Mgahinga Gorilla N. P. - Mt. Muhavura - 4127M

I got up at 6.30am to have breakfast. I would be climbing Mt. Muhauvura and since it's the highest mountain in the park, it takes longer to climb, the average being 8 hours. But that's 8 hours from the base camp near the mountain. I still had to walk there, 5km away. I went to the park gate at 7am sharp to get my guide who was suppose to be waiting. He wasn't there and the guard at the gate knew nothing about it. He summoned another guy who wanted to bring me to the visitor's centre for climbing Mt. Sabinyo. I told him I was climbing Mt. Muhavura, not Sabinyo. He then told the guard at the gate to start walking me to the base camp. Although I didn't waste much time waiting, it was annoying because I arranged the guide to meet me at 7am with 2 different rangers in the park. They even wanted me to be there at 6am but I didn't want to start hiking in the dark. They told me 7am sharp then. We walked for 1.5 hours through cultivated farmland, which was sometimes hilly and very rocky with sharp volcanic stones. Along the way, my guide, Sampson, joined us. We reached the base camp and after paying I was ready to go. I was minimalist like I was on all the hikes, carrying only food, water, raincoat and camera. I was wearing a long pants and a long sleeve shirt with a short sleeve shirt over top and of course, my sunglasses and tilley hat.
We began the hike at 9am. There was me , Sampson and our armed guard who really looked like the main black actor from Blood Diamond and Gladiator, but he didn't speak English. The trail climbed steeply through former farmland for an hour. We reached the first resthut after 1.5 hours. After the hut we enter the virgin forest of Hagenia trees. Wild gorillas live here but are seldom seen. The trail is fairly easy with a lot of switchbacks and lots of shade. Once the forest ends we enter heath/erica shrub forest. There is no shade now. The clouds consume us and a light rain falls and the wind howls. It gets cold and I put my longsleeve back on but after a few minutes of wearing it under my raincoat, I get too warm. I do most of the hike in my t shirt, sometimes with my raincoat on. The trail gets steep and rocky. I notice Sampson is avoiding most of the switchbacks for the straight up the mountain route. I don't mind this, I feel strong and this will save time. The vegetation is all small shrubs which means great views when it's clear. I can see how high we are climbing and how far we have to go back down!
I reach the second resthut at 12.15pm. It's at an altitude of 3841M and is in a terrible location. It's in the open on an exposed ridge with strong winds ripping through it. The hut is made of small slivers of bamboo which doesn't stop any wind. Some rest hut! At the resthut are 2 other groups of climbers that started the hike 1.25 hours before I did but only reached the hut 8 minutes before I did. It felt good that I was able to catch up to them. One group was an Italian couple a little older than me. The climb and the windy rainy weather was too much for them and they went back down. I think they underestimated the mountain. The other group was a Canadian family, mom, dad and 3 teenage daughters, the youngest 12 years old. They were shivering trying to eat some food before continuing, as I was. I had to put back on my longsleeve and I was still cold. The views from the second hut were amazing though and just a taste of what was to come if it was clear on the summit. 2 levels spaces had been cleared near the hut for camping. Who the hell would want to camp here, I thought? It does have a great view but the wind and the rain not that condusive to enjoyable camping.
After the second hut, senecios and lobelias dominated the landscape. The trail became steep and there were wood ladders to cross. I kept looking back at the view and then up at the mountain, which had some vertical cliff walls the trail cleverly wound inbetween. I had to take very short breaks constantly to catch my breath. Though 4000M isn't super high when compared to the Himalayas, my lungs and muscles ached for more oxygen. The Canadian family and I left the second rest hut at the same time but I had left them far behind me on the trail. 40 minutes later I reached the summit, 4127M above sea level. The summit had a small, shallow, clear crater lake which was surrounded by spongy grass that felt like I was walking on a springy mattress. The shape of Muhavura from the base looks like a perfect cone terminating in a small summit but I was surprised at how small the summit actually was. I could walk around the whole crater lake in a few minutes. The clouds had mostly cleared and there views 360 degrees. The cultivated fields and old volcanic plugs of the Kisoro region in Uganda, 2 lakes and more cultivated land in Rwanda and then more volcanoes of the Virunga range extending into DR Congo. I took photos from all sides. It was breathtaking.
The Virunga volcanoes range contain 8 volcanoes, 2 of them still active. 3 of these volcanoes lie entirely within DR Congo, 2 of them Rwanda/DR Congo, 2 of them Uganda/Rwanda and one, the summit of Mt. Sabinyo is in Rwanda,Uganda and DR Congo. From the summit, when it was clear, I could see 6 volcanoes- Muhavura (4127M), Gahinga (3474M), Sabinyo (3669M), Karisimbi (4507M), Bisoke (3711M) and Mikeno (4437M).
I had been midly obsessed with seeing and climbing these since I had read about mountain gorillas and a book called Year of the Gorilla by George Schaller. He was the first person to study mountain gorillas in DR Congo in 1960. Half the population of the world's mountain gorillas, about 350, live on the slopes of the dormant volcanoes. The other half live in Bwindi Impenetrable national park in Uganda, where I tracked them. They used to be a continuous area but have been separated by agriculture for 500 years. George Schaller was the second person to have climbed all 8 Virunga peaks. He inspired me, that's something I would like to do. Though not all on this trip, but I could get a good start. George Schaller, along with some other wildlife biologists ( Alan Rabinowitz, J. Micheal Fay, Dian Fossey, Jane Goodall, to name a few) is a hero of mine. He was the first person to study the gorillas but also pandas in China and tigers in India. He is often quoted as the godfather of field biology by more recent researchers. I had read 4 books by Alan Rabinowitz and he kept mentioning George Schaller as him mentor and I knew I had to read more about him.

Now back to the mountain. I stayed on the summit for half an hour. It was surprisingly calm and not cold. I had taken some good photos but the clouds had rolled in. I tried to wait for them to clear again but it was getting late. Sampson was reminding me that we should get going because we still have a long hike ahead of us. He was right but this was a once in a lifetime thing for me ( well, ok, maybe not, I could come back ) and I thought another few minutes wouldn't hurt but the clouds refused to part and I reluctantly began the trek down at 1.45pm. I kept stopping to photo the amazing views. I passed the Canadian family just below the summit. I gave them words of encouragement as they were just minutes from the top. I took a short rest at the second hut and kept on. Going down was fast and easy, no struggling for air. The trail was muddy near the top but not as wet as Gahinga and my feet stayed mostly dry. We keep a good pace descending and I hardly break to rest. Sampson says I'm strong. We reach the base camp at 5pm, exactly 8 hours after leaving. I still feel good and my legs aren't too sore but I still have another hour and a half to walk. I don't rest long at the base camp. I just want to get back to the community camp before dark. I arrive there at 6.30. I walked 10km there and back to the basecamp and then another 12km up and down the mountain. The weather on the descent was fabulous, blue sky and lots of sun.
My only regret for the hike was that I didn't bring enough food. I was starving by the time I got back to camp. I asked Charles to whip up whatever he could in a short time. In 30 minutes I was eating delicious mashed potatoes covered in peanut sauce. I took a cold shower and wrote in my journal by the fire. 2 down, 1 to go.



Rest Day
I sleep in till 9.30. I ate toast and hardboiled eggs with coffee for breakfast. I hardly ever eat hardboiled eggs but I've been eating a ton of them here. They pack and keep well for lunch on the mountains and are a great source of compact protein. Plus they are cheaper and healthier than the salt and oil saturated omelettes on offer. For the price of a 2 egg omelette, I can get 6 hardboiled eggs. I relax for the day. It's another nice and sunny day. Around 5pm, 2 Brits arrive. Tom and Rich, 23 years old. They are on a whirlwind 2 week trip. That was all they could get off from work. They came to climb Mt. Sabinyo, which I had planned to climb also the next day. It was nice to finally have some company around the campsite.