Entries By dave hahn

The Mt. Rainier Summit Climb, led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Nick Hunt, made a successful summit at around 7:30 this morning. Dave reported cold conditions with 10mph winds blowing from the north. With favorable weather, the teams were able to spend an hour on the summit prior to starting their descent. 
This week’s Expedition Skills Seminar - Muir headed up the snowfield this morning. They will spend the week learning many expedition skills and finishing with a summit bid later in the week.

Busy day.  The team had coffee and tea brought around to Kikoti’s tent cabins a little before sunrise.  Fortified with a great breakfast, we got right back into cruising the rough but beautiful roads of Tarangire National Park.  Highlights were the family of head-tossing, trunk-swinging, ear-flapping elephants we encountered.  Curiously, they were more animated and energized than any of the many families we saw.  And we finished our tour on a highlight too, getting to watch up close as five lions followed an alpha female around as she decided what she might be hungry for.  We could see her changing her mind from wildebeest to zebra to Impala to warthog.  It all looked yummy to her.  We left her and the pride undecided and hungry as we hit the road for Arusha and our return to the Dik Dik Hotel. 
We got back through Arusha’s rush hour and road construction traffic at four.  This left time for repacking and freshening up before one final excellent meal in the dining room.  Then we said goodbye to the staff who’d taken exceptional care of us, and to our teammate Kathleen.  She is staying on a week to do good works up by Lake Victoria.  The rest of the gang got on board the bus for a ride out to the airport.  We’re flying now… Dar Es Salaam…. Amsterdam…and onward.  We’re all excited to be moving on, of course, but also a little reluctant to let go of this morning’s vision of a lion cub telling his mom to hurry up with the food shopping.  It has been an incredible few weeks in Africa.  Thanks for following. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Judging by the conversation over our evening campfire at Kikoti Safari Camp, this was a great day.  The team recalled a fine night at the Plantation Lodge and a great start to the day there.  We then drove a couple of hours to reach Tarangire National Park.  We’d only been in the park boundaries for a few minutes when we got to watch a beautiful lioness clear a waterhole of a hundred zebras and wildebeest.  She only had to take a step in their direction to get the herds running frantically and kicking up dust.  She did this in a few directions, seemingly just to buy herself some space.  We left her in charge and then went exploring, over Tarangire’s great savannah expanses, through forests of Boabab trees, across rivers and alongside vast swampland.  We saw herd after herd of wildebeest and zebra.  There were waterbucks and impalas and elan.  There were elephants and giraffes and more lions.  There were Cape buffalo and birds of great variety.  There were Dik Diks and mongoose.  And just when we thought we’d seen everything the park intended to show us for the day, Joseph -our driver and guide- made a typically astounding discovery of a beautiful leopard.  None of us could understand how he’d seen her at the distance that he did.  She was on a red-dirt termite mound next to the road and she permitted us to get fairly close, which was thrilling.  When she moved off the mound, it turned out that she was minding a leopard cub.  This final treat of the day made for a sensational finish.  The “big five” completed at 5:50 PM.  Sunset was at about 6:30 and not at all dull and boring either.  We pulled into friendly and tranquil Kikoti Camp then and discovered yet another place we’d all like to spend more time in.  Such things are on our minds now, of course, because we are running out of time.  Tomorrow evening we’ll be jetting back to the world.  But first, we’ll wake out in this wilderness and see just what we can find in a final morning on Safari.

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

The safari gets better and better.  Today we were up early -before sunrise- for our visit to the Ngorongoro Crater Conservation Area.  It was cloudy and cool as we entered the gates and began the drive up to the crater rim.  That rim was cloudier and colder still at 9000 ft above sea level.  We stopped in to a Masai village where we got to watch (and join in) as the residents performed traditional songs and dances, made fire and showed us into their simple homes (made of sticks, dung and ash).  The Masai are just one of Tanzania’s many distinct tribes, but they are prominent because they’ve held on to so many of their own customs and have largely stayed away from modern conveniences.  We were impressed that the herdsmen protect themselves, their families and cattle herds with nothing more than spears.  We were even more impressed a half hour after leaving the village when we got to see ten big lions down in the crater.  Six females and four males, walking wherever they pleased… apparently without any worries or fears.  The zebras and wildebeests wandering around them reacted sharply and obviously upon discovering so many kings and queens of the crater in one place.  They seemed to be guarding a kill in the shrubs, driving off the odd hyena who came sniffing around.  We were amazed at the vastness of the caldera floor and at the size of the herds of zebra, wildebeest, antelope and Cape buffalo that wandered about.  Before long, we’d seen four of the “big five” (lion, elephant, rhino, Cape buffalo) and were looking hard for leopards to complete the set.  No luck there today, but that didn’t phase anyone.  We were enchanted with the setting for our picnic lunch, on the edge of a lake full of hippos, with a big bull elephant casually walking through without paying any attention to all of the Land Cruisers and tourists in the designated lunch spot.

The clouds cleared completely by mid-afternoon and things finally warmed up.  That made the ride back up to the crater rim all the more memorable as we could then see the entire amazing valley.
We enjoyed an easy evening ride back to the Plantation Lodge.  Cocktails out on the veranda were accompanied by lots of show and tell of the excellent pics taken today.  Then it was time for a fine buffet dinner and some birthday cake in honor of both Tom and Tim.

The team is excited to move on to Tarrangire National Park tomorrow.

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Switching gears… We walked hard every day for the last week.  Today we rode around like royalty.  We pulled out of the Dik Dik hotel by 9 AM and cruised in two modified Toyota Landcruisers through the outskirts of Arusha.  Traffic thinned as we pushed westward toward Lake Manyara National Park.  We spent a great afternoon seeing hippos, baboons, monkeys, flamingos, storks, giraffes, Cape buffalo and elephants… And of course a pair of Dik Diks… The smallest of the antelope family.  Most thought the elephants were the highlight of the day, but they were nearly upstaged by whatever it was that we didn’t see.  At one point, the monkeys were sounding alarms, the elephants were trumpeting and charging and we found fresh big cat tracks in the road.  But we didn’t see the leopard or lion causing all the commotion.  We looked, but were catless for safari day one.  Beautiful day in a Tanzanian National Park though, and a fine evening relaxing at the luxurious Plantation Lodge.  We already seem worlds away from our grubby Kili climbing days. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

While it wasn’t a summit day, this one seemed just as valuable for us… Coming to the end of the trail -safe and sound. 

We woke in Mweka Camp under -or perhaps in- the sea of clouds we’d been noticing so far below all week long.  All were impressed with the quality of a 10,000 ft night of sleep.  Breakfast involved a fair bit of laughter… all of the tension and worry over making the top is gone.  We emerged to a couple of great and friendly songs by our 47 man staff, complete with dancing.  We each then shook hands with every porter, cook, tent-builder, guide, and waiter and passed on well-earned gratuities to all.  Then we got packs on again and rambled down the trail.  At first it was easy walking… But eventually it was steep and slick and we went “pole pole” (slow) to avoid getting down in the dirt.  Meanwhile, a constant stream of porters (ours and many from other teams) came screaming down the trail with forty-four pound loads balanced on their heads.  When they hit the slick spots, they just went faster, yelling “jambo” as they passed.  We transitioned quickly from heather to trees, to giant camphor trees to jungle.  By midday we’d reached the Mweka Gate where we happily boarded the truck/bus and got rolling down the road.  Halfway back along the highway, we stopped for a typically wonderful Dik Dik catered lunch.  All were quite relaxed and content by then… But quite filthy.  This was remedied soon after we got back to our hotel.  The team was unrecognizable -in a good way- when we got back together for a victory dinner.  We made toasts to a great climb and to the upcoming safari.  Desert was occasion for celebrating Tom and Deborah’s wedding anniversary.  Onward. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Summit Day!  We had flat-out perfect weather for it, which is only what we would have expected after the past five splendid days.  The pattern held… Sea of clouds far below, nothing whatsoever up high. 
We were up at 11:30 and on the trail by 12:50 AM.  By about 4 AM, we were wearing nearly everything we had.  Although it was calm and clear, it was also COLD.  Those of the team that looked up saw a snake of headlights working up Kibo, a fair number of shooting stars, the International Space Station, constellations and a crescent moon forming a smile on the horizon.  Those that looked down saw a whole lot of trudging steps for the seven hours and ten minutes it took us to hit Uhuru… the highest point of Kibo, of Kilimanjaro, and of Africa.  Sunrise caught us just before we reached the crater rim and was welcome for its beauty, but even more for its warmth.  We spent about 25 happy minutes on top and got moving downward just before 8:30.  The mountain was busy -as always- but we had no trouble with traffic jams on either the climb or descent.  We were back to Barafu by 11:05 AM and sitting at the lunch table soon afterward.  Then, much as we’d have enjoyed a good nap, it was time to pack and get out of Barafu.  The team made good time on tricky trails and reached Mweka Camp by 4:15PM, having gotten rid of another 5,000 vertical feet in the process.  We are back in tall heather after a couple of days in the alpine zone.  All are figuring they’ve got a good chance of overcoming jet lag and altitude tonight to get a full night of well-earned sleep. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Yet another day of perfect weather.  Morning down at Karanga Camp was easy and pleasant with strong sunshine and no wind.  There is still a sea of cloud down below us, but that has just become the normal way of things.  At breakfast, we talked of the incredible night skies we’ve been experiencing.  The Milky Way, the planets, the Southern Cross and a thousand other constellations have been taking advantage of the moon’s absence.  The bulk of Kibo has been glowing brilliantly just in starlight. 
We got out of Karanga at 8:45 AM and cruised into 15,200 ft Barafu Camp by noon.  The entire group is moving well and strong.  We practiced walking and breathing techniques along the way that ought to save us energy on the climb early tomorrow.  It was a quiet afternoon of eating, drinking, resting and prepping for the ascent.  Freddy, Tadey, Filbert, Wendelin and Ayumi… our guides, stopped in after lunch to make sure everybody was feeling good about the challenges that lie ahead.  We’ll be up at 11:30 PM and eating “breakfast” at midnight.  Big day tomorrow. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Today wasn’t a big day, but it was a scenic one.  Sunrise down in the cool Barranco Valley was welcome, for sure.  We got a leisurely 9AM start at walking, which allowed a couple hundred porters to get onto the narrow ledges of the Barranco Wall before us, just as we’d hoped.  Plenty still needed to pass us as we reached for rock handholds and stemmed from precarious stances, but that all worked out fine.  We marveled that the tricky moves we were making could be made easily by men carrying loads balanced on their heads.  It took us about an hour and a half to get fully up the wall and all agreed it had been the funnest part of the climb, so far.  We had weather nearly identical to yesterday’s for the first half of things…blue skies above and sea of clouds below.  This allowed for uninterrupted views of Kibo’s Southern glaciers and ice fields above us as we traversed eastward.  Finally we had the abrupt gorge of the Karanga Valley to drop into and climb steeply out of in order to reach camp.  We pulled in a little after 1 PM, in time for a hot and wholesome spaghetti lunch and some quality rest as things clouded up for the afternoon.  It seems like time has flown by as we are now talking about being at high camp tomorrow and off on a summit bid quite soon afterward.  One step at a time though… First we’ll make the most of this final night at the civilized altitude of 13,100 ft. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Our ridiculously fine weather continues.  The morning in Shira Camp was calm and clear.  There wasn’t so much as a hint of any cloud or wind up on the heights of Kibo and for the first time, the sea of cloud below us wasn’t complete.  We could actually see bits of Africa far below.  We got walking at 8:25.  This was easier terrain than yesterday’s rock-hopping.  Just steady uphill strolling through low desert-style vegetation.  We got closer and closer to Kibo and at 12:30 PM we reached our high point for the day.  Fifteen thousand two hundred feet above sea level shattered altitude records for all but two of our ten person team.  We celebrated with a rest break, some fist bumping and photos.  Then it was time to get rid of altitude as we worked down toward the Barranco Valley.  The scenery was outrageous as we crept under the ice fields, hanging glaciers and giant rock walls of Kibo’s south side.  Eventually we found our way down into the crazy vegetation again -giant Scenecios and Lobelias caught our attention as did the waterfalls and caves in the lava layers.  We were in another perfect camp built at 13,000 ft below the great Barranco Wall.  Afternoon weather was found to be just as perfect as the morning.  All are hoping for a good night of sleep before the morning’s wall climb. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map