RMI Expeditions Blog

Sunday, September 6, 2026 - 8:30 am PT

Machame Camp, 10,000 ft.  Our team of nine set off precisely on schedule this morning at 8 AM.  Our bus driver negotiated the busy highway to get us to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park in a tidy two hours.  There were papers to be filed and permits to be issued and finally we set out walking through the big forest at 11 AM.  The team crushed it today, cruising from 6000 to 10,000 ft in 5 hrs, 20 min.  We took a few breaks, listened to a few birds and surprisingly, saw the mountain.  We began the day under thick clouds but they dissipated as we climbed and we ended up with blue skies and great views in our new home.

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Saturday, September 5, 2026 - 10:10 pm PT

We’ve got the makings of another fine expedition to the highest point in Africa.  Nine of us got together at Rivertrees Inn yesterday to plan and pack for the mountain.  This morning we are setting out!

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

We woke way out in the bush of Tarangire to find fresh lion tracks in the dirt around the landcruisers.  It felt good to be out early and looking for game with no other cars around.  We didn’t see too much wildlife until we were relatively close to the gate on our exit.  A family of lionesses and their cubs were dozing by a waterhole.  And then we were out of the park and making our way back to Arusha.  We stopped once more at the cultural heritage center and then arrived back at Rivertrees. A shower, a repack, and a last dinner together fortified the team for departure.  Most left that evening, the rest the next day.  All pretty pleased with some great weeks in Africa together. 

RMI Guides Dave Hahn, Dominic Cifelli & Team

The Five Day Climb led by RMI Guides Ben Luedtke and George Hedreen were unable to travel above Camp Muir due to stormy weather and low visibility. During their two days on the mountain, the team received a few inches of new snow. Despite the challenging conditions, the climbers made the most of their time on Mount Rainier before descending.

Close Encounters

We came down into the great rift valley today and made our way to Tarangire National Park.  The place is known for elephants, Baobab trees and a great chance for nearly every thing else.  It wasn’t a big cat day for us… we saw a couple below a tree, but they were sleepy.  But it was a big day for elephants.  Close up and personal elephants.  Well one at least.  We’d stopped to watch a family of pachyderms cross the road.  They all crossed; moms, babies, aunts, sisters.  Except for one big bull who, instead of crossing, suddenly came to check out one of our Landcruisers.  We were trying to guess his intentions as his trunk found its way into the car. He then pulled back a step, took a rumbling dinosaur deep breath and shook his head violently a few feet from the car.  Then he stared down into it good and hard before pushing a tusk against the window.  Richard, our driver/guide turned the key and pressed smoothly on the gas at the same time, quickly moving us to safety as the big bull elephant then danced into the road.  We couldn’t believe how close we’d been to an enormous and confused animal.  It was a little terrifying and thrilling all at once. 

We then went on our way, deeper into the park, enjoying seeing giraffes and hyrax’s and elands.  Our lodge for the night is a tent camp way out in the wilds of Africa.  We shall see what beasts wander through. 

- RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

We fought through weather & cold conditions on Mt. Baker this weekend,  but had a successful summit day followed by beautiful sunshine on our decent from Baker! 

RMI Guide Hannah Blum

The August 28 - 1 September Glacier Peak climb led by RMI Guide Avery Stolte reached the summit this morning around 9 am.  The entire team stood on top today.  Nice work team! The group will descend to camp and spend another night on the mountain. Tomorrow they will return to the trailhead and conclude their program.

The day started out just so-so.  It was cloudy, it was raining.  When we drove up onto the rim of the Ngorongoro caldera it was still raining, still cloudy and the road was rough.  Down in the immense valley it was still a little miserable but at least we were seeing wildlife.  Then it got amazing. 
We considered ourselves lucky to have spied a few lions at some distance.  But then we started coming on prides of them at close range.  When three rhinos walked toward our vehicles, we were over the moon.  Such a thing doesn’t happen.  And it did.  They came into iPhone range.  Whole trips pass without a rhino even at great distance.  We moved a few miles away and considered ourselves ridiculously lucky then to see a different pride of lions on a zebra kill. And then a rhino casually walked within a few feet of the pride and the kill… again, so close that a phone was all the camera needed for capturing it.  Our guides had never seen such a thing before.  We were simply amazed.  We drove off to the lunchtime picnic grounds shaking our heads in wonder.   After lunch we made our way up to the crater rim again and stopped in for a tour of a Maasai village.  We danced we watched them throw spears and make fire. We toured their homes and tried to understand their traditional way of life in an otherwise modern world. 
Then we drove back down the bumpy roads to Plantation Lodge and the lap of luxury for another evening. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Rivertrees beds were comfy last night after a week sleeping on the ground.  But we got up early anyway to get started on our Safari. It took about an hour to get through Arusha and out into the wide open country to the west. But then we cruised through arid farmland, seeing herd after herd of Maasai cattle being shifted from one watering hole to another.  By midday we’d reached Lake Manyara National Park and our guides, Richard and Stephen, got us in and started showing us around.  Before long we were right up close to elephants and baboons. One car even got lucky enough to see a leopard up a tree.  Eventually we were getting used to seeing giraffes and hippos and impala.  There were hornbills and hawks. Three lonely zebra and a few waterbucks caught our eye.  It was a fine start to safari life and then we were checking in to the ultra comfortable Plantation Lodge in the Ngorongoro highlands outside Karatu.  The team enjoyed a very relaxing evening in the beautiful bar and dining room as we plotted out tomorrow’s itinerary in Ngorongoro Crater. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The Five Day Climb team, August 27–30, led by RMI Guides Pete Van Deventer and Joe Crawford, reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning!

Pete reported a beautiful day overall, with light winds as the team reached 13,800' around 7:30 a.m. Winds increased as they climbed higher, but the team continued upward and reached the summit around 8:00 a.m.

They are currently descending from the crater rim and will return to Camp Muir for a quick break before continuing down to Paradise later this afternoon.

Their patience yesterday in waiting out the storm paid off, as did having two nights on the mountain, which allowed for a more flexible itinerary. The team was able to take advantage of improved conditions and stand on top of Mt. Rainier today.

Nice work, team!