It is safari time!
Starting at about 2:00 a.m., the team went in many directions - Europe, Kenya, the Serengeti, and here to the lovely Plantation Lodge. After a delicious breakfast at the Dik Dik, we traveled to Lake Manyara National Park. What a perfect introduction to the wonderful world of game viewing?! It took a little over an hour from the town of Arusha before we popped the tops on our Land Cruisers and let nature engulf us. We only about 2,000 pictures in our four hours of exploring this magical area. Just before we left the park our mascot, the dik dik (the third smallest of the antelope family), made an appearance and brought us and brought us to our photo quota for the day.
The eighth wonder of the world is top on the list for tomorrow...Ngorongoro Crater. We are positioned just outside of the crater here at Plantation Lodge. I am sure we will have an amazing day of game viewing. It hardly seems that we were standing atop Kilimanjaro a few days go! can't wait!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Another day of perfect weather on Kilimanjaro. A bit of a tired team to get going this morning but with the finish line in sight, rally we did. After a great breakfast, we had a nice group celebration for the local crew. We made a quick 4,000-foot descent to the exit gate and then another couple hours to lap of luxury here at the Dik Dik Hotel. Excellent celebration banquet brought us to the late hours and packing for the safari start tomorrow, which is our next adventure. All is well, full bellies, rosy-red cheeks, lots of fond memories, a bed, and a shower, what more could you want.
We are so lucky.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
September 11, 2016 - 11:06 am PT
Summit day or I should say night was greeted with clear and breezy weather. It all begins around midnight and as we climbed for a few hours the cold had set in and we were layered in most the clothing we'd brought. When the sun rose, we were at the crater rim looking up to see the high point, Uhuru Peak, across from us and part way around the rim. Down behind us we could see the monster of a mountain we had just climbed. We made it to the summit and hung out there taking pics and enjoying the scenery. I tell all my climbers, it's not the summit, but the journey that is the reward. And I believe that to be true. But the feeling of reaching the summit is sure the cherry on top and this one was no exception. It's a gift and we were all thrilled to have the time to take in the view and our own accomplishments. It was a great effort by all, as we left the crater rim and made the descent to our last mountain camp, Mweka at 10,000'. Sleep tonight was earned. It's now 24 hours since I last closed my eyes. All is well. Good night.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Hello, hello this is Mark Tucker checking in from the Roof of Africa. We have a great summit team up here, they did a great job. We are going to get a few more photos. Today is 9:11 and we wanted to reach out and dedicate this climb to all of those lost. I would also like to make a special mention. We had one of our Dik Dik Staff not be able to make this climb, Salvatory. He was on the summit with me on my last time about a month ago, and he is truly missed. We are all doing well. We're going to get a few more shots and we're going to head on down and get low. Thanks for checking in, we will be in touch.
Congratulations to the Kilimanjaro team!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker calls from the summit of Kilimanjaro.
Here’s a message from Ginny (Paula’s sister) to the Barrs:
Hi Paula,
Just a few thoughts from the people back home that love you the most. Austin sends his congratulations and wishes you luck on your way down, and that he loves you and has been thinking about you. He is a little jealous and Kili is on his list. I am sure it is!! Brian says congratulations and good luck and he is hoping you have fun with the rest of the trip. Your oldest says you owe him $170. I (Ginny) want you to know that I love you, I am proud of you, and I miss you. I can’t wait to hear all the details over a few drinks.
Ginny
Posted by: judy christofferson on 9/11/2016 at 10:10 am
We enjoyed another nice evening here on Kilimanjaro and the good weather continued today as we approached Barafu Camp, our High Camp. The team climbed well as we made the ascent from Karanga Camp to Barafu at 15,000'. Clouds were rolling in and out this afternoon while we were busy making lunches and double checking our kits for the summit push ahead. After dinner we will climb into our tents and hope to get a few hours of sleep before we are awaken at midnight and start our push to the summit of Kilimanjaro. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
Stars at night climber's delight. Clear below brought out the city lights of Moshi, the town we will drive through on our way back to the Dik Dik after the climb. Look up and it's star gazing at its finest. A restful night for the whole team, with a later wake up call to give us the climb of the Barranco Wall without a lot of other climbers. A number of the team had a nice intro to some real rock scrambling. A fine job by one and all, not without a few gasps and grunts prior to topping out on what ended up being a highlight and lots of fun. The support team pulled off some impressive maneuvers, carrying supplies and equipment, on their heads to boot. Our local guides coached and protected on the more difficult sections. A bit more leisurely today compared to yesterday but no less beautiful. We arrived at Karanga Camp by early afternoon, and were quickly greeted by some steamy hot spaghetti to fill our tanks for the climb ahead. Carb load is on! The team continues doing very well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
You remember the feast of yesterday, add some sweet watermelon and that was the start of yet another clear sunny day. A bit breezy as we headed along a ridge for a good part of the day so the shorts people had to succumb to pants. The typical fantastic views all day as we climbed to well over 14,500ft before the descent into Barranco Camp. Camp is at about 13,000ft. The spectacular of tomorrow's goal, the great Barranco Wall, looms over head. We are all settled in doing well. Aware of the challenges ahead, but as we say in Swahili, "Hakuna matata" (no problem) for this team.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast of fresh fruit, bananas, oranges, passion fruit, pineapple, cheese and meat plate, French press dark roast Tanzanian coffee to go with toast, scrambled eggs and bacon, it's a pretty great start to fuel us for the day. We left camp and started right into a steep uphill section with some loose rocks along the trail. We took our time and with a great staff and determined group of climbers we reached the Shira Camp at well over 12,000'. When we arrived our camp was set up and were quickly greeted by some steamy food, fresh salad, filet of beef, hot pasta, you get the picture, and that was lunch, not too bad. We are well taken care of. Now we are enjoying the spectacular scenery in all directions. The weather is great and tomorrow's goal is in sight. All is well.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We left the Dik Dik Lodge after breakfast and made our way to the start of our climb from the Machame Gate (6000 ft). After obtaining our permits we set off, starting in overcast conditions that were very comfortable. Four thousand vertical feet in just under six hours brought us to Camp 1, also known as Machame Camp. Our fantastic local guides and staff had all tents ready to be invaded. After dinner and a most beautiful sunset, we were settling in for the night, knowing tomorrow will bring a full set of challenges. The sun may have gone down but the team's excitement grew well into the night.
RMI Guide Mark Tucker
We just received word that the one missing bag is getting picked up at the nearby airport and heading our way. The team is now complete! I encouraged the team to sleep in as best they could this morning, It sure helps with the jet lag we are all experiencing. Everyone followed orders and a leisurely morning it was. The afternoon was for preparation. The team assembled with a combination of enthusiasm and nerves. We spent a couple hours of meeting to channel both in the right direction, and to gain a solid understanding of what is to come. It's also a chance to get to know everyone. We have a great collection of people for this journey to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. We spent the remainder of of our day sorting all of our gear getting ourselves ready to start our trek. We share the same staging area as our local support team, needless to say, it was a very busy place to be. It is an interesting process to see the making of a grand expedition from the start.
Breakfast call will be around 6:30 tomorrow followed by a few last minute details before we start our climb!
RMI Guide Mark Tucker & Team.
Congratulations! What a huge accomplishment Brooke, TRob and everyone on the team! We are very proud of you both!
Posted by: Margaret on 9/12/2016 at 10:18 am
Brooke and TRob: Congratulations!! We are all so excited for your ascent and summit!!
Posted by: Marilyn on 9/12/2016 at 7:56 am
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