Back to the... modern world

We are out of the Ruwenzori Mountains. For such a legendary, rarely visited area, I went in ready for anything. As it usually happens, what I found, I really was not expecting.

There were no: poison blow darts hitting the tree just ahead of us, no drumming rolling up from the neighboring Congo, no monster crocs slipping into the water when we crossed rivers, we didn’t see any boats like the African Queen, there was no quicksand, no huuuge snakes dropping out of trees to strangle us, no cool English encampments, no staying up all night around the fire to ward off lions, no shrunken heads hanging in our path, ....

What we did find was an extraordinary place. Every day, we were changing vegetation zones, sometimes several per day. The glaciers are quickly disappearing. The local people have a fairly sophisticated ‘co-op’ to guide, cook for and porter for trekkers and climbers who come into the area. Last year, the managing director of Ruwenzori Mountaineering Services told me they had only 900 visitors. This included the circuit trek. About 25% of that number were climbers.

The circuit hike is a fairly tough undertaking. I really can’t call it a trail. It seems like every day, sometimes all day, we walked on logs and sticks laid on the boggy ground, so we could avoid sinking in. After the first day, I saw no reason to use a hiking boot. The rubber boots were the boot for the trip. I was glad I had sprung for a good boot. The MuckBoot, Wetland model, performed well.

Most of the mountains are pretty. The highest one, Margherita Peak, is likely the prettiest.
When you can see it.

The peaks would be great for traverses. However, the weather may complicate the undertaking. You would want to make sure the trails would work out. I don’t think I would even consider cross-country travel in any valley. You may find yourself stuck waist deep, in bogs, waiting for help to yank you out.

The place truly deserves the world heritage site ranking, a UN designation for the most valuable locations on the planet. This appears to have been awarded for the uniqueness of the environment, the misty history of the Mountains of the Moon (from before Ptolemy’s day) and because it is the source of the Nile river.

The locals are all but pleading for every visitor to tell their friends. Have them come. They know that what is in their back yard rivals any place on the planet. They know that tourism is the solution to the financial straits they are trying to claw out of.
They are striving to develop programs to entice lucrative guests who are taking part in gorilla trekking in southwestern Uganda.

They mirror a feeling I got where ever we traveled through Uganda. The people are rebuilding their country after many years of hard, hard times, politically. I saw much building going on. The people are honest, hard working, ready and willing to take advantage of opportunities that come their way. The country is beautiful. The place and it’s people are positioning itself for tourism. I believe they hope it catches on, knowing alternatives of mining and oil do not really benefit the people.   

Tourism does.

Tourism is one thing we can do to improve the lives of these people. Uganda, and areas like Uganda, are real adventurous travel destinations. Your dollar goes a long way, you will be educated, your heart will be broken, but I don’ think it is possible you won’t return home a better world citizen
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Because I dropped the ball on my capability to send out daily dispatches, I am going to drop back and begin sending out dispatches from the beginning of the trip. We went in on the 5th of February and came out on the 12th.

At least there will be photos.