Mount Kenya - Day 3

January 27, 2016 - Lake Ellis (3450m)

Had a relaxing breakfast laid out on a table cloth in the sunshine. We had some sort of strange porridge which was more like a soup, followed by cheese omellete and french toast. Sammy, Kat, and I left camp as the porters were sorting the most unlikely backcountry food items into equally weighted piles. I am happy to report that we have two giant cabbages, a few pineapples, and even a a papaya to be carried up the mountain. The walk to Lake Ellis took just over an hour. We had to first descend 100m before the gradual climb. Kat and Sammy hiked pole-pole, (slowly-slowly) while I moved at my comfort pace, scooting ahead until I found a nice shady spot to sit and wait. At the Lake Ellis campsite we found a picnic shelter which was nice to sit at and get out of the beating sunshine. We set about putting up the tents, and as we finished the rest of the crew arrived. Since it was still early, we decided to climb Mugi Hill before lunch. Sammy led the way for the first while, and when we got to the base, I went ahead to find the trail which took us to the summit. The climb was a fairly easy walk and brought us up to 3510m of elevation, which is the highest peak that I have climbed to date. After a few photos we started the descent along the same route as a light rain began to settle in. By the time we were back to camp, lunch was just being served and we were thankful for the roof over the picnic table which now acted as a rain shelter. It started raining harder, so the rest of the afternoon was spent relaxing in the tent.

A sampling of our food for the next seven days. Not sure how we could get this in a bear barrel.