Crossing the Mt. Kenya massif

On Saturday morning, we will be picked up by John, the head of our tour organizer Keshi Tours, in Nairobi. He will drive us for about 4 hours to the Sirimon entrance gate of the Mt. Kenya National Park at 2440m. When we are about to strap on our backpacks, John intervenes, saying that the porters are here for that purpose. What we were not fully aware of is that alongside our guide Daniel, we will be accompanied for the three days of hiking by the cook Isaac and the porters Jan, Kevin, and Martin. So we set off with only light luggage (for us) for the 900 meters of elevation through dense forest to Old Moses Camp. There, we expect the first short night. Around 07:00, the ascent continues through a high valley to Shipton Camp at 4200 m, which, besides human guests, is home to schist and other rodents that we can observe sunbathing. After an even shorter night, the alarm goes off at 02:30, so at 03:00, under a starry full moon night, we tackle the ascent to Point Lenana at 4985 meters. There, at 06:35, we enjoy the sunrise and the view of Kilimanjaro; however, we only linger briefly, as it is unbelievably cold. The descent via Chogoria, though long with a 26 km footpath, is extremely varied in scenery. Upon arriving at the Meru Bandas, we enjoy the view of Mt. Kenya sitting in the warm grass and reminisce about the days by a campfire evening. In the evening, we also meet our driver David, who will accompany us in the coming days and will drive us to Samburu National Park tomorrow; you will learn more from there :).