Entries from Kilimanjaro

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday we were climbing down a giant volcano, tired, grimy and hoping our strength would hold out. Today we were squeaky clean, comfortable, road-tripping, touristing and game-viewing. And it was great. We drove out of the Dik Dik and Arusha around 9 this morning and made our way -in two souped-up Toyota Landcruisers- to Lake Manyara National Park. We enjoyed a tranquil and easy picnic lunch within the park with Zach acting as Chef while zebras and elephants wandered by. Then we went cruising with both vehicle roofs peeled open to allow standing and scanning for wildlife. Lake Manyara itself was stunning today, with seemingly a million pink flamingos, storks and pelicans working the water's surface and shores. We spied baboons, elephants, giraffes, mongeese (what the plural of mongooses really should be), zebra and wildebeests, along with a few shy hippos and eagles. Before the sun set, we left the park and drove up on the rim of the great Rift Valley, looking out over the lake and a good chunk of East Africa. Our destination for the night was the Kirurumu Lodge and an extremely comfortable network of tent-cabins and fine dining. Tomorrow, we look forward to a full day of safari-life. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

The day started with our local staff serenading the team with the "Jambo" song after breakfast. It was nice to see the strong and good men who've helped us so much this week all in one place, singing, dancing and able to receive our thanks for their great efforts. We then made an effort to get out of their way by leaving Mweka Camp and descending 4000 vertical feet to the Mweka gate to end our climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The low clouds didn't hold back for long before dropping light but steady rains on us and the already slippery track. The trail took us through a lush and seemingly impenetrable forest... I'm sure there was much to see, but mostly we concentrated on making careful steps and avoiding falls for a few hours. We were relieved to reach easier terrain for the home stretch. Since it was still raining at the Mweka Gate to the National Park, we didn't hang around long before loading onto our expedition bus/truck and hitting the road for Moshi. Halfway back to Arusha, in better weather, we stopped for a great picnic lunch. Then it was on to our comfortable home at the Dik Dik hotel where we all got a lot cleaner and a little more pleasant as we caught up on sleep and internet. We're heading for a celebration dinner now, which will double as a farewell to Brian and Brad who are abandoning us and heading home tomorrow as we set out for our much-anticipated game-viewing safari. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Hey, this is David Hahn with Kilimanjaro team and we are on the summit! We are at Uhuru which is 19,341 feet above sea level. And we are in spectacularly good conditions. And as an added bonus, we have the summit all to ourselves. The whole team is up here and the wind is blowing about one and a half miles per hour. And it's extremely pleasant. [Broken] ...happens to be cloaked in clouds right now, but it's still beautiful. We're enjoying being up here stepping into the throat of this great volcano. We'll let you know when we're down safe but all is going very well now. Thank you. RMI Guide Dave Hahn Dave Hahn Recaps the Summit Day: We left Barafu Camp shortly after one AM and set out for the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. It was an absolutely splendid night for climbing as there was no wind and no cloud above. There was also no moon, so the stars and meteors and Milky Way were prominent and mesmerizing. At first it wasn't terribly cold, but of course as we gained altitude and got closer to dawn we had to contend with the big chill. We made steady progress and watched sunrise from about an hour below the crater rim. There was still no view of Africa, other than the cloud sea far below us. We reached Stella Point on the crater rim at 8 AM and made our way around the rim to Uhuru -the high point- by just after nine. It was calm and comfortable up there at 19,340 ft and so we stayed for forty minutes. Descent to Barafu took until 1 PM. Once there we packed our gear, ate a fine lunch and at 2:30 continued our descent toward the cloud sea. All were a little weary (understandably) but we made good progress in any event reaching Mweka Camp at 10,000 ft by 6 PM. It was quite a journey, from the ice and glaciers down through numerous transition zones to the start of the forests and jungles. The team was optimistic about sleeping straight through this night and at last conquering our collective jet lag.

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This was a relatively easy day for our team. We had nice, warm sunshine on the tents when we rolled out for 8 AM breakfast. As we'd become accustomed to, the world below was hidden beneath a thick blanket of cloud and the Roof of Africa was shining and clear above us. The cloud sea rose as the day went on, but so did we, staying one jump ahead in the sunshine. In such nice weather, there seemed to be no hurry, so Eliepende led our crew at a leisurely four-hour pace. We'd left 13,100 ft Karanga Camp at 9 AM and we cruised into 15,200 ft Barafu Camp at 1 PM. After a fine lunch and an inspiring discussion of our summit plans and preparations, the gang retired for a couple of quiet hours resting in the tents. We're doing a 5 o'clock dinner so as to have plenty of rest before our insanely early departure for the top. The evening is still calm and clear and we have high hopes for success. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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Being on safari is nature at its most basic form. To see the food chain in the realm of nature makes you ponder on life itself. You take away a certain fresh outlook on the meaning of life on these safaris. And to see the living prehistoric creature that is near extinction, the rhino, keep the wheels spinning. We had a chilly start to the day up in the cloud forest on the flanks of the Ngorongoro Crater. We decided to stop in at a Maasai Boma or village where for 20 dollars each they gave us warmth in one of their cow dung huts with its dirt floor, no chimney, wood-burning modular homes. We got out of there pretty quickly but left with the flavor and fragrance of a life a bit different than ours. Nice folks and enjoyed the visit. The clouds eventually burnt off to a picture-perfect day in the bottom of the crater, the Eighth Wonder of the World. Yes the trigger finger took a bit of a warming up but no animal, bird, or plant escaped the lens of these safari pros. We even had some shots taken with out a memory card due to some rough roads and a bit too over excited at the chase of the perfect picture. Lots more opportunity for photos tomorrow as we move to yet another amazing park in Africa. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

It was cold in Mt. Kilimanjaro's Barranco Camp this morning, but very beautiful. We still couldn't see the world below, due to clouds, but we could sure see the steep Southern walls of Kibo Peak above. Giant icicles hung down from the glaciers and snowfields in the early morning shadows. Just as the sun hit our camp at about 8:15 AM, we set off into the cool shadows again. We didn't stay cold though, since our first task was to climb the steep lava ledges of the Barranco Wall. Our local guides, Eric and Charles, along with Eliapende and Vendelin, made sure that all felt confident in reaching up for the rough handholds and stepping from block to block to pass this imposing barrier. It took over an hour, as expected, to get up 800 vertical feet of relief, but we did it, earning even better views of Kilimanjaro's central peak and glaciers hanging thousands of feet above. Then it was relatively easy walking to reach the Karanga Valley, but by the time we made that combination steep descent and ascent -in and out of the narrow valley, we were in cloud. We made it to Karanga Camp at 13,160 ft by 1:15 PM and began our now familiar and welcome pattern of resting, recuperating, eating and drinking through the afternoon. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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This is not any surfing safari, although that doesn't sound too bad either. Our goal is not to catch the perfect wave, but it is to find the perfect sighting of so much wild game on a beautiful day. I'll take it. We forced ourselves to leave one lovely lodge to end up at another. We are at the Plantation Lodge situated midway between Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater, which is the location of tomorrow's safari. The team did well making the transition from climbing to safari. Although that trigger finger took a hit today taking so many pictures, I have confidence it will pull off some amazing shots tomorrow. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

We are getting ready for dinner here just outside of Arusha in the lowlands of Tanzania. Everybody is healthy and happy. It’s crazy to think where we were just yesterday--what a great climb. We moved up the hill like clockwork. I was very impressed by the strength, both mental and physical, by one and all during such an arduous task. This morning we had a nice walk in the cloud forest, and yes we were in the clouds. It was so lush and pretty. After reaching the Mweka Gate and having lunch, we said farewell to our local staff and a “thank you so much” to the staff of the Dik Dik Hotel—one of the best outfitters for Kilimanjaro. They offer great support and I will defiantly use them again. How about next week? Is that soon enough? But first I will spend a few days on safari game viewing with the team. We’ve made some great memories already and more are yet to come. I will do my best to keep you in the loop on phase two of the “A Team” in East Africa. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

The rains came in the wee hours at Machame Camp this morning. We were all snug in our sleeping bags and dry in our tents, but each of the team heard the showers and wondered how things might be if it all didn't quit by morning. Well, it didn't quit, but things weren't too bad, as it turned out. We geared up in waterproof clothing and got out into light showers and persistent mist. We'd breakfasted and busted out of camp by eight AM, climbing a steep and slippery trail with big lava-block steps. We climbed for several hours in the cloud, wondering just which grand views we were missing. It never got unbearably wet and we were spared from the possibility of overheating from too much sun. Most of our altitude for the day had been gained and we were beginning the leftward traverse which would bring us to the Shira Plateau when we climbed out of the clouds. It seemed we were in a great garden of wildflowers as we proceeded around the corner to Shira. And then we could see - for the first time - the upper slopes and glaciers of Kilimanjaro. It was an exciting moment, made better by the realization that we only had some easy downhill walking left to go in order to reach camp at 12,570 ft above sea level. We were looking out over an endless sea of cloud and enjoying the sunshine for a time...the clouds washed back over camp in the mid-afternoon. By then though, we were well-fed and well-sheltered in our new and higher home. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Our team was up before daylight today, getting set to leave the Dik Dik Hotel. We were piling into the expedition bus at 7 AM and driving out of the garden-like grounds we'd grown comfortable in these past few days. As expected, it took about two hours to reach the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park, our starting point for the climb. We traveled through corn fields for much of the way, but worked up into banana and coffee plantations as we gained elevation. It took about two hours to register and organize porters and so we set out at 11 AM from the 5,900 ft road head. Clouds protected us from the sun as we walked through gradually steepening terrain in the lush forest. It took about six hours to reach the Machame Camp at close to 10,000 ft, about where the vegetation changed markedly from tall trees to more scrub like heather. The team demonstrated a high level of fitness, but all were relieved to come into a well built camp at the end of the day. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map