And They're off!

Porters carrying Gear

Clockwise from top left: Larry, Bob, Troy, Lumpy, Gill, Walter, Saskia, Sam, Tom, Posh

Bottom: Lumpy at Hike startgate

We have a solid 4 hour drive to get to the starting point of the hike at 6k'. It seems to take even longer though, as we come across (a) diesel tanker trucks run off the road and down a ravine, (b) chicken farmers on wagons taking up the road, and (c) hundreds, if not thousands of natives walking along the road to wherever the heck they are going. The woman wear incredibly colorful sarongs and balance huge bags on their heads. The bags could contain things like grain or rice, clothings, or bricks to build their houses.

The house thing was most interesting. As we drive around, there are half finished houses everywhere. Some have 1 wall, some 3 walls, some 4 walls but no roof, etc. Apparently as people get a little bit of money (from a good harvest or whatever), they buy building materials (mostly either bricks or sheet metal for roofing) and build whatever portion of the house they can afford. There's no such thing as a mortgage. So, it might take you a decade or more to build a house to live in, or perhaps never. And, many of the people just live in whatever portion of the house they can afford, so you see people (and farm animals and whatever) living in a 3 brick wall "house" with no roof, windows, or doors. It's a sad state of affairs, but they make the best of the situation.

We arrive at the hut and meet our main crew; Peter, Moses, Alfonse, and Patrice, and all of the dishwashers, cooks, and porters. The porters carry 50 lb bags on their heads with gear (food, water, clothes) along with (many of them) full packs on their backs with our high elevation gear. We all carry a stuffed daypack with our rain gear, extra clothes, food, and emergency gear. We're clearly getting the better of the deal!

Our first day hike is going to be 6 miles up to 9k' through rain forest. It is quite dense, but the trail is excellent, well marked and not too rocky. The hike takes about 5 hours or so, and nobody is any worse for the wear. We arrive at Horombo hut mid-afternoon, settle in and grab a nap. A quick dinner follows, and we bed down for the night. 9k seems SO easy; how hard can 19k be?

Lumpy out