took out last step to reach the top and we saw the flag waving high, that feeling of accomplishment and pride and joy is simply immeasurable.
Walking for 7 hours straight was not easy and everyone was getting tired but imagine our excitement when we were trekking and starting to get bored cause we were seeing the same landscape over and over and out of the blue... The fog lifts, and we see the peak! The sight of these snow capped mountains right in front of us just gave us that burst of energy to make it to our second base by mid-day! You can see below the photos we took with the majestic view of the peak as we were walking towards the camp! It's so beautiful! Had an early dinner (pasta and fish) because our wake up call, believe it or not, was 1am. We needed to start ascending before sun-rise so we can reach the summit before 6am. The most torturous day of my life had just begun. Within an hour, our landscape changed from grass, to rocks to ice. Moving around with the just the help of moonlight was an unbelievable experience. At this altitude of 4200m, we were struggling to breathe, to move and the cold was taking a toll on us. Where we used to take a break once every hour, we find ourselves crawling at a snail pace and taking a break every 15 minutes. At least everyone came prepared with walking sticks, gloves, scarves, caps and thick jackets to fight the icy wind. I thought I was pretty fit, going to the gym and all regularly but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of this climb. After 6 hours, we literally started to MOUNTAIN CLIMB, with the help of wire cables, we were pulling ourselves up rocks, climbing and scaling towards the peak. PURE EXHAUSTION, But completely worth it. When we took out last step to reach the top and we saw the flag waving high, that feeling of accomplishment and pride and joy is simply immeasurable.
The climb down was ardous to say the least, that Monday itself, we were walking for close to 17 hours in total and at the end of the day, when we reached the 3rd camp at 8pm that night, I was completely lifeless and drained. Only the next day, was some semblance of energy restored back to me. I have never known exhaustion to that state before and looking back, I really do appreciate this experience because now I know I can endure much more than I thought.
Throughout this climb, unknowing to us in the beginning, each day was going to be more and more difficult and our expectations on just how physically strenuous it was going to be was superceded in every way. Just as we thought we could no longer take it, beyond the point of exhaustion, we were always pushed to continue on and find more strength to take another step further. When we started out this journey, we were told that climbing mount kenya is more about being mentally strong than physcially fit, because it boils down to determination and focus. And after climbing, I realize how true that statement was because it was soo easy to give up during the climb and if we as a group did not stick together and encouraged each other, if we did not keep sight of our end goal, we could not have reached the top and made it back successfully. I wouldnt say this was a life changing experience but it certainly pushed me to my limits and made me see what I could achieve with my own strength.
My expedition to Mount Kenya was enlightening and meanginful. I didnt just come back with awesome pictures and a boast to say i've climbed a mountain. I think, I grew a little more and found a little more inner strength, and that i'm sure you all will agree is infinitely more powerful and useful to this little girl from Singapore.