Tempting Rwenzori

A fat wallet and physical fitness demanded of a climber are a couple of reasons many people have not been able to behold Margherita – the highest pick of Mount Rwenzori, standing at over 16,000ft above sea level. But there is hope that you can still witness the awe of this majestic peak by braving a three hour trek to the top of Kyangembe / Ruboni Hill. Atop this hill, 7.200ft above sea level, in the south West of MtRwenzori, one can get a close view of Margherita and its snow white glaciers.

Courtesy of a farm trip organized by Uganda Tourism Board under the inclusive Markets in Tourism-Projects, supported by  United Nations World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Development Programme, I took the hike on a chilly Friday morning. With me was John Bell, an award winning travel journalist, two guides – Felex and Enock – and two East African Travel journalists, Rafsanjan and Tentena.

My alarm rudely wake me up on an icy morning at Ruboni community Camp at the foot of Mt. Rwenzori. My bones felt frozen. Thank God for the hot coffee and stove with burning coal at the restaurant – our sweaters would not have done the magic alone. As if to make light of chilled bones, the skies released a heavy 30 min shower. But to our delight, the rain seamed to wash away the chill of the morning, giving way to warmer weather.

By 10: 00 am, the once misty air that had clogged the lodge covered things.  We could now see up to three kilometers ahead. Armed with our trekking sticks and a positive attitude, we hit the road. The first 15 minutes was a walking through Rubona village, on a curvy earth road meandering amid sparsely populated eucalyptus trees and farmland. Flowing in narrow trenches was crystal clear water from the steep slopes of the adjacent dwarf mountains and their rolling ranges.

Off the road, a few steps from the soft white sand led us to our first challenge – two temporary wooden bridges downstream River Mubuku which gets its water from glaciers on Mt.Rwenzori. Mubuku violently lashed against the boulder and rocks, splashing its ice waters onto us. With the memory of the 20 people who lost their lives in 2012 when the river burst its banks, this part of the excursion was a little scary – one could not help but wonder about the horror of being whirled away like a leaf in a tornador. The trick was to look everywhere else but the river.

In a move to ensure that the hike would not be strenuous, the slowest members of the team set the pace from the rocky foot of the hill and we followed. The first 30 minutes were incredible and promising. There were well defined tracks to follow along the mud and wattle houses and terraced banana gardens on the slopes. The higher we trekked, the hotter we got. Our inner garments getting soaked with sweat. We started shedding off layers of clothing. Every step higher gave us better access to phone and internet network, a luxury we did not have earlier. Rafsanjan was able to post our progress on social media in real time.

But, best of all, we were being treated to better panoramic views of the villages below. The scenary was dramatic. We watched the river dash southwards to pristine swamps before ending up in lake George, which we could also see from about 4,000ft above sea level.

I was on top of the world – quite literally. It was exhilarating to share the world atop this hill with the extravagance and beauty of the lotus flowers and bright orange African tulip trees along the track. Then came the tough part of the climb. The tracks were super steep, muddy slippery. Our thighs were on fire, we were blinded by sweat. At some points, we had to some get down on all fours – I kissed the mud a few times in the process. But we could now see a little bit of Rwenzori’s peak, through still quite blurry.

Tiredness and despair began to set in. By the time we reached the boulders of Kanyambwara, the first official stopover of three, many of us felt we could not go on. Kanyambwarara is 5,919ft above sea level. “Will we really make it?” was a question evident on many faces.

The worst part was that we had not carried any drinking water to rehydrate us. Nonetheless, we pushed on. By noon, we were at about 6,000ft above sea level – we had 1000ft to go to watch our dream of seeing Margherita come to life. Afraid of biting more than we could chew, we made a U-turn back to our starting point.

By Bruce Amp