Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Team Orlando arrived at
Shira Camp 12,570 feet. Today hiked the trail which became steeper and rockier as the vegetation thinned away. The gnarled trunks of heather disappeared and we entered the moorland, the grasses and rocky terrain unique to Eastern Africa,
After we ascended the wide ridge we gained the Shira Plateau. We descended a few hundred feet along the edge and into our camp that is tucked among sparse vegetation and volcanic rock bands. We have beautiful views of Kilimanjaro's upper slopes as well as Mt Meru.
RMI Guide
JJ Justman
The
Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide
Mike Walter reached the summit of Mt. Rainier today. Mike reported broken clouds in the valley and clear skies above Paradise with light winds from the southwest. The team has started their descent and are now en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
We traveled to
Kilimanjaro National Park today. We registered with the Park and we began our climb. We left the cultivation zone where bananas and coffee plants abound and we entered the forest zone. The lush rainforest of Kilimanjaro's lower slopes were covered in mist.
The trail, which is an old jeep trail, soon narrowed into a beautiful trail that winded through thick vegetation and enormous trees. We kept an eye out for the elusive Blue and Colobus monkeys but they were hiding from the rain.
As we approached Machame Camp we left the forest zone and into the Heather and Moorland zone. We saw some heather that is over 30 feet tall! It's nice to be at 10,000 feet and the team is doing great!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
On The Map
Hello from
Barranco Camp on Kilimanjaro.
We are set up in this beautiful valley with the Giant Senecia trees all around. The crew did great today on our 6.5 hour hike. The day started off cloudy, cold and windy after a little weather system moved in overnight. But by the time we reached our high point at 14,900' the wind was dying and the sun was out. The temperature crept up and up as we descended to camp and it is quite comfortable now. We will relax for the rest of the afternoon and evening and get fueled up for the Barranco Wall tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
RMI Guides
Billy Nugent and
Eric Frank led their Four Day Summit Climbs to the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. Billy reported lots of climbers on the route and light winds. The teams are enjoying some time on the summit before beginning their descent. We look forward to seeing the teams in Ashford this afternoon.
Congratulations climbers!
Today our Orlando
Kilimanjaro Team slept in after a long flight. We organized gear and got ready for our upcoming climb. After lunch we explored the area and visited an orphanage where the beautiful children of this area touched our hearts. Please visit
tupendanechildren.org.
RMI Guides
Elias de Andres Martos and
Kel Rossiter led our Summit Climb teams to the top of
Mount Rainier this morning. Their views spanned out to Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams and other peaks in the Cascade Mountains. Both teams began their descent after 8:15 a.m.
Congratulations Summit Climb Teams!
Jambo! This is Seth checking in. I finally received my luggage and can now begin to send reports from the mountain. I have to thank the wonderful staff at the Dik Dik hotel for getting my bag delivered to 12,500' on
Kilimanjaro.
The group is all doing really well. We have had two excellent days on the trek so far. Our camp tonight is at the Shira Plateau which gives us a wonderful view of the summit. The weather has been just fine as well. We had a few drops of rain yesterday but we had already arrived in camp when that started. Everyone is climbing strong. I'll check in again tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
On The Map
Jambo from
Africa everyone!
We have had an exciting last two days as we made our way to Tarangire National Park, known for their abundance of elephants, in fact, they have more elephants per square kilometer than any other place on earth.
Yesterday we spent about four hours driving through the park, which is mostly a savannah with a river running through it. We saw hundreds of elephants, zebra, wildebeest, Impala, Élan and plenty of other wildlife too.
We spent the night out in the African bush in a remote tented camp called Kikoti that overlooks Tarangire Park. We arrived to watch the beautiful sunset one last time and then enjoyed yet another wonderful meal.
Today we finished our safari with our drive back through Tarangire where we had hoped to see a leopard or cheetah, but sadly it wasn't to be. We have all enjoyed our last few days here in Africa and everyone is looking forward to getting back to the Dik Dik Hotel for one last shower before heading to the airport.
Missing all of our families and most of our friends ;)
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and a happy crew
Kilimanjaro...
Kilimanjaro!!! Team Orlando is in full effect!! The entire team flew together to Tanzania and we just finished a great dinner. I am going to let you know why I love guiding here in Africa...The People!
It has been two years since my last trip here and as soon as I arrived I was welcomed with the kindest smiles and warmest hugs. Our local staff are like family to me and it's so nice to see how lovely they treat our teams.
We are so happy to be here!!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
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Following you Ninja Llex! Safe travels all!
143! :)
Posted by: Heather on 8/10/2015 at 5:09 am
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