Mont Cameroun

Okay, well this was EASILY one of the coolest things I’ve done and without a doubt the most athletic (hah, as if that was even in question).
On Friday, we took a public bus to Buea, a town five hours and home to Mt. Cameroon. We got in around 4:30 pm and spent the evening organizing our backpacks, buying food supplies (chocolate, raisins, cookies, & peanuts were the main snacks), and grabbing dinner. We all went to bed by 10 am except for the boys who, and really I’m incredibly impressed with this, decided to stay up and drink before the hike. Meanwhile I went to bed early and spent the night somewhat anxiously anticipating the climb. Mount Cameroon is the tallest mountain in West Africa and if that wasn’t enough it is the second tallest mountain in Africa which was pretty impressive/terrifying to me.
The next morning, we headed out by 7 am and after meeting our guide and porters started hiking at 8 am (even though we had porters, we each still had a backpack to carry filled with our change of warm clothes, water, and food). For me, the hardest part of the hike was the first thirty minutes where you gradually begin the climb. I mean arguably this part of the hike wasn’t even uphill, but I was actually grasping for breath (& sweating profusely) and knowing that I was already struggling but had only just left was disconcerting to say the least. After crossing the open field, we entered the rainforest an hour later which was a lot more enjoyable -- its beautiful and a lot cooler with the shade and by 1030 am we reached Hut One where we took a thirty minute break. After that, we entered the savanna (grassland) and considered the hardest part of the mountain since it is so steep and there is no solid ground to step on, just small rocks which slide out from under your feet. At noon, we made it to the middle hut/had lunch. At this point, we were just above the clouds and it was gorgeous. The weather was perfect -- sunny but not extremely hot and the wind was pushing the clouds so they seemed to rolling right pass us on the green mountaintop. At 1 pm, back to hiking. This part of the hike was realllllly steep and when you look down the mountain disappears as if it is a 90 degree angle. By 4:30 pm we reached Hut Two.
The sun was setting and it got cold fast. I spent the entire night sitting in front of the campfire bundled up in my two socks, leggings, tank top, long sleeve shirt, jacket, scarf, and gloves and was still freezing The best of the night was in the evening when most of the group had gone to bed and it was just a few of us and the porters around the campfire listening to traditional African tales. Then, in order to please the god of the mountain who is half-human/half-stone, the porters had us honor the god and dance around the fire while they chanted in the village language. We went to bed soon after where I was one of the unlucky ones who had to share a sleeping bag since we were short. We did get to sleep in tents which while far away from the campsite and impossible to get to was much better than the rat-infested huts.
The next day we were up by 4 am for breakfast and then started hiking at 5 am. This part of the hike was not too hard, just bitter cold, and by 9:15 am we reached Hut There where we quickly ate, had water, and put on more layers (I looked a green monster...dressed entirely in army fatigue green). After that, it was only a 45 minute hike to the top. The weather and landscape was amazing -- the wind was strong enough to push us over and the whole placed looked like scorched earth (which it is -- Mount Cameroon is an active volcano). Finally, we reached the summit at 10 am. Really one of the most unbelievable moments, I don’t really have words for the sense of accomplishment we all felt. Hiking Mt. Cameroon is not a part of the study abroad program, but we still had nearly the entire group come and all of us who did made it to the top which made the whole experience even better.
From there, we turned around and hiked down. Easier on the lungs, but a lot harder on the legs and when we finally reached the bottom of the mountain at 7:30 pm I could barely move my legs. They didn’t even hurt, I just simply couldn’t feel them.
Whew. So that’s that. Mount Cameroon. Done and done.