Misty Mountain Hop

Since our last bus journey proved to be a little exhausting to say the least, we were happy to be departing Ella by train to Nuwara Eliya. The train journey from Ella is listed as one of Lonely Planet’s “must do” activities in Sri Lanka, so to make the most of it we opted for the observation car expecting fantastic views. The views did not disappoint but the cultural side of the train trip was not there so I spent most of the time in the second class area chatting about Canada with a group of Muslim boys and a car load of their siblings. For those interested, second class is a much livelier scene with songs being sung, food being passed around and loud conversation booming through the car compared to the rather sullen mood of the observation car.

A few hours later we arrived in Nuwara Eliya and spent a lovely evening in King Ferns Guesthouse. If there is a more eccentric and rustic feeling guesthouse I have not heard of it. A group of cycling Calgarian’s and a couple from Holland joined us as we ate family style while being entertained by the charismatic owner’s stories. A highly recommended place to stay.

Due to the Hindu holiday coinciding with the weekend the buses to Adams Peak the following morning were predictably jam packed yet again. After a frustrating journey with more bus changes than expected, we checked into our guesthouse and it was early to bed for my 2:30am departure for the peak.

I was not alone early that morning as I set off with pilgrims of all ages heading up the mountain well before sunrise. The climb started out easy enough but progressed quickly to an endless staircase winding its way up to the summit. Opportunities for rest stops were frequent with an endless supply of tea houses serving up tea with enough sugar that would put a diabetic into a coma. About ¾ of the way up the stairs became even narrower and my pace turned to a slow stumble due to a traffic jam of people clogging both sides of the steps. Using up most of my patience, it was 5am when I finally made it to the summit and after a quick once around the temple I began to regret my hurried pace.

While Sri Lanka might be a tropical country on paper, the summit of Adams Peak feels anything but. Soaking wet with sweat I donned my toque and scarf and curled up in a ball for the long torturous wait for sunrise in the freezing cold wind. At 630am the bells began signaling sunrise and myself and the other pilgrims were treated to an endless view of …cloud cover. I waited around for close to an hour hoping it would clear but when the amount of disappointed faces around me began to thin, I thought it would best to head down as well.

After descending for 10 minutes I noticed the clouds swirling around us and began to catch glimpses of the other mountains in the area. Feeling as if I had climbed a mountain with no final reward, I hesitantly decided to climb back up and wait awhile longer in hopes of a view. My decision was worth it as there were just a few pilgrims left on the summit and I had most of the incredible view mostly to myself.

If going up the mountain was hell I do not have words for coming down. The steps are much too large for treading lightly and cause an endless amount of knee bashing with no relief. Having completed the task, its hard not to think of the sore muscles and joints I will probably feel in the days to come but in my experience these things are always worth their while and I know I will have no regrets having climbed to the top (and back down) Adams Peak.