Climbing Mt Bisoke
Volcanoes National Park sits on the northwestern border of Rwanda and holds some interesting topography/geology compared to the rest of the country. The area formed as part of the East African Rift (i.e., the Great Rift Valley) and is generally flatter than the rest of Rwanda. However, the rifting has created several, very large volcanic cones that are a result of the African tectonic plate pulling apart into the Nubian and the Somali sections. Pretty cool. As we drove from Gisenye to Volcanoes NP, we could even see the steam rising from the Mt Nyiragongo caldera, which erupted in May of this year (and has a lava pool!) but is, unfortunately, in the Congo.
While we were excited by the prospect of visiting Volcanoes National Park, the regulations presented a significant difficulty for us: children under 13 are generally not allowed into the park. The most common excuse I heard was that there is always a chance you can run into gorillas while hiking, and children do not have the self control to stand their ground during a silverback charge...I guess that makes sense. Anyway, we stopped by the headquarters and the rangers were clear - Joe can’t go.
Since this was a more or less expected verdict, I had tentatively planned to do some mountain climbing while Em and the boys explored the lakes and nature preserves that are nearby but outside the park. Not the greatest arrangement, but Em said I really shouldn’t miss this chance. I had hoped to climb Mt Karasimbi, which is the highest peak in Rwanda at 14,787’ (4,507 m) and would be an altitude personal best by a few hundred feet. For reference, Mt Whitney is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States at 14,505’ (4,421 m). I’ve never climbed Whitney because permits are so damn hard to get and it was to to be the same for Karasimbi. The climb is over two days, which makes sense; climb to base camp, then summit on the second morning. But when I asked the ranger about going he said it required 3-4 days of preparation on their side! They have to hire the porters to carry the tents, the kitchen gear and food, plus someone has to pack in firewood...uhhhh, what? I asked if I could go if I just carried all my own food and gear and we didn’t have a fire. You know what, there’s even room for the guide to sleep in my tent. He looked confused. “No, that is not possible.”
“Buuuuuuut, if you show up at 7 am tomorrow, you can hike Mt Bisoke.” And Sam was old enough to come. One day, 12,175’ (3,711 m), a caldera lake at the top and Sam gets to come? Done. See you in the morning.
Getting ready to head to the park for the hike I found this. The sole is made by Michelin since I guess knowing about tires means you can make any rubber, but I didn’t expect them to be so much like tires that I’d get nails in them.
Upon our arrival the next morning, another ranger greeted us, clapped me on the shoulder and said, “So, I think you will go Golden Monkey Trekking today?!”
“Actually, no.” I replied, “We’re climbing Bisoke”.
He turned to look at Sam, who smiled back in his typically angelic way. The ranger, hand still on my shoulder, pivoted, looked me dead in the eye and bellowed through his surgical mask, “Are you trying to kill him?!”
…
So, we got two permits. Luck be with us, we were the only ones climbing that day and with our guide Eugene navigating, we set off for the trailhead on the worst road in Rwanda (seriously, take an infinite supply of basketball sized, black volcanic rock and dump it on the ground but don’t fill the gaps - you get this road). During the 40 minute, 4 km drive, Eugene asked us about our experience, what we’ve climbed and hiked. As I listed some of the stuff we’d done lately, he nodded, then said, “You must like hiking. Most people tell me this is the first mountain they’ve climbed.” At which point I thought to myself, perhaps I’ve set unreasonable expectations.
But no, the rest of the story is that we climbed the mountain; one foot in front of the other, just like always. Sam (and let’s be honest, myself) had solid grounds to be pleased when we crested the grassy hill of the peak and saw the caldera lake come into view, but Eugene iced the cake when he sat down heavily on the bench, checked his watch and said, “I have to tell you something. I've been guiding this hike for 23 years. This is the second fastest ascent I’ve done.” Guess the expectations were reasonable.
