Gorillas in the Mist!! (Pics Added!!!!)

Saturday, August 18, 2012

I will start by saying that today might just be one of the (if not THE) most amazing days of my life.

We got up at 4:30, had breakfast and made packed lunches to take with us on our trek. We then drove 2 hours to Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. A pee break, briefing about gorilla trekking etiquette and our rangers piled into our van with us (11 people in an 8 person van) and we were off to drive to our starting point. We met our porters, (Gad, (not God, he told us) our group leader, strongly advised us to get a couple and thank goodness for that!), got our walking sticks, and we figure we got started on our trek by about 9 o’clock.

We initially started our walk through tea plantations and it was mostly downhill. We then headed in to the forest where it quickly changed to uphill and muddy. We were in a rainforest, after all, but thank goodness it hasn’t rained in a few days or it would have been a proper mud bath in there. The rangers had small sickle-type things, along with large rifles, and they cut through the forest to make a path for us to walk. The new path was steep and slippery and narrow.

African giant ferns have very sharp thorns all up their stems. I quickly learned this as I grabbed one for support going up one of our first slippery slopes. This was pre-gardening gloves. We all joked about those who brought them but learned by the end of our trek how vital they were. Most of the time you had your walking stick in one hand and your other hand was grasping at anything that looked solid and stable. No one had any time to think about snakes or bugs or any other creepy crawlies as we were moving way to quickly.

After about two hours, I developed massive cramps. We were climbing, straight uphill it seemed for ages and I started to panic that I was about to burst. I haven’t been sick all trip, but I have developed a cramp/toilet issue in the last week. Needless to say, it was urgent and so January, my porter (the poor guy carried my bag the entire way and helped me when the climb was too steep or too slippery. He did his job so well that he kept trying to hold my hand, even when I didn’t need help!), had to find a spot that was flat enough and then dig a pit toilet for me. He could barely get out of the way fast enough before I was there. He told me to let him know when I was done so he could cover it up, but I figured no person could be paid enough to have to cover another’s toilet so I did it myself. Then we were back on the trail for the gorillas. Every now and again we would hear the trackers, (who were ahead, tracking the gorillas for us), hooting to the porters and guides. We knew we were on the right track.

Finally, we started seeing fresh gorilla poo on our trail and the guides showed us where they had seen them the day before. They told us to get our cameras because that was all we could bring. The gorillas were just up the next hill.

I can’t even begin to describe how I felt getting my camera out and getting ready. I was exhausted, absolutely drenched with sweat but filled with nervous excitement as I thought about seeing the gorillas up close. Today is Day 50… I have been working towards this day for the past month and a half.

The gorillas were right there in front of us. We figured they were about 10ft in front of us. There was a silverback, a mother and baby of a year old, and another female gorilla. There was rustling in trees around us and before we knew it there were 8 in front of us, sleeping, grooming each other, playing. I don’t think I stopped smiling the entire time, and I can’t even count the number of times I said, “Wow!” and shook my head. The painful, grueling trek seemed like such a thing of the past when we were sitting in front of the gorilla family. A couple of times the silverback raised his eyes to watch us and I froze on the spot. There were stories about other groups and their close encounters with the silverbacks.

I don’t think an hour has ever passed so quickly, but soon enough it was time for lunch and so we had to leave the gorillas. Our porters used ferns to make us seats and we sat and ate our much-earned sandwiches and mentally prepared for our hike back. Our hike back didn’t seem to take as long as there. The unbelievably steep climb up was absolutely treacherous going down. Many did it on their bums, I had January in front of me making footholds and clearing the way. It was not an easy climb, for anyone. Even the porters and guides were huffing and puffing, though they did it in wellies, (rain boots), which didn’t seem to have much tread. When we got out of the rainforest, it was cooler and misty and threatening rain. We were drenched in sweat.

I don’t think I have ever done anything quite so grueling. Every single bit of my body hurts. I am mentally and physically exhausted but I can’t wait to go through my pictures and I know I will dream of the gorillas tonight.