Jambo Everyone 

Today the team left behind our beautiful and comfortable river lodge and have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We left around 8am and drove along the rural countryside and small villages for 2 hours before reaching the park entrance. 

Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for. The base of Kilimanjaro is more forested and looks more jungle like and is called a cloud forest. 

Once we arrived at the park gate, we had all of our gear weighed and divided into loads for our porters and other staff to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order, we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail that ascends continuously through the thick forest. Thankfully the overhead canopy provided a little cover from the intense sun, and we were happy it didn’t rain either. It took our team around 5hr to reach our camp for the night that sits around 10’000ft. 

Once we were settled into camp and got everybody situated the team was served a nice warm meal for dinner before retiring for the night. Everyone is still feeling the jet lag, and I’m sure the team will sleep well tonight. 

Casey and Kili crew