SoulBoosters

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . When someone mentions Coastal Kenya, what comes to mind is the blue waters of  the great and vast Indian Ocean, the sandy beaches, the sweet aromatic Swahili food, the two great national parks of East and West Tsavo, and many other ‘soft life’ tourist attractions. The question some ask is- how about good hiking and camping spots around for the hike lovers?   At a distance of about 120kms from the highest point of the coastal region – Vuria hill in Taita-Taveta County, lies a hidden and shy gem sandwiched in between Tsavo East and West. This under-rated beauty is Mount Kasigau, which is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Taita Hills which are located near the Tanzanian border.  Away from the city, the mountain provides an unmatched serenity and solitude – our new home far away from home for the next two days.   On our first day, w...

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . All you can reap when you let go of excuses This week, SoulBoosters would like to inspire you through the hiking journey of MaryLiza (I fondly call her ML) - my dedicated and consistent hiking friend. Despite residing two hours away from Nairobi city, the epicentre of most popularly organized hikes in Kenya, she's an evergreen enthusiastic hiker. When I am looking for an extra push to keep it going, I lean in on her for some of her inspirational spirit to rub off on me, and SoulBoosters would love to introduce and share the same with you. Let's get started! Who is ML? I allow people to have their own version of who they meet in me, but I am sure I am an awesome person 😊. Professionally, I am a research scientist majorly working on plant breeding and biotechnology. I guess this is the background that has fueled my interest in exploring nature in the lab and be...

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters here .   Are you looking for a multi-purpose cycling, running, and/or walking spot in Nairobi that is less crowded? I was recently in search of such a place, something different from the popular Karura Forest on Limuru & Kiambu Roads, especially as I was keen to get to cycle more regularly over the weekend when so many people also flock Karura Forest. A friend who cycles regularly recommended Ngong Road Forest Sanctuary (NRFS), also as they live nearby. I was excited! As a brief comparison, I learned NRFS is similar to Karura Forest in 7 key ways: (i) similar opening hours, that is, 6.00 AM to 6.00 PM, (ii) well-marked trails, (iii) picnic sites even for those with children (at NRFS it goes for only KES 200/about USD 2), (iv) management by the government-run Kenya Forest Service (KFS), (v) the bike rent model of KES 500/about USD 5 every two hours (though bikes at N...

Table Mountain offers a 4-minute cable-way option to the top To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . Until mid-2023, I had only been to Table Mountain in Kenya. More info on my Table Mountain Kenyan version experience is here . In July 2023, I got to experience first-hand Table Mountain in Cape Town, South Africa - such a magnificent sight that surrounds the city.  Table Mountain's magnificent view as seen from Waterfront area of Cape Town Unlike the Kenyan Table Mountain version, it's accessible to not only hikers but also people from all walks of life, given the cable-way 4-minute option to get to the top. There is also a wheel-chair accessible path at the top as well as restrooms and a restaurant, quite a touristic experience! While I am more accustomed to basic and old-school hiking, I found it a refreshingly elegant and time-saving way to see the must-see signature mark of the town. You see, hiking on foot to and fro tak...

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here .   “Each fresh peak ascended teaches something”  – Sir Martin Conway Table Mountain is the shortest but steepest of the Aberdares ranges. While the shortest in distance, don't underestimate the time it takes (it's the steepest)! Here are six lessons I learned from my  adventure at Table Mountain   …hopefully, some or all of these add fuel to your everyday life walk:   1. Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you are climbing it (quote by Andy Rooney) That's how the starting point looks like 2. Hiking is a bit like life. You can’t climb up a mountain with downhill thoughts Keep looking up😄 3. If you are on the right path, it will always be uphill - learn to enjoy, bloom and thrive at your current life station Learn to enjoy and embrace every moment 4. When everything feel...

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here .   I got to learn about Millennial Summit Hikers from a work colleague at a gym changing room – we are both weekend hikers and we talked about the peculiarities of different hiking groups and how they’d finally found one that was offering more than just hikes – the Millennials Summit Hikers. They informed me that everyone is invited to join the group since it offers a unique opportunity to also know and connect with God not only through nature but also by bible study sessions held while hiking in the big mountains. Even for the other lower-altitude hikes, my colleague pointed out they are still inspired by the aura that Millennial goes beyond the physical activity that hiking is perceived to be. With this, I decided to give it a try. For my maiden hike with Millennial, I was very impressed with their unique slogan ‘breathe, sweat as you pray it out’. This ...

This post has been read To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . I first got to hear about Lets Drift hiking group in 2019 while on holiday where I shared the hotel with a bubbly and well-travelled adventurer - now my friend. One thing that stood out for me from narrating their many travel adventures was how they spent most of their weekends hiking. I had to ask - how do you afford to go for hiking every other weekend? You see, for me, I considered hiking to be an expensive hobby  - one that you do a few times in a year - not every other weekend - and also a cumbersome affair given all the planning involved.  My friend described Lets Drift a bit, and I left it at that … that was October … in December, when I went for my annual health check, I sadly found out that I had Vitamin D deficiency (thanks to COVID-19 related indoor lifestyle) and my weight had skyrocketed. The solution? Walk outdoors for at least 10 km twice a w...

This post has been read   To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here .   Emily Dickinson’s famous ‘I dwell in possibility’ poem encapsulates my Mt. Kenya hiking experience from  20th to 24th December 2021 from all angles. The key lessons that hiking Mt. Kenya taught me was (i) the trail is very doable, to the point where one of our hikers inspired us with a 40-day to Mt. Kenya successful summitting mission, and how to navigate with varied emotions and fear of heights on summit day (ii) there are simple antidotes to zero altitude sickness (iii) seeing opportunities in your valley life seasons.   Besides the amazing itinerary (more details shared on this post ), what stood out for me at Mt. Kenya was the serenity, simplicity and magnificence of the expansive area. I had thought it would be one huge climb from bottom to top (this only happens on summit day on your way up to point Lenana)…turns out Mt.Kenya is...

This post has been read  To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . Is making it for early morning hikes standing in the way of  keeping up with  a  regular hiking schedule... and  ... experiencing unique moments? A friend was recently keen to get to start hiking more  regularly, but their  practical  challenge was how to make it to Nairobi Central  Business District (CBD)  by 5am or even 6am, given that they live along Mombasa  Road (while only about  20km from Nairobi CBD, this area is known for its  notorious traffic, which is  worsened given there’s currently also ongoing road  construction, making  travelling on that route a pain for most). I told my  distressed friend ''No worries -  I understand you - I have another friend, Njambi  Wainaina, living along Mombasa  Road too - she impresses us with making it for  the 4.30...

This post has been read   To receive auto-notifications on new posts, click  here . Contact SoulBoosters  here . A vividly human spot (be on the lookout for it while on the Rurimeria trail), as if checking "are you speaking to or about me''😀 This has been a tough post to write, and it's taken long to gather my thoughts. You see, Paul Muchene , who was my  close hiking friend, passed away two weeks ago, on 6th August 2022, from a tragic fall off a cliff while hiking Mt. Kilimanjaro. This time, he was using the most difficult route on Africa's highest mountain, the Arrow Glacier route, just metres away from the summit. To add salt to the injury, he had already climbed the same mountain twice before (albeit using other 'easier' routes) and he passed away just three days shy of his 42nd birthday...I guess he'd hoped to mark his birthday in a unique way.  While he met his death while on a solo hiking mission with his own guide and porter support team (rat...