Page 256 - Demo

252think they would have just made a natural shelter. Behind them were a number of women who also looked to see what we were doing. As we sorted ourselves out we realised that we could now ditch some equipment. As soon as they saw empty bottles their eyes lit up and they wanted them. Various other things were also obviously highly desirable, in particular, our rucksacks. One woman pushed her young daughter, about 7 years old, forward and as far as we could see wanted to exchange her for a rucksack. I have no idea if she was serious or not but she appeared to be. I think we gave the children some sweets and then set off. As we could see Mount Kenya navigation was now quite simple and eventually, we reached a point that was on the map. What had happened, is that since the Halton expedition, the Kenyan authorities had insisted that entry to the area was on a particular route. You also had to pay to do so. We did not know that and did not have enough cash to pay anyway. So the route we had planned was not on a map and was not really approved. For much of the journey we were walking off-piste as it were. I cannot remember how long it took to reach Mount Lenana.But I think we had arranged to be picked up 5 days later. We camped somewhere after trudging through really difficult tussock grass for some time. Each tussock was about 2 feet high and in between them was sort of a marsh. Consequently at the end all our feet and socks were wet. I left my socks outside that night and they were frozen stiff in the morning. We could see the sun rising behind the Mountain and then the sunlight raced towards us. I was holding my socks vertically upward. Seconds after the sun hit them, the ice melted and they flopped down. It was very cold at night but hot during the days in the foothills. Consequently clothing was a bit difficult and involved carrying several layers. Our last night was spent in a hut just below Point Lenana. I had a bad headache because of the altitude and found it difficult to eat anything. In the morning we went up the glacier to the top. It was only 2 or 3