ᐅ Summit nº16: Mount Cameroon (Camerún)

SUMMITS

SUMMIT Nº 16: MOUNT CAMEROON (CAMEROON)

CAMEROON

MOUNT CAMEROON

28/03/2024

ALTITUDE

4.095 m

Oscar Solsona, Jordi Girona, Míriam Humanes, Xavi Talavera, Cristina Leonelli, Andreu López and others

DIFFICULTY LEVEL

MEDIUM

CHRONICLE

It is 10:00 p.m. on Monday night and I begin to prepare the 2 backpacks for the trip to Cameroon for which tomorrow I have to get up at 6 in the morning. Yes effectively. I’m tight, very tight on time this time. In fact, the preparations don’t start very well because I don’t locate the passport until 20 minutes have passed.
Luckily I have templates for the material to take from climbs with similar characteristics like the one just 1 year ago in Tanzania (Kilimanjaro) that allow me to get into the rhythm of packing preparations.
The last few days have been very intense at work level and also due to the fact of leaving the apartment in Girona, but I take with special desire and motivation this new trip to Africa, this time to the unknown to me Central Africa and specifically to the Republic of Cameroon.
I know a good part of the group of 19 people that we will be and with some of them, during the weeks prior to the trip, we have gone on some hiking trips to film. Oscar Solsona, since his landing at the Top Summit in Scotland, has accompanied me on practically all the trips and ascents and it is a friendship that goes back almost 20 years. Jordi Girona I met him while trekking Kilimanjaro and since then we built a great friendship and complicity, as well as a few months ago we shared a trip to Romania and the ascent to its Moldoveanu roof. With Míriam Humanes we have shared less, just as we have in common a trip to Jordan together that we did not take although we crossed paths and since then we have shared the energy and desire to live, accumulating adventures and trips. Xavi Talavera and Cris Leonelli come from Sant Cugat del Vallés, colleagues of Jordi Girona, and I have known them for a very short time but they are one of those people who always add to the groups.

I meet at T1 of the Prat Airport with Òscar Solsona at 8:00 in the morning, more than enough margin to not have problems catching the plane that will leave at 11:30, stopping in Istanbul towards Douala, the financial capital of Cameroon, and with expected arrival time at 00:00. We shared the journey with several members of the expedition such as the aforementioned Xavi and Cris as well as with Sergi and Carles who we met while waiting for the plane.
Entering the country and carrying out formal procedures (visa, health card…) is a real odyssey that is not helped by the especially humid heat of Cameroon in a preview of what will await us in the coming days. We are the last to leave the airport. Suddenly Míriam Humanes appears as if by magic and with her and a local guide we get into a van that will take us to a hotel in Buea (the city where the trekking will begin). There are 70 km that break my estimated time of 1 hour to get to bed… Excessively optimistic I, who did not have roads in very poor condition, 4 or 5 army checkpoints and in them some spontaneous “drunk” who with The approval of the executive tries to intimidate us and get us to give him money. “The little adventure” takes a long, very long time, although our portfolios and assets have not been altered as long as no one has given money.
All of the above means that we only have 3 to 4 hours to sleep since at 8 in the morning we must be with the group having breakfast. We will have been the last to join the expedition.
I am the last to arrive for breakfast and in fact it is not coincidence or chance since I refused to sleep for only 3 hours. There, after 3 years, I meet again with Paco Crestas, promoter of the trip through his travel agency and with whom we had met in person in Morocco when we ascended Toubkal.
After breakfast we have the traditional “briefing” in which they explain the main characteristics of the trekking to be completed in the next few days as well as introducing us to the support team (guides, cooks, porters…). My “goalkeeper” is called Daniel, he seems like a serious and responsible guy.

Very curious, but the trekking begins from the hotel itself where we slept at 1,000 meters above sea level and in the town of Buea. Today will be a day of ascension since we will have to reach Fako Lodge (2,850 meters high) in what means saving 1,850 meters of positive slope in only 7.5 kilometers. As it is the first day, the program is not bad at all and will involve a climb with a fairly steep and demanding average slope.
During the morning we travel between the level of 1,000 meters and 2,000 meters where we find jungle and a significant tree density that, together with the humid heat, make the demand and effort greater. Despite the strong heat, the landscape is very beautiful, wild and I really like where I am, the adventure that I am beginning makes me feel great.
Above 2,000 meters, the trees disappear, the savannah appears and with it the bushes begin to predominate. The slope slopes considerably and with it the group begins to stretch. As we gain altitude we enjoy the views, both of the sea and of the peak and roof of the country, Mount Cameroon with its 4,095 meters.

In the middle of the afternoon we arrive at Fako Lodge, which will be our refuge for the first night of the trek. It is a beautiful complex of cabins made of wood and built with the support of German cooperation.

They prepare “tons” of rice for us that we don’t finish, accompanied by vegetables with a very well-made spicy sauce as well as chicken that are very good for us to regain strength and prepare for tomorrow, which also presents a quite demanding program. We are going to sleep early since a good part of the group had practically no sleep the night before.
We wake up at 4:30 as a stage with a lot of content awaits us. Specifically, we must first reach the roof of the country and its 4,095 meters, overcoming a positive slope of 1,245 meters and then, in a long descent, reach the Mannspring camp at 2,440 meters high and with a negative slope of 1,655 meters for a total distance of 17 kilometres.
Around 5:30/6:00 in the morning we set off with the first rays of sun. The slope that we interrupted yesterday continues, although in a more moderate way, although the group, like late yesterday, stretches quite a bit. The weather changes quite a bit as we gain altitude and fog and wind appear as well as temperatures drop considerably. We stop at a shelter in a very precarious state and while we wait for my companions I decide to change practically all my clothes to be warmer and warmer.
When the entire group arrives, we continue the ascent accompanied at all times by bad weather, although at least the rain does not appear. We are now walking through volcanic territory and around the summit there are multiple lava flows from the different eruptions that have occurred throughout history.
The roof of Cameroon is present and we remain on it for a long time hugging each other, congratulating each other as well as immortalizing the moment with multiple photographs. We had practically no visibility but this did not spoil our “party”.

After the summit, the volcanic terrain continues and as we lose altitude we pass through multiple craters that make us really enjoy trekking with multiple landscape contrasts. The group is happy and having a great time with the experience. During the descent we have the company of a gentle rain that becomes pleasant as it removes the sweat from our bodies, very present, unfortunately for us, throughout the trek.
The descent is long but after many kilometers through volcanic territory, the savannah reappears and on the horizon we can see the jungle, an aspect clearly indicative that we have lost a lot of altitude. The last kilometer of this second stage of the trek runs through the jungle and after a 10-hour day of walking we arrive at Mannspring at 2,440 meters. It is an accommodation with similar characteristics to the previous day, made of wood and also made with German cooperation.

During dinner the bottles of wine make an appearance and we toast a successful day of hiking in which the entire group has reached the summit, a real cause for celebration. However, the party does not last excessively and at 9:30 p.m. we are already sleeping since we are tired and the next day we will have to get up at 5:30 a.m. to start walking at 7:00 a.m.
At 7:00 in the morning we are underway and begin a stage that will pass entirely through the jungle. Although I try to avoid them whenever I can, I go out with Gore-Tex and high-top Bestard boots in case there is mud, water, rocks or other elements for which my Sportiva Ultraraptor are not suitable.
Soon after starting the walk, we realize that we have extra layers of clothing, although I take off the minimum ones because I want to wear long sleeves and long pants to put as many obstacles as possible for mosquitoes and other “beasts.”
Advancing through the jungle is not easy. Today’s jungle is especially dense and has an even claustrophobic sensation in which you only see vegetation and more vegetation and all sensation of depth, both horizontal and vertical, is lost. Likewise, extreme caution must also be taken when trampling because there are multiple tree roots protruding from the ground, ants with very bad intentions that sting, as well as wet rocks that are real traps and fertilizers for falls.

While we travel through the jungle, the guide, who at times must make his way using his machete, perceives signs of proximity of elephants and asks for maximum silence from the group that is strongly waiting. His desire is really perceived so that the group can witness the king, at least in size, of the jungle. After seeing multiple marks on trees, giant feces, crushed bushes…part of the group, in the distance, we spotted the “creature”. A male elephant moves alone to the other side of the mountain… it is a unique, magical and truly wild moment. Out of Africa for life.
The day through the jungle is excessively extended, up to 12 hours long, which is double the 6-hour forecast in the program. It is noticeable that the “locals” are poorly prepared and unaccustomed to tourism and have little experience and resources to prepare trekking trips, although they have done everything possible to make us feel good.
We finished the day’s march in some huts belonging to the State where our improvised camp will be. It is very hot, some of us set up tents in which we will try to sleep without much success since the conditions are not the best for sleeping. However, the fact that we did not sleep on the night of March 29, 2024 will not remain in our memories, but that day will remain in our memories as a brutal life experience in the authentic and wild African jungle. The trek comes to an end and the height of 600 meters at which we find ourselves attests to this, the sea and the coast are already close.
Indeed I haven’t slept well at all but it doesn’t matter too much, we’ll do it in the hotel and mattress that awaits us today in Bakinguili. Before, on a very grateful route and trail, we completed the last 4 kilometers of the trek. The conditions are more favorable today and the smoothness of the route is a reward for the effort of the last 3 days. Daniel handed me the backpack, I hug him and thank him for his priceless work. The bearers, the true anonymous heroes of this story.
We retired to the hotel to digest the intense emotions of these last few days. Once again Asante Africa. So much learning in such a short time, so much intensity of experiences in so few days. See you soon Africa.