Hiking Mulanje Massif is a rite of passage for those staying in Malawi for a long time. It's a massive mountain in the very south of the country and hiking up was described to me as "the hardest physical experience of [one's] life." Given my love for hiking, I was both excited and nervous about the challenge.
I convinced my roommates, Molly and Brenna, to tag along with me. We set off Sunday morning for the 6 hour drive from Lilongwe down to Mulanje. I was pretty exhausted after the drive and couldn't imagine that we were only half-way to the beach I had been to in Mozambique. George came highly recommended as a guide, but we were saddened to hear that he wouldn't be able to take us up the mountain since he had been injured by robbers just a few months ago. We met up with him and his friends Duncan and Paul who would be our guide and porter on the hike and were asleep in bed by 8pm.
We set off Monday morning at 6am and reached Chisepo Hut at about 1:30pm. It was one of the most intense uphill hikes I've experienced and I couldn't be more thankful to have Paul carrying our heaviest things. It was a very chilly night in the hut, even with sleeping bags, blankets, and lots of warm clothing. Thankfully we had some warm pasta and "tomato sauce" for dinner - though the latter tasted much more like ketchup than anything else.
We had a slow morning on Tuesday as we waited to see if the weather would improve. We had planned to hike up to Sapitwa, the highest peak on Mulanje, in the morning before hiking part-way down the mountain. About an hour into the three hour trip up to Sapitwa, we learned why the name translates to "Don't go there." When our guide asked Molly if she wanted to trade her running shoes for Paul's much larger hiking boots, we knew it was bad news, We were rock climbing in intense fog, slipping with every tenth step. As much as I wanted to reach the top, we decided to turn around to avoid getting seriously injured at the top of a huge mountain. Since we had the time, we ended up hiking all the way down to the base of the mountain rather than staying at a hut 3 hours from the base. It was another long day, as we didn't reach the Hiker's Nest until 5pm, and we were almost too tired to eat the feast that we ordered.
We slept from 8pm-6am, packed the car, and headed the 6 hours back to Lilongwe. Forty-five minutes outside of Lilongwe, I got stopped at the same speed trap that stopped me on the way back from Zomba... I got into a bit of a spat with the officer since I'm pretty sure I was prepared for the trap and wasn't speeding, but I paid my $7 fine and we reached Lilongwe by 1pm.
I truly ended my time in Malawi on the highest of high notes - in the clouds on top of the highest point in Southeast Africa. Much like a lot of my time in Malawi, the hike was really challenging but completely worth it in the end.
I convinced my roommates, Molly and Brenna, to tag along with me. We set off Sunday morning for the 6 hour drive from Lilongwe down to Mulanje. I was pretty exhausted after the drive and couldn't imagine that we were only half-way to the beach I had been to in Mozambique. George came highly recommended as a guide, but we were saddened to hear that he wouldn't be able to take us up the mountain since he had been injured by robbers just a few months ago. We met up with him and his friends Duncan and Paul who would be our guide and porter on the hike and were asleep in bed by 8pm.
We set off Monday morning at 6am and reached Chisepo Hut at about 1:30pm. It was one of the most intense uphill hikes I've experienced and I couldn't be more thankful to have Paul carrying our heaviest things. It was a very chilly night in the hut, even with sleeping bags, blankets, and lots of warm clothing. Thankfully we had some warm pasta and "tomato sauce" for dinner - though the latter tasted much more like ketchup than anything else.
We had a slow morning on Tuesday as we waited to see if the weather would improve. We had planned to hike up to Sapitwa, the highest peak on Mulanje, in the morning before hiking part-way down the mountain. About an hour into the three hour trip up to Sapitwa, we learned why the name translates to "Don't go there." When our guide asked Molly if she wanted to trade her running shoes for Paul's much larger hiking boots, we knew it was bad news, We were rock climbing in intense fog, slipping with every tenth step. As much as I wanted to reach the top, we decided to turn around to avoid getting seriously injured at the top of a huge mountain. Since we had the time, we ended up hiking all the way down to the base of the mountain rather than staying at a hut 3 hours from the base. It was another long day, as we didn't reach the Hiker's Nest until 5pm, and we were almost too tired to eat the feast that we ordered.
We slept from 8pm-6am, packed the car, and headed the 6 hours back to Lilongwe. Forty-five minutes outside of Lilongwe, I got stopped at the same speed trap that stopped me on the way back from Zomba... I got into a bit of a spat with the officer since I'm pretty sure I was prepared for the trap and wasn't speeding, but I paid my $7 fine and we reached Lilongwe by 1pm.
I truly ended my time in Malawi on the highest of high notes - in the clouds on top of the highest point in Southeast Africa. Much like a lot of my time in Malawi, the hike was really challenging but completely worth it in the end.