My First Day Off - Hiking Mount Kenya!

After some last-minute chameleon identification and image uploading, I'm finally ready to share my experience this past week on Mount Kenya with you all!

June 1st was Madaraka Day in Kenya, which is a national holiday that commemorates Kenya gaining freedom/self-rule from the British in 1963 (this is separate from Jamhuri Day, which is in December and represents when Kenya officially gained independence and became a Republic - this happened about 6 months after they gained internal self-rule). Because it was a national holiday, I took a break from research and went on a hike to Mount Kenya with Dino! Mount Kenya was formed by a now extinct volcano (thankfully) and has the tallest peak in Kenya - reaching 5,199 meters. It has the second highest peak in all of Africa, only behind Kilimanjaro. You need to be a skilled rock climber to climb to the top of the mountain, so although we did not do that, it was really fun to hike up the rocky mountainside that was once an active volcano and now supports all kinds of life.

The drive up to the mountain was beautiful. On the way, I learned a lot about local agricultural, pastoral, and water distribution practices as we drove through the neighboring communities. Dino even showed me some of the farms that he has worked with to help them practice more sustainable agricultural practices such as drip irrigation and planting native species among the crops to promote pollination. 

Once at the base of the mountain (and after a whole ordeal where we had to do some convincing to let Dino take us up instead of a guide) we started driving through the different zones that makeup the ecology of the mountain. Mount Kenya is divided into 7 different zones (primarily due to the difference in altitude) that each support different flora and fauna. Each zone, from forests to afro-alpine zones, has distinctly different characteristics, and it was a bit surreal to drive through such different habitats within just minutes of each other. We also crossed the equator on the way up, moving from the northern to the southern hemisphere. Contrary to what they tell you, I felt like an entirely new person once I had passed into the southern hemisphere. I definitely got smarter and far more handsome (if you can even believe that's possible).

Before we officially started our ascent, we picked up a couple of travelers who were trying to avoid paying for a guide as well. They ended up being two assistant professors at the University of Amsterdam, where they study climate change disasters. This made for some interesting conversation about their work and its intersection with the ecology of eastern Africa. The four of us spent the whole day together and they were a great addition to the trip! For those of you who know Dino, you know that this also means that they got to take advantage of the walking encyclopedia that he is. While driving up the mountain to Old Moses camp (where we would park our car to start the hike), Dino spotted a von Hönel's chameleon on the road (pictured in Image 1) and stopped the car to run back and save it from getting run over. I still have no idea how he saw the chameleon, which was incredibly camouflaged with the road. From just the time he picked it up to when we had caught up with him, the chameleon had already begun to change its patters to adjust to its new environment. 

Image 1a: Me holding the von Hönel's chameleon

Image 1b: von Hönel's chameleon

After putting our new friend in a tree, we continued up to Old Moses to park the car. From there, we started our hike up Mount Kenya until we reached a weather station, which I learned is constantly sending out atmospheric data to different research institutions (Image 2). On the way up, Dino showed us many different species that are only found on the mountain, such as giant lobelias (Image 3), Jackson's francolin, and two different chameleon species (both the von Hönel's chameleon and the Mount Kenya hornless chameleon found in Image 4). The Mount Kenya hornless chameleon took camouflage to the next level, and was "waving" in the wind to give itself an even more convincing appearance of a leaf. Even though we could all tell the difference, you can't help but applaud the dedication and effort on the part of our new friend. Once we reached the weather station, we had climbed up to nearly 4,000 meters (or 12,000 feet). From there, we had an incredible view of Mount Kenya's two main peaks, Batian and Nelion (Image 5). According to Dino, the peaks are rarely this visible, so I felt very lucky to get to see them so clearly, even though the effects of climate change has left little snow on them. 

Image 2: Mount Kenya GAW station

Image 3: Giant lobelia 

Image 4: Mount Kenya hornless chameleon

Image 5: Our view of Mount Kenya's two largest peaks: Batian and Nelion

After our hike, we drove back down and explored a portion of the old growth forest found at a lower altitude on the side of the mountain (Image 6). It is immensely important to conserve these forests, as they play critical roles in maintaining natural cycles and providing ecosystem services. Their conservation is also imperative because if damaged, it takes hundreds and hundreds of years for them to regrow. As you can see in the image, these forests look a bit different because of the spacing between the trees. The trees have grown for hundreds of years, so even though they are spaced farther apart than the forests many of us are used to exploring, they have extensive canopies that cover the forest with shade. While exploring the forest, we saw tons of wildlife, but two of my favorites were the greenbul and Hartlaub's turaco (both bird species that are found in the area). After spending some time in the forest, we left the park and briefly stopped to observe a troop of baboons that were hanging out on the side of the road. In Image 7, you can see one of the young baboons hitching a ride on its mother's back. 

Image 6: Old growth forest on Mount Kenya

Image 7: Young baboon riding on its mother's back

Once we said goodbye to the baboons, we all left the park and returned to Cape Chestnut for a late lunch. Once again, Cape Chestnut provided one of the best meals I've had in a long time. Something that has struck me about my time here in Kenya so far is how fresh all the food is. It makes it hard to imagine returning to the global capital of processed foods when this is all over (and not all American restaurants have 5-10 dogs present at all times to keep you company, which is a major downside to returning to the states). Shortly after our meal, we dropped the Amsterdam professors off in Nanyuki where they were staying and started our journey back to Mpala. As usual, the drive back to Mpala was incredible, and as the sun was setting, we saw jackals and a giraffe eating some dinner off of an acacia tree (Image 8). 

Image 8: Reticulated giraffe feeding on an acacia tree

Overall, I had an amazing day hiking Mount Kenya with Dino (Image 9) and our two new Dutch friends. It was the perfect way to spend a day off, but I'm also excited to get back to work. In the couple of days I'll finish up my time working on the Vulturine guineafowl project, and transition into helping with the survey of vascular plants on the Mpala ForestGEO plot. 

Image 9: Dino and me on the side of Mount Kenya (with the peaks in the background)

Until then!

Charlie