October 27, 2009

Every muscle in body hates me right now and I can’t really blame them. This past Saturday Kristin and I climbed Mount Boyo in Njinikom. I really was not prepared for what was ahead of me, but at the end of the day I had Kristin’s approval and her agreement to climb Mount Cameroon with me. In other words, the real test will be Mount Cameroon and how I handle sleeping and cooking outside. I assured her that it wouldn’t be a problem for me with my history of being raised at the camp, camping in North Carolina and on Bull Point. I think she is still a little bit wary.
In my mind, I had envisioned this nice walk and an easy morning but quickly realized I was sorely mistaken. We left Kristin’s house right after 8 and started making our way to the base of the mountain. My first warning should have been that I was sweating and out of breath before we even reached the actual trail but in my haze of no caffeine it just didn’t register. After we began the “real” trail, it was pretty much straight up on slick mud, rocks and tree roots. When the trees finally gave way and we could see the plateau, hope sprang anew for me but then was crushed immediately by how much further we had to go!
We then hit the pampas grass part and it got really tricky. There were no longer any trees and the grass covered the trail that was still slick mud and rocks. We slowly made our way to the side and continued on to the part that we would have to climb up to reach the plateau. I didn’t realize we would actually have to climb to reach the top, it is probably better that Kristin didn’t share this information with me before hand. We finally made it and the view was unbelievable and well worth the effort. At the top there was a beautiful metal cross that overlooks all of Njinikom. We sat for a little while and enjoyed the cool air and the feeling of contentment in finishing what we set out to do.
Little did I know that going down was going to be ten times harder than going up. After watching Kristin climb down the rocks, I went after her and made it safely down with her coaching from under me and David and Emmanuel’s coaching from above me. On the way down I must have fallen at least 15 times by slipping on the trail (the mud and loose rocks did not make it easy) or my foot finding many of the holes that dropped off the side of the mountain. Every time I slipped and fell I would burst out laughing and occasionally let a few curse words fly. By the time we made it back into the trees my rear end was completely brown from the mud and my wrist and ankle hurt badly, but I was still in a great mood and exuberant with the overall experience. Now whenever I visit Njinikom, I can look up at Mount Boyo and yell, “I beat you!”
I now know that Mount Cameroon will not be a problem because I have been assured by Cameroonians that Mount Boyo is more difficult than Mount Cameroon. Mount Cameroon is longer but the trail is well kept and not nearly as dangerous! I can’t wait but in the mean time I think some major conditioning on my part is needed.
Hopefully one of these days I will get some pictures uploaded…