Cherangani hills

The Cherangani hills were wonderful and I am so glad that our trip to Mt. Elgon was cancelled, allowing us to visit this hidden treasure of Kenya. Don't let the name fool you either. The Cherangani hills were not so much hills as they are mountains, soaring to heights of more than 3500 m. The views on offer here were nothing short of eye-popping, with jagged peaks, endless hills of rolling green, and quaint villages all in perfect measures. This was not some tourist trap that mzungu (a Swahili word for white people) invaded with their big 4x4's on weekends. This was the real Kenya, the one we had been searching for!

The people that made this little piece of paradise home only enhanced the experience. We have not met people so genuinely friendly and kind thus far on our trip. They were always happy to give us food or advice or point out shortcuts to the next village and they were equally happy to help us find the right trail again when we got hopelessly lost in the never ending maze of crop and livestock fields that these shortcuts always entailed. In return for their kindness we provided the locals with endless entertainment. They asked us countless questions about Canada, the world, and why two "rich" tourists would want to walk 15+ km a day through their isolated mountains. They sat and watched us from a distance as we bathed in the icy rivers or cooked meals on our little campstove. They followed us along the trails and laughed as we try to climb over cattle fences with our heavy bags. Not a fair trade really, but we had little else to offer them in our 25 kg packs.

Definite highlights included our visit to the Nike Marathon Training Camp in Kapsait to meet with the marathoners. These hills have long been a training ground for the world's best marathon runners, and it is easy to see why they would become world beaters in this environment. The mild climate (mid 20's), the altitude, and countless hills make it the perfect environment to train. The 4 hour drive out of the last valley, back to "civilization" in the back of a grain transport truck with about 50 of the local villagers also provided us with never a dull moment.

But before you go thinking that this was just a walk in the park I should warn you that this was a grueling 4 days of walking. We averaged 15 km a day over hilly terrain and numerous obstacles and the descent to the last village was the steepest hiking I have ever done. Two vertical kilometres needed to be negotiated in stifling 35+ C heat! My efforts were not aided by the nasty blisters that had been forming for days on my heels (remember those "great fitting" replacement boots I bought in Kitale?) and the sprained ankle I received midway down the mountain while climbing a cattle fence. But despite all this, our adventure here was one of the best parts of the trip so far. I hope the safari with my cousin Morgan will be half as good.