Uganda Chapter 12: In the Jungle, It Is Hot

To see a complete set of pictures from this day, click here.

Evening
It is the night before our gorilla tracking adventure, and we are at Kintara tented camp in Bwindi. It's the most tent-like tented camp we stay in, perched high up in the base of the mountains near the Impenetrable Forest where the gorilla roam. My tent, in particular, is about as high up in the camp as you can go and gives an amazing view of the surrounding jungle. And now, as the sun goes down, it gets even damper and colder, but I don't care because I'm sitting outside on my tent veranda watching thunder and lightening roll through the jungle across the way and smelling chicken being roasted for dinner. And the next day we will trek into the dense jungle and track gorilla.

Perfect.

Thank you, God.



Morning
In case you were wondering, by the way, the crack of dawn in Africa is no more appealing than the crack of dawn anywhere else. But we are up with the sun again - and it's gorilla tracking day.

We are tracking the "H" group of gorillas. The two other groups of trackable gorillas are "R" and "M." Yesterday, the "H" group trackers ended up having to do a six hour jungle trek and then, though they said that it was magical, the only gorilla who came out of hiding was the silverback.

Yes, we have heard both types of experiences. We have heard that seeing the gorillas in the wild is a magical experience -- we met a man in Murchison who had traveled to over 60 countries and said that the gorilla experience was the single most amazing thing he'd ever done. But animal tracking is animal tracking, and the animals don't always participate like you'd hoped you would.

Lisa is really not feeling well by this time in the trip. She tries to switch to the "R" or "M" group who had shorter hike times the day before, but the rangers are having none of it. So, in our group are Lisa and me, five Belgians and Nicole - an American from Menlo Park who is traveling alone and who becomes our new best friend in our fight against the Belgians.



The "H" group of gorillas has moved so far away that we actually have to get in the vehicles and drive forty minutes to a different entrance point to the jungle that's closer to the last place where the gorillas were seen. And then...we begin the trek from hell. Actually, it's not from hell. It's just HARD. But it's hard in the way that a good run is hard or a super great challenge is hard. And it's in the freakin' jungle, which is amazing just to be in. I will tell you now that we do end up doing SIX hours of trekking -- three hours in and three hours out. There is a lone older Belgian man, who is not our enemy, in his sixties who kindly hikes in the middle of the pack. Then there are the BELGIANS. They are HYPER COMPETITIVE and want to be in front at ALL TIMES. Literally, at one point, I'm hiking in front of one of the Belgian women. And I'm hiking at exactly the same pace that everybody else is. And for no reason at all she elbows her way in front of me. I'm sure it's very hard to live your life as a Belgian - everybody confusing you for German or Swiss - so I just roll my eyes and let it go. Nothing will ruin my jungle challenge day. And also, to be honest, the fact that the Belgians wanted to hike up front meant that the "trail" was already flattened out by the time I got to it. This is important because there isn't a "trail." Our guide has a machete, and he's cutting a path through the jungle for us as we go along. So by "trail" I just mean the spot behind where the last person walked.

I also (as did everybody) hired a porter for the day. I really didn't need a porter (I've hiked further in just as difficult conditions with much more on my back). Actually, I didn't even want a porter, but then it was pointed out to me that the porters were really counting on the $10USD we'd tip them at the end of the day in order to feed their families for the week, so I got one. I actually missed having my pack on my back...My balance was actually thrown off! But the porter was nice, and fun, and made sure I never fell into the mud, because I am naturally clumsy and prone to fall into the mud.

Anyway, the trek was monstrously hard. Up and down super steep hills - as in literally there were moments when I was parallel while being upright. Super, super, super slippery mud. Huge bugs. Briars, ants, trees snapping into your face. HARD HIKING.

But it was worth it.

I could not have scripted a better gorilla experience.

When we finally came upon the gorillas, there are eight of them and they are literally feeling lazy and calm and sunning themselves in an open meadow in the middle of the jungle. They seem to not mind our being there at all. Included in the eight are a Silverback, who is 100% visible and not more than ten yards away from us. There are also two big mamas with tiny, tiny, tiny babies dangling on them.

And here is where you hate me because I can't really write about the experience of seeing the gorillas. I could write about what it's like to sit quietly just a handful of feet away (because the gorillas were in exceptionally good moods and came very close) from a gorilla while it examines you, but it would never, ever do the experience justice. I will tell you that gorillas definitely think and certainly communicate. And I will also tell you that, at one moment, one of the big mamas with a tiny baby went up to a Silverback. The baby then climbed onto his mama's back and did a little performance for his dad while the Silverback watched. And there was zero doubt that this was a family moment with two parents cooing over their cute baby. And it was singularly beautiful. And I actually sat down on the jungle floor and tears fell from my eyes.






Don't tell me animals don't have souls. I won't ever believe you. Especially now.

I will, however, give you some advice in case you ever want to go gorilla tracking.

1. If gorilla tracking is not on your list of things you want to do before you are fifty, it should be.

2. Before fifty is important: the sixty year old man on our trek was awesome, and I want to be like him when I grow up. But if you're an average senior citizen, you're not going to be able to handle the hard trek required to get to the gorillas (and that's even on the short treks).

3. Hire a porter even if you don't think you'll need one.

4. Prepare like it's a six hour, hard jungle trek. If it's not (on our day, we got back to camp at 4:30pm. Group "R" was done by 10am and group "H" was done by noon), you're ahead of the game.

5. Don't be the jackass who makes the porters carry you all the way there and back. That actually happened in group R. If you can't at least make half the hike, you have no business being there.

6. Pack extra cliff bars.

7. Remember the zoom lens.

8. Reserve very early so that you can stay at Gorilla Forest Camp.

9. Learn to love dirt, mud, sweat and insect bites. Oh! And cuts from thorns.

But go! Find a way and go! It's indescribable, as evidenced by the totally crappy way in which I described it.

Not indescribable, however, is the next day when we ...

To see a complete set of pictures from this day, click here.