Entries from Kilimanjaro

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, considered by many to be the eighth natural wonder of the world. The crater is roughly 100 square miles of what was once an enormous volcano similar to Kilimanjaro that erupted and collapse on its self. It is known for its abundance of animals that call the crater home with some estimates as high as 30,000 mammals.

We hit the road early with hopes of catching a few of the big cats before the heat of the day.

There were many sightings today of hyenas, zebras, wildebeest, Cape buffalo, ostrich, and countless other birds. We managed to see several lions, including one huge male very close.

We also saw a few Black Rhinos far in the distance, which have become very rare due to poaching.  

We have just finished another wonderful meal here at the Plantation Lodge.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Today was the start of our safari adventure and we visited the beautiful Lake Manyara National Park. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 350 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing a few animals up close. 

We didn’t see a ton of animals today, but we did get up close to a few elephants, baboons and 6 beautiful lions! Also managed to see a couple of zebras and a giraffe off in the distance. 

It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow. 

We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at our new lodge www.plantation-lodge.com see for yourself!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Our final day on the mountain!

Today the gang got up at 6:30 refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took just around three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew that took such great care of us on the mountain. 

We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. 

Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, Safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

 

The RMI Kilimanjaro September 16th team reached the summit of Kilimanjaro, 19.340'!  All team members climbed strong and were all at the summit together.

The team has descended and is currently at Mweka Camp, 10,000', their final camp of the climb.  

Way to go team!

Hello again everyone, 

The team had a good nights rest last night and today was just a short 3 hour hike up to 15,000' to our high camp. Everyone is excited and maybe just a touch nervous, which is very normal! 

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule. 

Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30pm and have a quick breakfast at 11, then hopefully hit the trail around 11:30pm. It’s looking a little busy, so will hit the trail a little early to hopefully avoid any traffic jams and allow us to cruise at our own steady pace. 

The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8 hours if things go according to plan. 

We had trivia challenge, and one lucky winner will get a phone call from the summit. 

So everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 7hrs ahead of the east coast time zone. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the RMI summit bound team!

Hello everyone 

Right out of camp we were faced with the only significant technical obstacle for this climb. This hurdle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1,000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require the use of our hands to help us climb up. 

The team did a good job of moving steady and allowing a few porters through with their loads precariously balanced on their heads. Which was astonishing to see!

After reaching the top we took a nice break and enjoyed the amazing views of the ice ladened south face and valleys below. The team continued our hike for a few more hours up and down through a few valleys before reaching today's endpoint. 

All in all, it took only about 4 hours for us to reach our next camp called Karanga, named for the big and beautiful valley which it overlooks. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

Howdy everyone back home,

All is well in Tanzania. We’ve had great weather and the team is humming along really well. 

We hit the trail just after 8 am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 15 minute break, then back on the trail for another hour and so on. All total today we hiked for just over 6 hours before reaching Barranco camp. Our gracious Kilimanjaro porters have been working very hard and we arrive once again to a camp set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous Lava Tower reaching just over 15,000' setting new altitude records for many. We also passed by many of the giant groundsels and towering Senecio trees that made us feel as if we were in some crazy Dr. Suess story. 

The team is in good spirits and doing great. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew

Hello again everyone 

The team had a really nice day here on Kili today, waking to clear skies and a beautiful view of Kilimanjaro looming in the distance. We had a light cloudy layer which helped keep us cool while on the trail, which was nice as the sun can be quite intense here near the equator.

We started the day waking at 6:30 to start packing up before moving into our dinning tent for a nice breakfast with porridge, fried eggs, toast, avocado and even some fresh fruit, and most importantly plenty of hot coffee. 

We hit the trail shortly after 8am and slowly made our way up the rocky trail with occasional views of Kili above. The trail climbed up a blunted ridge and eventually out of the trees and allowed for some truly spectacular views of the valley below. The team hiked for a little more than 4 hours before reaching our next camp that sits on the Shira plateau, which is the remnant of an ancient lava flow. 

Everyone is doing very well and we are currently relaxing in camp. 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew

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

The gang's all here! There are 12 of us in total on this Kilimanjaro adventure. Everyone is doing well and we've been enjoying the Rivertrees Lodge that is nestled inbetween Arusha and Moshi, and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro. 

Today was officially Day One for us (Day Three if you're following the itinerary on the RMI Website). So we had a round of introductions before discussing the upcoming program for the days ahead. The team spent the remainder of the day getting gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our peaceful Lodge and getting adjusted to the nearly 12-hour time change.  

Tomorrow we hit the trail and everyone is looking forward to seeing the mountain and stretching the legs after those long flights!

Until tomorrow,

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kilimanjaro Crew!