This 15-day expedition began with an interest to take on a challenge we had not encountered before.
One day, after working a contract in East Africa, James "KG" Kagambi, Evan Kuria, and I began discussing enhancing our outdoor skills. Evan suggested we explore the Rwenzori Mountains, the nearest mountains with easy access to a glacier. KG, a seasoned mountaineer who has done the Rwenzori Mountains several times, was an excellent resource for planning this trip.
Going up Mount Stanley. Photo by James "KG" Kagambi.
Our common goal as a group was to strengthen our work relationship, gain exposure to mountaineering and glacier travel, and explore flora and fauna in Uganda’s National Parks. We also had individual goals:
KG: To see Evan and me in a different outdoor setting while empowering and inspiring us to become mountaineers and bird watchers.
Evan: To improve his mountaineering skills, explore flora and fauna, and raft in the Nile.
Ann: To gain more exposure to 4th-class terrain and glacier travel and to bond with colleagues.
KG and Evan on Speke Peak. Photo by Justus Kathabana.
To prepare for this expedition, we all had an upper hand working field courses for NOLS. We had worked together on Kilimanjaro numerous times and established work relationships. KG led all the logistics as he had contacts in Uganda. He worked tirelessly to ensure everything was in order and we had all the gear we needed, including rental gear.
One of the challenges we encountered during preparation was syncing our schedules to ensure no conflicting field contracts. Once everything lined up, we embarked on a 500-mile road trip to Rwenzori National Park. We met our porters and guides and began the expedition as a team of 16 people.
We explored Mount Speke and Mount Stanley with key highlights: walking through the bogs and boardwalks, on the glacier, and summiting Cheptegei Peak, which towers at 16,099 ft asl. We bonded at camp every evening and discussed our challenges and learnings. As we finally got down the mountain, we were grateful and appreciative of the team of guides and porters who supported us throughout the climb.
We were grateful for our team—photo by James "KG" Kagambi.
Our adventure continued; we also visited Queen Elizabeth National Park and Murchison Falls National Park. We marveled at the wildlife and identified 60 bird species. It was a different game drive as we used boats to tour both parks. We learned a lot with the support of the park guides.
Rafting the Nile.
Our final adventure was at the source of the river Nile in Jinja. Here, we connected with another NOLS instructor called South, who took us rafting on the Nile. It was great experiencing the water sport as it was a welcomed break from hiking and a new skill type for the three of us.
After rafting in the Nile.
Our inspiration and journey to the outdoors and NOLS are quite different. For KG, his dad was his inspiration; at NOLS, he found mentorship and guidance from Steve Lawrence. For Evan, a former NOLS alumnus, sang praises for all he had learned from his course. For me, I discovered hiking by chance from a group of friends, and after joining NOLS, I have and continue to get mentorship and guidance from KG.
This expedition was quite fulfilling for us. We gained and learned more than we had anticipated, all while strengthening our work relationships. We are now more than ever inspired to continue exploring the outdoors. We hope to plan more of these exploratory expeditions and include more East African field staff in them.
The Rothberg-Birdwhistell Expedition Fund was established by the Rothberg-Birdwhistell family to support NOLS Instructors as they design and execute personal wilderness expeditions.
