Charlotte's Web: Mt. Longonot

On Saturday we woke up early to head off to Mt. Longonot National Park, home of Mt. Longonot, a dormant volcano, estimated to erupt last in the 1860s. In the Maasai language, "longonot" means vertical valley or steep ridges, which can be seen in the last photo below. On the 2.5 hour drive northwest to the mountain, we stopped at a viewpoint that supposedly overlooks the Great Rift Valley. However, our view was nonexistent since it was so foggy out. Upon arriving at the national park we loaded up with water and sunscreen before hitting the trail. It was a cool morning that quickly warmed up in the hot sun. Our Kenyan guide, Gabriel, climbs Mt. Longonut 4 times a week and has also climbed Mt. Kenya and Mt. Kilimanjaro several times. I quickly nicknamed him Gabe. About 20 minutes into the hike we saw a giraffe in the distance. Using my binoculars I was able to watch the giraffe for several minutes as it walked around and fed on vegetation. It took us about an hour to get to the rim of the crater, which had an amazing view of the surrounding area as well as a beautiful forest inside the crater. After regrouping at the crater rim, I joined some of the group members as we hiked to the summit, the highest point of the crater rim. The hike was pretty steep in some parts, although the overall distance wasn't too far. Looking out at the surrounding land from the summit we could see the differences in vegetation, caused by the lava that once flowed there. On the way back from the summit we passed a large group of Kenyans, none dressed particularly well for the occasion. Most were dressed in jeans and sandals or dress shoes. Carina and I ended up walking with a girl named Becky, who told us that they were engineering students at the University of Nairobi and it was her first time hiking. It was fun to talk with her and meet her friends. We exchanged numbers and plan to meet in Nairobi sometime soon.