Africa's Other Mountains

Hiking single file

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Imagine an artichoke sitting on top of a stalk of asparagus. Make the asparagus 15 feet tall and the artichoke the size of a Volkswagen. Now imagine a forest of them covering the giant caldera of an extinct African volcano.

Walking through a landscape that looks as if it were invented by Dr. Seuss, thigh-deep in grass, our single-file line picks its way across the caldera, weaving through a sparse forest of comic-book trees.

Ahead of me is my friend Roxanne; behind me is my husband, Dan. Milton is at the front of the line. Joseph brings up the rear holding an ancient AK-47 in a position that suggests he's ready to use it. I'm tired and out of breath, with a slight headache brought on by the altitude. But the line keeps moving.

"Stay together," we've been told, and we're following orders. In the front of the line, Milton looks from left to right, his edgy glance jumping from rock to tree to mountain.

We are traversing Mount Elgon, a mountain spanning the Kenyan-Ugandan border. Milton is our guide. Joseph is the ranger assigned to protect us. Previously, our little group had been carefree and chatty: not anymore.

The problem is poachers. They follow the so-called Smuggler's Trail from Kenya to hunt buffalo and small game on the Ugandan side, where we are hiking. Occasionally, we have been told, they steal equipment and money from tourists. Sometimes they set fire to the trees to flush out the animals. Earlier, when we detoured around to some hot springs near the border, we saw tangible evidence of poaching: the remains of a butchered cape buffalo.

"What will we do if we run into poachers?" I ask.
"We see who is more," says Joseph.
"Sometimes we just greet them." Adds Milton, "Sometimes we hide."