Greetings from Machame Camp,
The missing bag finally showed up last night and we have one very happy climber. For the last few days the weather has been a little unstable, with some heavy rain showers in the lowlands. But this morning, just as we were approaching the mountain, the clouds started to thin and we saw Kilimanjaro for the first time. After people got over the initial surprise of how big it looks from a distance, it became obvious that the unstable weather we had in town, had covered the mountain with a white blanket of snow. Usually you have to look pretty hard to find snow on the mountain, so this was a pretty cool sight to see. It won't affect our climb though, as most of it will melt before we reach high camp.
Having left our hotel this morning right on time, we were at the park gate before any of the other climbing groups showed up. We made quick work of taking care of the permits and registration. And after the final porter's bag was weighed, we were off and walking.
The weather continued to improve all day and we had perfect temperatures all the way to camp. We walked into camp at 3:30 and got settled into our new accommodations at 10,000'. Everyone did great today on the trail. This group showed up well prepared, and ready for the challenge ahead.
We'll send out another update tomorrow when we get to Shira Camp.
Best,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hey Mom, when you have to carry Eric up the mountain, its best to use the fireman’s carry. It will center his weight above you rather than behind you if he is on your back. I’m sure you guys are doing great! I love you all, good luck over the next couple days!
With very much love,
Derek
Posted by: Derek Kraft on 2/12/2014 at 6:59 pm
First day completed - WAHOO!!! You all look great. Enjoy each day and take lots of pictures.
Jambo from the Dik Dik,
We are still one bag down, but otherwise this group is ready to leave early tomorrow morning. We did spend the day going through all the details about our climb and what we might expect along the way as ascend the mountain over the next seven days. Next we focused on gear and equipment, discussing the difference between nice to have and need to have, as well as what to pack in our mountain duffel and what is carried in our day packs. This group did an excellent job in bringing all the right gear so we did not have to spend too much time doing the equipment checks and weighing our mountain duffels.
It was raining most of the day, so rather than go out for an afternoon hike, we stayed indoors, with time well spent recovering from the eleven hour time zone difference, and sending out those last few emails before leaving behind the last of the wi-fi connectivity that we will have for the next week.
We sat down for our four-course dinner, and had a special treat tonight. Two of our climbers are celebrating birthdays. The staff prepared a wonderful cake for this occasion and rolled it in on a cart after dinner with all the candles lit up and everybody singing. Our two climbers were definitely surprised.
We have set our alarms for an early wake up, and hope to be driving towards Kilimanjaro National Park by 7:30 am. Tomorrow, we'll check in from our first camp on the mountain, Machame Camp.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello from Usa River, Tanzania,
The daily KLM flight from Amsterdam arrived right on time tonight, and fortunately our entire team made the flight. Not so lucky with all the bags. We have one bag that is still in Amsterdam and will come down on tomorrow's flight, just in time for us before we leave for the mountain. We are now at the hotel and just finished the best meal that has been served in the last 9,000 + miles of travel.
Tomorrow we'll start with a full orientation about our Kilimanjaro climb and safari and then work on getting our gear ready and weighed for the mountain. Everyone is excited to finally be here in Africa and beginning this incredible adventure. More to follow tomorrow.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
This experience is going to exceed your expectations, I’m sure. :) Dad, the guide won’t let you drive on the safari, so don’t even ask.
PS For the love of Pete, please try and pick up some Swahili while you’re out there. haha. Eric, we should have made you some post cards to study off of.
Posted by: Rachel on 2/11/2014 at 11:14 am
Sarah, friends, guides, helpers,
Have a magnificent adventure!
Safe journey! xoxox’s, mom
Posted by: Marguerite Saslow on 2/11/2014 at 7:18 am
Jambo from Kikoti Camp,
Tarangire National Park did not disappoint us today! There were big herds of elephants all day long, as well as lions, bush bucks, impalas, gazelles, baboons, giraffe, and ostriches. While the park was very active with lots of animals and birds, our time to see a leopard was quickly running out. It was getting pretty late in the day and we almost conceded that it wasn't meant to be. Fortunately, we decided to take a small detour on the way to our camp, and just before we were going to turn around, we spotted a leopard in a nearby acacia tree. We had an unobstructed view of the leopard, no more than 30 feet away, and took so many pictures that we almost drained our camera batteries.
The real find for the day however, came right before camp when we spotted a pack of wild African dogs. Seeing these dogs is very rare, as they were almost completely wiped out from human pressures in this area, but have been trying to make a small comeback. There were about 15 in total in the pack.
Now we are sitting around the campfire and reminiscing about the animals we saw over the last few days. The stars are out and the sounds of the African night make this the perfect setting for our last night in Tanzania.
Tomorrow we head back to Arusha, pick up our climbing gear and repack for our flights home. Twenty-four hours from now we will be on the plane to Amsterdam and then onto our connecting flights.
It has been a great adventure and everyone will have lots of stories to tell about our climb and safari when they get back home. Thanks again to everyone for following along with our dispatches and for leaving all of your comments.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello from Plantation Lodge,
We spent the whole day game viewing in Ngorongoro Crater, and it was certainly a highlight for all. The crater itself is massive, and because of the high slopes surrounding the crater and the year round water supply, it is home of about 25,000 resident animals. Needless to say, we added quite a few animals to our list that we started yesterday, including the black rhino. There are only 12 left in this park, and we saw three of them. Hippos, lions, elephants, Cape buffalo, zebras, hyenas, jackals, warthogs, and too many bird species to name, were seen throughout the day.
Once we had our fill of game viewing, we ascending up out of the crater, and went to visit a Maasai village. We were given a tour of the boma and learned all about their simple way of life. It's pretty amazing that they can continue to live in a traditional way despite all the outside pressures to change into the mainstream culture of Tanzania.
Tomorrow we head out for our last and final park - Tarangire. We still have to see a leopard in order to say that we saw the Big 5. We'll see what the day has in store for us.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin & Team
Hello fellow climbers! I am glad to see that you are enjoying the continuation of your trip. Made it back to California without hassle. Helped by red wine and sleeping pill. My last day at The Dik Dik was a little lonely since I appeared to be the only guest there and my plane was not until 950pm that night. They tried to feed me a lot and at some point I had to say no. Also if you want to buy souvenirs I would recommend doing it while on safari, because the airport shops seemed to be lacking somewhat in authenticity (although not too bad). Interestingly, while waiting for my plane, there were 3 power failures in the terminal. Fortunately, the computers and runway lights seemed to be on a different circuit, so Hakuna Matata! Here is the latest Bieber update: http://celebrity.yahoo.com/blogs/celeb-news/justin-bieber—extremely-abusive—to-flight-attendant—has-pot-party-at-10-000-ft-184625636.html
Finally, something else I wanted to share with you. When I arrived back at the Dik Dik after the climb, I received a series of text messages informing me that my mother had passed away. She was 82 years old and was in declining health, but her death was not expected. She died on January 29, only a few days into our trek. Although I could have been informed of this, my father was absolutely insistent that I not be told until after I had summited (I guess he had more confidence in my abilities than I had myself). I did not want to mention this at our celebratory dinner since it would detract too much from our overall festive mood. Nonetheless, after having spent over a week with all of you and getting to know you, I think I can tell you now. So after a 36 hour turnover time, I will be on an airplane to Florida to visit with my father for awhile.
I look forward to seeing and sharing all of our pictures. It was a pleasure meeting all of you. I think our overall comradeship, as well as Jeff’s high degree of leadership and professionalism is what allowed us to be successful.
I wish you all the best.
Robert
Hello from Plantation Lodge,
Today we did not have to break camp or walk anywhere. Instead, we switched out our climbing clothes for cameras and binoculars and started our four-day safari in northern Tanzania. The first stop was Lake Manyara National Park. Created in 1960, and the second designated national park in the country, it is most well known for tree climbing lions. Fortunately, we were not disappointed by the elusive lions. Not too long into our game drive, we spotted four lions who had just finished a big meal and took to the trees to get a little relief from the sun and heat. We were about 15 feet away from one of them, with an unobstructed view of this impressive creature. Just down the road, we came across a big family of elephants that were anything but camera shy. Throughout the day we saw at least 25 different species of animals, which is a real treat for such a small park.
Now we are at the Plantation Lodge, a small luxury lodge, that is located on the highlands above Lake Manyara. It is absolutely beautiful here!
Tomorrow we head to Ngorongoro Crater to see what many call the eighth wonder of the world. We are all excited to see what the day has in store for us.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hello from the Dik Dik Hotel,
We are off the mountain with a very successful climb behind us. We all went to bed pretty early last night after the long day of climbing, and fell asleep immediately. It was the kind of deep sleep that only comes after being up for almost 24 hours, being active for most of it, and finishing a goal that has been months in the making.
When we woke up, it was time to pack up camp one last time and head to the park gate. The team was ready to go by 7:45 and 2 1/2 hours later we were signing the registration book at the end of the trail.
The entire team made it to Uhuru Peak on Kilimanjaro so each of us received the gold summit certificate from the National Park. After our celebration ceremony with our guides, camp staff, and porters, we loaded up and drove to our hotel. As soon as we got off the bus, it was time for that long awaited shower and clean clothes. The afternoon went by quickly as we unpacked all our mountain gear and shifted our focus on the packing for the next part of our adventure, a 4-day safari. We leave early tomorrow for Lake Manyara, the first stop on our safari.
We had no communications at Mweka camp last night and we were dying to know who won the Super Bowl. It wasn't until the gate when we found out that the Seahawks won it big. What a great news. Finally Seattle can claim a victory!
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Conor, congratulations from all your ConMet buddies! Have fun on the next phase of your visit.
Posted by: John Hodge on 2/4/2014 at 8:07 am
Congratulations to all!! It’s been exciting to follow your progress through this blog and I’m hoping the updates will continue through the safari segment, too. Can’t wait to give you a celebratory hug in person, Barrie, but you have more adventures ahead before we see you here in Richmond. Enjoy the “high” you must be feeling even as you continue your travels at lower altitudes!!!
Debbie Trainer
Jambo from Mweka Camp,
We had a great summit day and the entire team reached the summit at 7:50 AM. It started about 11:45 PM last night when the alarm went off, and soon after we were dressed and packed for the climb. After a quick breakfast we threw on our backpacks and started up the trail. The team did a great job of climbing the 4,000'+ to the top, and the weather cooperated with us the whole way, with a little wind to start, but was almost calm while we were on the summit. It took us 7 hours total to reach the top, and after spending about 45 minutes on top, we began our descent down to our last camp on the mountain, Mweka Camp.
Everybody did very well today. Now we are settled into our tents and looking forward to a good night's rest. We'll get an early start tomorrow and finish the last section of our trek, descending to Mweka Gate.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
RMI Guide Jeff Martin calling in from the Roof of Africa.
Congratulations Chief!!! We are all so proud of you!!! Love and miss you!!! Jill, Rachel, Caleb, Kiki, Emily, Shane, Eli, Silas, David, Catie, Shena, Jeff, Anthony and Chloe
Hello from Barafu Camp,
We had another gorgeous morning when we woke up. Since it was a fairly short hiking day we took our time packing up camp and had a nice leisurely breakfast. We walked out of camp at 9:00 and made very good use of the trail to continue working on our rest stepping, pacing and breathing so we will be ready for tomorrow. The group did great and we made it to camp in just over two hours.
We took full advantage of our afternoon by talking about all the details of the climb ahead as well as discussing what gear to bring and what gear can stay at camp.
Now we are getting ready for an early dinner so we can be in bed by 7:00. The alarm clock is set for o'dark thirty and the plan is to be walking out of camp at 1:00 am. Hopefully we will be calling in from the summit of Kilimanjaro around 8:00 am.
The entire team is strong and healthy and doing well. We all appreciate the comments that have been posted on the blog, thank you for sending the encouraging words.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Jambo from Karanga Camp,
The team did great again today and the good weather continues. Right out of camp this morning we started our climb of the Barranco Wall. While viewed by most people as one of the more difficult parts of the trail, it was a breeze for this group. And it wouldn't be a stretch to say that they actually enjoyed it! We had the usual stopping and starting along the trail as climbers and porters negotiated some of the more tricky sections, but this did not slow us down and we topped out in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
With the elevation gain behind us, we continued east towards Karanga Valley, traversing below the last of the southern ice fields. We also took advantage of some good terrain along the way to practice some walking techniques that we will use on summit day. By 1:00 we were pulling into camp, just in time to sit down to a spaghetti lunch. Such a treat! Now we are continuing the routine of the past few afternoons and just hanging out in camp enjoying our time on the mountain. The sun has been battling the clouds for most of the day. Lucky for us, the sun is refusing to give up.
Tomorrow is a short climb to Barafu Camp, our high camp. We'll get into camp by early afternoon with plenty of time to get ready for our summit day.
Best regards,
RMI Guide Jeff Martin
Hey Mom, when you have to carry Eric up the mountain, its best to use the fireman’s carry. It will center his weight above you rather than behind you if he is on your back. I’m sure you guys are doing great! I love you all, good luck over the next couple days!
With very much love,
Derek
Posted by: Derek Kraft on 2/12/2014 at 6:59 pm
First day completed - WAHOO!!! You all look great. Enjoy each day and take lots of pictures.
Posted by: Candy on 2/11/2014 at 11:25 pm
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