mt Cameroon sits at approximately 4,095 meters above sea level as the second highest peak in all of africa and the highest peak in west africa. she's an active Volcano, erupting 7 times in the last one hundred years. when the eruption of 1999 occured, geologists predicted that it would be another 10 years before another eruption could take place... then came the eruption of 2000, only 9 years ago! so much for prediction nature!

that morning of oct 13th we overslept just a bit, our alarm malfunctioned...OF COURSE! Helen helped us out by making us some kwacoco (a mush concoction of dried fish, prawns, vegetable, cocoyam, and various spices wrapped with a leaf into a tight, compact roll of goodness). we downed one roll in the back of a taxi, giddy and nervous as we watched the mountain looming above us on our way to meet our guides and porters. i was assuming the lack of activity since august was sure to raise it's ugly head in the next three days...and the "khata" left residing in my lungs was undoubtedly going to take it's toll on me as well....

as we gathered our supplies together, i was a bit shamed by the comparison of my bag and the porters. they would be carrying most of our food/water/shelter supplies and we (shaye and i) would carry only what we needed for the time being: spare clothes, socks, shoes, chinchin and about 2.5 liters of water....and 2 hiking poles.

we, the five of us and our mass of supplies, piled into a taxi and were transported to the end of a paved road where one building existed with little else. a sprinter was repeatedly tackling a small incline nearby as we gave our official introductions to one another.

hans: guide. experienced guide of 123 official tours up mt cameroon and numerous undocumented others. (he didn't tell us this directly, but we realized it later.)

mr. simon: "porter. not just for two days, but many years before."

edward: porter. guide on occasion in other locations, and guide-in-training/porter today.

at approximately 815am at 1010m above sea level, we started out steadily up a small path barely visible along the edge of the building. we stopped maybe five feet up to discuss a plant, it's purpose, and it's latin name.

really? is this the pace?

turns out that mr. hans has a vast amount of information stored in his head and he shares it humbly, generously, and often. the slow pace was difficult in the beginning, but mr hans repeatedly laid out that there was "no need to be sporty"....there was a mountain to discover.

we hiked initially through the Upper Farms of Buea where we saw the Lady of the Mountain (winner of many of the past Mountain Races)...she coasted away to the valley with ease i'll never know...
...past the prison and prison farms where prisoners waved their hands through the bars and hissed at us romantically...
...through the anthropic forest...which contained plaintain and banana trees, and volcanic bombs (giant boulders that had been thrown from past eruptions)...
...into the secondary forest...with more crops of cocoyam and other plantations...
...into the primary forest...with no human intervention and only a small path to lead us through the vibrant green of an african jungle...the tropical mountain rainforest.
...it was too exciting to feel any type of fatigue. besides mr. hans was an excellent guide and knew when we needed a rest, a swig of water, and a taste of chin chin and groundnuts.

i'll never be able to repeat the names of the places mr. hans brought us...nor the names of every plant and animal and sound he directed our attention to...not just the common names, but the latin names as well...

we stopped at a spring and Hut 1 around noon. i'll name the spring 'Butterfly Springs' because sadly my memory is that of my mother's. we devoured our delicious kocoyam and wrote our names with ash on the underside of compound's roof. there was a small shower of rain, which hans considered a blessing....and onward we go....
it wasn't long til we were on the brink of a steeply sloped savannah. apparently hunters and new trainers didn't appreciate the grasses so they set fire to them. not long ago shaye and i had seen fire on the mountain from our little home, so seeing the damage was quite interesting.

at 2000 meters, mr. hans and mr. simon performed a small dance and song to "please the mountain" in response to our foreign presence here. i thought they were gathering fern leaves in case of necessary relief, but found it was for quite a different event. they handed them to shaye and i and requested that we sway back and forth in rhythm to mr. simon's claps and mr. hans chants...so we danced, in hopes to honor the mountain...and continue to have such a safe journey.

as we hiked we watched the landscape miraculously transform. the jungle disappeared, the grasslands wore slightly thinner. we met the 'magic tree' that fades in and out of sight as you climb.....we climbed til it seemed we were level with the clouds....til humanity was barely visible below us...and heaven seemed only a step away... we climbed til we reached new plant species and an even steeper slope....we climbed off course a bit just to view a volcanic vent... we climbed til we reached Hut 2 around 5 in the afternoon....and this is where we stopped for day 1 of our adventure.

mr. hans brought shaye and i to check out a huge cavern with red soil at the base and ferns at the entrance. in the US they would've built stairs and hand rails, but here we lowered ourselves carefully step by step, rock by rock into the dark abyss. it was a dream.

and after that shaye and i roamed about like irresponsible children, posing on rocks and exploring the terrain like true adventurers, while mr simon chopped the firewood and edward and mr. hans prepared our beds. we laid a sleeping mat next to the fire and dozed while edward cooked a long awaited, delicious meal of rice and veggies in tomato sauce. we took some tea outside and gazed at one of the most brilliant skies i've ever seen. it'd take my whole life to count those stars. lucky us, we each saw two shooting stars...and only now i'm realizing we forgot to make wishes on them. not that it mattered... our dreams were coming true anyway (says shaye) haha... cornbusters....

but really.. really really... what a dream. we were on mt cameroon...in africa...climbing the highest peak of west africa...accomplishing...or at least attempting to accomplish...some of our wildest dreams. what else could we wish for?

and then we lied there..on a bed of wood only a couple feet off the ground...wrapped snugly in sleeping bags... laughing ridiculously at the situation we found ourselves in...too excited to be exhausted. who would've thought!

but somehow we eventually drifted off to sleep... completely necessary to prepare for the 5 hour climb to the summit that we'd be facing the next day.

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written by  theresa on December 16, 2009 from Buea, Cameroon
from the travel blog: to africa
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pictures please!

written by  Amanda on December 16, 2009

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hi theresa-
Merry Christmas to you there in Cameroon. and climbing mt. Cameroon as well; too cool! my daughter jamie is back in oregon as of now, seeking to know what's next in her future, and back working for the hospital (per dium) where she worked before she went to Rwanda/Uganda August through november. i can say from experience i know how your mom misses you, and hangs on every 'skype' she gets with you, and your emails and calls. your mom is a great lady, and a good friend, even though i've known her such a short time. God bless your efforts and growth there in africa, theresa. may He guide all you do! my love to you, in Christ Jesus, our Lord and Brother- susie rodrigues (oregon)

written by  susie rodrigues on December 18, 2009

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