Entries By casey grom

Namaste Everyone,

The team woke to beautifully clear skies again and views of Everest right out our dining room window. We’ve settled into our daily routine of getting up and packing our duffel bags before meeting in the dining room for breakfast and plenty of Starbucks thanks to RMI sending it with us. After breakfast we steep outside to get a better sense of the temperature before adjusting our layers for the hike. Once on the trail we do our best to maintain a steady pace, with stops every hour or so to stay hydrated and take in the views. There is plenty of other hikers and yak trains headed in both directions to negotiate as well.

Today we hiked for a little over five hours including breaks and a light lunch to get to our next tea house in Pheriche, which sits at about 14,000 ft.

Everyone did great and enjoyed the stunning views of Ama Dablam, one of the most iconic peaks along the route to Everest Base Camp.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Base Camp Crew

Good evening or shall I say good morning,

After 2 nights in Namche, it was time to leave and make our way further up the valley. A tasty breakfast, a last message sent, and quick sit on the toilet wrapped up our morning routine before hitting the trail. Today’s hike was once again more beautiful than pictures can capture. The trail carried us along the hillside bringing us to the view we have all been waiting for...Everest. Haze cloaked the mountains giving almost a mysterious look to them. Ama Dablam, Lhotse, and Everest all stood proud. Words and pictures can't describe how impressive they are...one must simply be here to experience it.

All day the mountains stood in view almost calling us further down trail. After a handful of hours walking the dusty trail, sharing it will yak and zyopkyo, we arrive at the Tengboche Monastery. Here we received a puja ceremony by one of the monks who prayed for our safe travels. Each one of us placed items to be blessed and recieved both a khata and a sungdi.

After the ceremony we made our way downhill to Deboche where we will spend the night. Heated blankets greet us on our beds. There will be no cold toes tonight. Tomorrow, we hit the trail again to our next destination. Day by day we get closer to basecamp.

For now, we head to bed as the rest of you begin your day. 

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

Hello again everyone back home.

It was another enjoyable day here in the Khumbu Valley, the team woke up to bright beautifully clear skies, and mountains in every direction. We had a nice relaxing breakfast and then decided to visit a Monastery in Thamo. It’s home to female Buddhist Monks that are Tibetan refugees. They apparently escaped over the boarder which is only a few miles away and have made this home like the Sherpa community did some 500+ years ago. When we arrived the nuns were milling about and tending to their greenhouse that they use to grow their vegetables. We purchased a few prayer flags and prayer beads to help support them and then made our way back to Namche for lunch.

Then evening was spent exploring Namche and doing a little bargaining for a few gifts. 

All is well and everyone is doing great.

Casey and Crew

Greeting everyone,

When on trips like this a team develops routines. Our daily routine begins with copious amounts of tea and coffee. The favorite flavor thus far is anything lemon ginger. After our bodies were filled with our hot beverage of choice, we hit the trail. Before we got too far into the trail (all a few hundred feet) we stopped at a bakery. The apple strudel has been said to be the best a team member has had outsode Austria. Loaded up with goodies we begin our journey for the day. We followed crystal blue water as we made our way uphill. Long bouncy cable bridges zig zagged us across the river. The stretch of the trail should be called the trail of stairs since we climbed what seemed endless amounts of them. But with every step we took we went higher and got closer to the mountains. Halfway through the day we got our first glimpse of Everest...man is she beautiful. This sneak peek gives the team motivation to push uphill.

After sharing the trail with fellow hikers, mules and zyopkyo (half cow, half yak) we arrived in Namche. Colorful buildings and stone walkways greet us. Souvenirs outside the store front capture our eyes. Puppies scamper about. Namche has a majestic feel. Hotel camp de base welcomes us with more tea, snacks, and Wi-Fi. The team has earned them all. Naps and shopping occupied our afternoon before sitting down for dinner with not tea this time but hot cocoa. Tired eyes and bodies are welcomed by comfy beds as we settle down for the night.

Today has been a good day. Tomorrow brings more adventure and more pictures. 

Goodnight, all,

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

Namaste! 

Greetings from Nepal!

The team has finally arrived after some incredibly long flights and a 12hr time change.We spent our first day get acquainted and discussing the necessities to our upcoming adventure.

We then headed out to visit a few famous temples here in Kathmandu. First up was the Swayambhunath, also known as the "Monkey Temple", that overlooks most of Kathmandu. Then we visited the massive Boudhanath Stupa, which is one of the largest in the world. We wrapped up the evening with getting all our gear packed and an amazing meal at a restaurant call “Le Sherpa”. 

Today the team left Kathmandu and flew to Lukla, our starting point to the trek. Thankfully it was a rather uneventful flight to one of the world’s most famous airports. After arriving had breakfast then waited at a tea house for all the porters to be chosen and then hit the trail. We hiked for about 3 hours to reach our first camp of the trip in a small village called Phakding. The weather was perfect, and everyone did great on the hike. 

Team is doing well and oh so happy to be in the mountains!

RMI Guides Casey, Hannah, and Team

Hello one last time.

Today was our last day here in Tanzania so we opted for a moderately leisure departure from the tranquil Plantation Lodge.

Our first stop was to a huge gift shop so everyone could bring back a few souvenirs.
By the looks of it, a few people back home are getting some nice gifts too.

We made a quick stop off at Lake Manyara National Park. Normally the safari sightings here are always exciting, but sadly that was not the case today. It’s been incredibly wet this year and most of the drivable roads have been either flooded or completely washed out.
It was expedited to say the least.

The team has returned to our original lodge and are packed up headed for the airport.
Your loved ones should be home soon!

Thanks for following,

RMI Guide Casey Grom & Crew

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, and considered by many to be one of the 7 natural wonders of the world. The crater is what remains of a two million year old massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's roughly 100 square miles. The crater is home to some 25,000' animals because of the abundant food and water that flows from a spring.

We were able to see several lions, including two big males, but not nearly as close as yesterday. As we made our way around the crater where we saw tons of other wildlife, zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, Giselles, hyenas, and four Black Rhinos in the distance. It was an enjoyable a day to say the least. 

We are wrapping up our trip with a final night here at the Plantation Lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Lake Manyara National Park before catching late flights home tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Hello again everyone,

We had quite the storm roll through last night with lots of rain and a very impressive lightning and thunder show. Thankfully it had mostly tapered by morning before we headed out on another safari in Tarangire National park.

It was pretty quiet initially as I’m sure the storm had most animals tucked away, but soon enough the wildlife was back and ever present. We saw the usual cast of characters with the highlights being a Serval Cat and a beautiful lioness lounging in a tree at close range.

We have just arrived at our new beautiful lodge just outside of Ngorongoro crater. It’s a stunning and extremely peaceful private lodge tucked away in a densely forested hillside.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the safari crew

Hello everyone,

We spent today touring Tarangire National Park which is home to more elephants per square kilometer than any place on earth, plus and a huge diversity of other animals too.

We saw elephants, giraffes, warthogs, impala, mongoose, baboons, ostrich, and a lot of other animals, and 37 different birds with the highlight being the Pearl-Spotted Owlet!

We ended our day at a remote and off grid camp within the National Park and surrounded by wildlife. The camp has screened in rooms that allow the night sounds of Africa in. Hopefully everyone sleeps well tonight!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew!

Today we started our day at 6:30 am refreshed after a much needed nights sleep. We had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took just under three hours to reach the park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew that took such great care of us on the mountain. We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and team