We hiked part way up the Kakumba River valley yesterday. We were promised by a local leader that this hike would take us about an hour and a half. Three and a half hours later we were still about 200 metres short of our destination. Two hundred metres of what seemed to me at the time like steep climbing and would have taken me a good half hour. So we (or more accurately I) decided we should turn around and head back down. This decision was made partly out of exhaustion and partly out of concern about getting back to town in time that same night. A good decision I think although hurtful to my pride. I take some consolation in the fact that I wasn't the slowest, and several people were tired besides myself. I consider myself to be in reasonable shape, but see below a couple of the dozens of farmers who passed us on the trail walking with ease even with what I would consider excruciatingly heavy loads borne in highly non-ergonomic 'back-packs'.