 |
| Lake Jipe to the east. |
Since our last trip was rained out, we were hoping this trip would bring some sunshine (Part I,Part II,Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI, Part VIII ). While it wasn't exactly a sunny, it was a cool and overcast which was quite comfortable for a hike.
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we were up to the trail head at 10:30am. We wanted to hike to the peak and perhaps explore a bit on the way down. One of the issues we have when going to Kindoroko Forest is that we typically have such a good time birding, which slows the pace, that when we "explore" we often feel like we are rushing. Forest birding is notoriously difficult and both Ana and I love to just take some moments and listen to the forest. I love to just go at a leisurely pace, poke around and check out cool plants.
We ended up doing the hour to hour and a half hike to the top in threehours. We took our time birding and clearing the overgrown path. There are three sections toward the peak that have some serious bramble with a variety of prickly vines and brush. We ended up having to clear these sections so we could crawl through them which was precarious to say the least. Sometimes the stray pieces fly off the machete and scrape my face and hands. There are other places where the trail is blocked by larger and less spiny liana vines which are less of a hazard but more difficult to remove.
The day was quite enjoyable with a bit of sun on the peak and rather cool temperatures throughout. It was probably the coldest we've ever experienced there. We would work up a sweat while climbing but after about 10 minutes of resting we'd start to feel chilly and have to move again. The forest was dry (relative to its normally damp state) though the moss and lichen were in full form.
We still have a lot of Kindoroko Forest to explore and we're hoping to maybe approach it from another side. However, there always seems to be more to explore...
After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we were up to the trail head at 10:30am. We wanted to hike to the peak and perhaps explore a bit on the way down. One of the issues we have when going to Kindoroko Forest is that we typically have such a good time birding, which slows the pace, that when we "explore" we often feel like we are rushing. Forest birding is notoriously difficult and both Ana and I love to just take some moments and listen to the forest. I love to just go at a leisurely pace, poke around and check out cool plants.
We ended up doing the hour to hour and a half hike to the top in threehours. We took our time birding and clearing the overgrown path. There are three sections toward the peak that have some serious bramble with a variety of prickly vines and brush. We ended up having to clear these sections so we could crawl through them which was precarious to say the least. Sometimes the stray pieces fly off the machete and scrape my face and hands. There are other places where the trail is blocked by larger and less spiny liana vines which are less of a hazard but more difficult to remove.
The day was quite enjoyable with a bit of sun on the peak and rather cool temperatures throughout. It was probably the coldest we've ever experienced there. We would work up a sweat while climbing but after about 10 minutes of resting we'd start to feel chilly and have to move again. The forest was dry (relative to its normally damp state) though the moss and lichen were in full form.
We still have a lot of Kindoroko Forest to explore and we're hoping to maybe approach it from another side. However, there always seems to be more to explore...
 |
| Walking on the trail. |
 |
| View towards the west, though the light was bad. |
 |
| Wall of vines covered in moss. |
 |
| View from the peak looking north. |
 |
| A view from the peak. |
 |
| Tons of strangler figs dropping their vines. |
 |
| Ana tangles through one of my favorite sections. |
 |
| The air was not very clear giving the mountains a blue tint. |
 |
| Water retrieval point. |
 |
| View of the peak (looking west) from below. |
No comments:
Post a Comment