Our departure from the Dik Dik Hotel was right on time. A couple hours of travelling and we arrived at the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park. We spent a bit of time getting organized and sorting out climbing permits before setting out into the cloud forest at 6,000' plus. Over the course of five hours, 4,000' in elevation gain, and 20,346 steps we arrived at our first camp on the mountain: Machame Camp. Throughout the day we had beautiful views of the mountain and perfect climbing conditions. The whole team is doing well and everyone is glad to have started the climb. The dinner bell is about to ring so I better run... RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

Hello from the Dik Dik Lodge. Everyone has arrived. Before lunch we met for our orientation meeting and gear check. We then spent the afternoon finalizing and preparing our gear for the mountain. Now we are all set for Kilimanjaro! Once we finished dinner is off to our rooms to finish last-minute packing or a bit more Internet time. The plan is to meet up for breakfast at 6:30 am and be ready to go by 7:30. We have a couple of hours driving to the national park and it's good to be early. All the gear looks good and tents and food are all set to go. The team is starting to get excited. We are all looking forward to getting the climb under way. RMI Guide Mark Tucker