Into the Wild (of my backyard)

This past weekend a fellow volunteer, Haley, and I went on an epic hike in my area. From the pictures I posted early on you can see that my site is mountainous. The tallest of these peaks, called Bitso Lebe, have a distinguishing outcrop of rocks and that is the direction in which we headed. I had done this hike alone and was vaguely familiar with the territory. The mountain is scattered with waterfalls, one creates a mist that when the sun is out the rays hit it in such a way there is a permanent rainbow. I also met a family enthusiastically told me of the gold and diamonds in the area. I seriously doubt this however they did show me a river with rocks speckled with shiny bits. Lured by my tales of rainbows, diamonds, and gold my companion and I set out as modern day explorers. The journey ended up being much more dramatic and glorious than I could ever have imagined due to the fact that like I said, I only vaguely knew the territory.

Before setting out, we packed one backpack for the two of us. In it we packed breakfast and lunch and as far as wilderness gear we had a sweatshirt each, one mag light, and a pocket knife. The first stretch of the journey was relatively easy as we were riding horses. Being a foreigner in a small African village is always a spectacle. My students went nuts seeing my female friend and I both mounted on horses. We were followed by a huge entourage of kids ‘showing us the way all the way through the sprawl of the village. I’m not sure exactly how far they would have followed us but at the edge of the village I directed my students to take the children home. The attention is flattering but I wanted to enjoy my time with nature and my friend privately.

At the first waterfall we stopped and ate some fried rice we had packed. We lead the horses to a clearing right next to a waterfall and let them graze while we rested. Now the water falls we encounter here are not as big as you might imagine. They are the result of a rock river falling down some cliff usually between 10 and 20 feet high. The rivers are never more than ankle deep so there isn’t a huge flow of water but the beauty of a water fall is in the designs the rocks cut into the water and the soothing sound. Haley insisted on a picture and as I went to strike my pose at the edge of the waterfall I accidentally stepped in to the river, first my right then left foot.

When we continued on horse the paths got much narrower and steeper. We made it to the top without anymore incident. We tied our horses at the house of some friends and headed on in search of the legendary rainbow. This is when the trouble begins. At this point on the mountain we are hiking because there are no more paths the horses can really go on. I think I have a pretty good sense of direction. I usually get where I am going but I didn’t consider encountering obstacles that would prohibit me from moving any direction I wanted. When we came upon a river I did not recognize, I assumed we were just a little further down river from our destined waterfall. “Just walk up stream and we’ll get there in five minutes” I told Haley. It wasn’t until later that I realized that there were many, many, many rivers on this mountain. As we walked up the river the shores lost any resemblance to a path and we began to walk in the river on the dry parts of rock. The farther we went the thicker the canopy became. At times I had to rip away dead branches just to get through. Then we came across a waterfall. It was a small one maybe 15ft at most. It was not the one we were looking for and it was completely blocking our path. Not wanting to go back through what we had just triumphed and convinced the real waterfall had to be close we climbed up the side of the fall through brush, prickly leaves, and loose soil. This first climb up the side of the waterfall truly marked us going into the wild.

Once at the top of this fall we were greeted with nothing welcoming. The path behind us was a difficult drop and so we pressed forward again bush waking, and taking careful steps on slippery rock. At one point we found some sort of trail so we started to climb up the side as we continued to follow the river. When the brush cleared the site that we were met with was horrifying. We found a bigger waterfall. It still wasn’t the right one, but it was massive. I will refrain from guessing its height in order to avoid exaggeration. With the fall as an impossible obstacle and knowing what was behind us we were forced to choose between continuing up what we had been climbing or descending, crossing the river and climbing up the other side. On the other side Haley had spotted a small square hole in a rock that seemed to be man-made but this guaranteed a lot of hardships for no certainty of a path. The hole even if it was man-made could be so old no path exists anymore. We chose to continue up the side of the river we had been on reasoning that the sheep trail laden with fresh excrement must lead to something herders walk on.

The terrain we were on was a mixture of loose soil, shrubs, and rock. You could never be sure of your footing and one bad step meant a long tumble down to the rocks. We stopped and rested for a while at a tree with some sturdy looking rocks big enough for our butts to fit on. I gazed around us and it was breathtaking. I’ve never been so completely surrounded by nature without a sign of any other humans. Haley, however, was petrified. She held tightly on to two rocks even though she was safely seated. At that point I felt a little guilty. I also realized that if either of us lost confidence we would be in even more danger. We didn’t know if there really was a path at the top, we didn’t even know if we could walk around at the top but we had to keep going.

When we finally turned the corner and had our future revealed we found there was more climbing to do but this time it was a much easier hike. At the top of this climb we finally spotted a hut. Who lives this high on the mountain and why I have no idea but we took it as a sign that there must be a path back to the horses. In celebration we rested and set up our campfire. I still had my backpack and in it we had the ingredients of the best breakfast sandwiches in the world.

From that point on the path continued to have difficulties but considering what we had gone through already it was nothing. Back at the horses we told the family their mountain was very beautiful excluding the adventure we had been on. We didn’t want them to think we were crazy for not taking a guide. The horses comfortably carried us back to my little hut and ended our epic journey. I can see the point I made it to on the mountain every time I step out my door. To think all that adventure happened right in my backyard is fantastic.