Tuesday, August 22, 2023 - 7:47 am PT

Everything went just like clockwork today for the start of our adventure.  We were up early, eating breakfast and shuffling duffels at Rivertrees Inn.  We actually drove away to start the climb several minutes before the 8 AM intended launch.  Ninety minutes in the bus brought us to the Machame gate of Kilimanjaro National Park.  At 6000 ft, this was to be our starting point.  Inevitably there was a little time spent getting the team permit paperwork finished, and some time spent getting porter loads sorted.  But we were able to start walking through the forest a little after 10:30 AM, not bad at all.  Freddy, one of our longtime local guides led today’s charge up the hill. We began with a gradual climb on a road, which eventually turned into a trail upward through the rainforest.  We considered ourselves lucky to have a fair bit of blue sky and sunshine for the first day, which is very often spent under or within thick clouds.  As well, we seemed to be a few hours ahead of most other teams which meant that the track through the woods was pretty peaceful.  We took several breaks to eat snacks and drink tea, but we kept at the hard work of gaining altitude and by 3:30 we’d reached Machame Camp at 10,000 ft.  Our amazing staff had our camp built and ready for us to move in when we arrived.  We only had to clean up and show up in the dining tent for tea time.  Easy.  Tosha, our world class chef is serving up dinner at 6:30 and the team is anxious to enjoy a good meal, see some southern hemisphere stars and get a good night’s rest. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn