Day 3 - Mount Cameroon

Usually our days end when the sun sets, we scout for good food and hit a few beers. But this does not seem to be the case on the mountain. Its an equal battle to charge the batteries than to run them flat. We slept in a grass-shelter last night and God only knows what lived inside this hut. We threw out the tent and slept on it as it was too hot, but this exposed us to the creepy crawlies. At 1am Neill was up and we all heard some scattering footsteps in the shelter... at 3am the creepy ran over him - we think it was a mouse but could have been some undiscovered mountain specie too! I woke up with red spots all over me, signs of our dirty conditions leaving its mark... But breakfast broke a long fast (of sleep!) with rice and tomato sauce left overs up for grabs.

The day started soon after and we were now heading for the deep reaches of the rainforest that lies to the backside of the mountain, facing the ocean. A light fog pushes through the forest illuminating the canopy and undergrowth with an emerald green. The smell of decaying has-been plant life is then relieved by the happy mountain herb scents. But this is pretty much the last of wondering eyes and wishful thinking because a slug session lay ahead of us. Its head down and trekking time. It rained last night so everything becomes an obstacle. Roots and sharp edged rocks almost claimed ankles and knees at various times. Easy over the slippery ground... We are also in forest elephant territory and everywhere we track these gentle giants. Unfortunately they were not to be seen, but judging by the slipping and sliding, we didnt expect them to hang around to meet us. I am not sure if the elephant are maintaining the hunter's tracks or vice versa.

After about 4 1/2 hours of hard trekking, we stop for a well deserved lunch - bread and chocolate spread (that beats the socks off Nutella). The remainder of the day went really well as we continued to push hard and at 15:30 we reached our stop for the night.

The next mroning we only had a few hours to do and we reached the village of Bankingili at 11am. Lifafa was very late but eventually picked us up and brought us to Limbe. And we the giant still stalks us everyday from here in Limbe. It was a very hard trek and we are all walking with limbs and stretched knee ligaments, but this is softened with a frikin awesome experience!

written by  afrikawasbeer on November 21, 2009 from Limbe, Cameroon
from the travel blog: Traveling Africa Overland
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