Miriakamba Hut – 17th February
After all the planning, training and travelling it’s finally nice to get some dust on my boots and gain some altitude!
First view of Mt Meru, doesn't look that big!
But first you need to pay all the park fees for the duration of your trip (you’re charged for each day on the mountain including the respective fees for all your guides, cooks and porters).
Fees, fees, fees.
Thankfully this is all included in the price I had already paid for the trek and the guides sort out the details allowing you to impress all the day trippers with your rugged mountaineer act!
The guys sorting out the details leaving me free to grab some photos.
Having paid your dues you’re allowed to proceed to Momella Gate where there’s a register to sign and an armed ranger to collect before you can start up the mountain.
The Momella Gate Office, the final checkpoint before we can start!
But not until you've read the rules!
Upon arrival at the office there was, for want of a better description, an angry Swiss man talking on the phone, obviously unhappy that his trek which he had arranged in Zurich was being paired up with another group.
Poor sod, I thought, thinking some quick witted tour operator must have matched up him and his wife with a much larger group to increase their profit when he yelled down the phone “We’ll just have to meet these OTHER people before deciding what to do”!
As the park ranger came over to introduce himself I felt myself coming under intense scrutiny before hearing a loud exclamation “SO YOU’RE OTHER PEOPLE”!
Having learnt the hard way that a smart mouth isn’t always the best way to win new friends I played dumb and looked slightly confused.
After a quick run through of my mountaineering credentials (which is slightly unnerving when you’re talking to someone who lives within spitting distance of the Alps) I evidently met his criteria and we were ready to go.
Perhaps it’s testament to my winning personality but within half an hour on the trail Reto and Vreni were well on the way to becoming good companions on my Mt Meru adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment