Travelling Around Rwanda

 

To most (read: normal) people, strapping on hiking boots and taking a nice, long stroll in the wilderness is nothing to write home about. It can be a regular, dare I even say, daily activity. To the rest of us, the ones who start the day off with Joan Jett and Caramel Macchiatos, English Bulldogs, the MTA New York City Subway, and a freshly charged iPhone, this is not a normal occurrence. It’s not an occurrence at all.

So, during my travels in the beautiful African country of Rwanda, when it was announced I would be hiking up a mountain to watch gorillas, I really had no idea what to expect. Ashamedly, my mind was filled with thoughts of the latest BCBG safari collection, the book and flick Tuck Everlasting (that was the woods, wasn’t it?), and that was pretty much it. As a journo I like to frequently jump into things with no preconceived notions. So, I walked into my first hiking (ee!) experience the exact same way. And, geez, what total amazing, thrilling, culture shock that was.

So, to all my other city mice, who live for museum walks and cappuccino, iPads, gallery openings, and sprawling views from stunning rooftop bars, please, go ahead and hike. Move out of your comfort zone. But, take a few of these notes with you. Notes I wish I had filling my head to quell the fears of “holy crap I’m about to fall down a mountain,” and “Is that gorilla going to kill me and wear me like an outfit?”
1. Train. You know you’ve got a NYSC membership. Go spend some time at the gym, an exercise area you may be more comfortable with, prior to your experience. Run for awhile, train for awhile. Be active. Although it’ll be good to refresh your body, this is more for the mental struggle you’re likely to go through. I think the hardest part of the actual climb was the body/mind argument taking place silently (and at some point very loudly) in my head. Take this time to get used to telling yourself “keep going.” You’re gonna need that mental prep later.

2. Dress cozy. I don’t mean your $60 GAP cashmere sweats. I mean if you’ve never owned boots or hiking pants before, now is not the time to try it out. Instead, go for the loose but strong pair of jeans in the back of your closet. Or, running shoes. Or, your old college hoodie- particular helpful if you’re bug-in-hair phobic. The point is, you’ll already be out of your comfort zone, so putting together a wardrobe you’ll be pulling and shoving the entire time is really not going to help. You’ll need to feel comfortable with yourself inside and out to push your boundaries. And honestly, you’re really going to look like total crap at the end, regardless of how Angelina Jolie looks after raiding tombs in movies. There’s absolutely no point in wasting a second thinking about that.

                 

3. The wall is an illusion. You know the wall. That space you hit when you feel exhausted, confused, upset. The point in your normal life where you might put away whatever is bothering you and go watch Real Housewives. It’s kinda hard to stop climbing a mountain once you’re in the middle of it, so this wall will kick your ass. I hit my wall way earlier than I thought I would but realized it was more a concept of “What the hell am I doing? Why am I here?” than actual exhaustion. Because of that realization, I just kept moving and filled my head with other thoughts that make me laugh to combat the anger slowly brewing in my head.

4. Stop a lot. I mean it. And not only because you’ll want to catch your breath. Stop and look around. Realize what you’re doing and what’s happening. You’ll spend so much time maneuvering rocks and steps, and the rest of the time trying to convince yourself to keep going that a good stop to pause and understand can be the best medicine and the ultimate pep talk.
5. You’re awesome. Who cares how long it took, where it was, when it was, or anything else. You did something you’ve never done before. And that feeling is better than all the pain, bruising, and  exhaustion you’re likely (surely) about to go through. Congrats.

         

About my little hike: The Rwanda Development Board took myself and four other my companions up to the Virunga mountain range in Volcano’s National Park to trek for the Hirwa gorilla group. Hirwa means “lucky” and is named after a bachelor gorilla who, with much luck, developed his own group. The hike started on level plains, moved to rolling hills, through a Lost-worthy bamboo forest, through slopping woods, and finally off the edge of a full-fledged official damn mountain where I had to pull on vines and jump over crevices to save myself from certain (not really) doom. The whole thing took about 5 hours and besides some breathing problems from being so high up and a panic attack from looking down the highest point of the mountain (yeah, don’t do that), the pain was minimal.