Mackinders CampMackinders Camp
We spent the night after our summit attempt at Mackinders Camp. There was large hut there called the Taleki Lodge, but it is was virtually empty. Besides our group, there was an interesting German couple and their porters.
The German couple were part owners of a motorhome
that was stored in Nairobi. Every year they fly down here and
drive their motorhome to the many corners of East Africa, and
occasionally to the southern countries.
The weather the next morning was clear, but by afternoon it was raining. This was a pattern that we observed around the mountain for the next two days. Had we stayed at the Austrian Hut, a summit would have been unlikely even with lighter packs and better acclimitization.
Mount Kenya's twin peaks of Batian
and Nelion from Mackinders Camp. The Diamond Coulior, a famous
ice climb, connects the upper snowfield to the Diamond Glacier
below.
Photo on left: From left to right, Batian,
Nelion, Point John, and Point Lenana above the Lewis Glacier.
Mackinders to Met Station to Nanyuki
After a night at Mackinders
Camp, we headed down to Met Station where we hoped that our guide Daniel
could contact Carr Rufas and arrange a ride to Nairobi.
After waiting around all afternoon at Met Station with no word from Rufas, Daniel made a deal with a couple park guys to give us a ride to one the nearby towns.
We wound up staying at a nice hotel in the town of
Nanyuki. Well, maybe not nice by typical American standards, but
we were happy with it. And it cost the three of us a total of $8
for a double room and a single room.
We were finally able to relax and sample the local
beer, Tusker. Based on advertising we had seen along the
highways, there appeared to be a beer war going on between Tusker, a
Kenyan beer, and Castle, a South African beer. Tusker's slogan
was "My Country, My Beer."
The next day, Rufas showed up and gave us a ride to Nairobi.
