Entries from Kilimanjaro
It was raining at the Dik Dik Hotel this morning when we woke. Light, but steady rain kept falling as we ate a 7 AM breakfast and got ready to board the bus/truck. But 15 minutes down the road, our driver shut off his windshield wipers. Low clouds still disguised the mountain we believed was hiding somewhere out to our northeast, but things were looking up. The variety of crops in the "cultivation" zone at the foot of Kilimanjaro was quite impressive. We saw coffee, corn, avocado, mangos, and bananas all growing in a lush mix close to the Machame Gate. It took some time to get the group properly registered and permitted with the National Park but then at around 11 AM we began our ascent through a forest of tall trees. Our starting point was at about 5,900 ft, and our destination for the day was close to 9,800 ft, so there was little doubt we were in for a workout. At first we were in fog and humid clouds, but after several hours, the sun got strong and the sky got blue. We traveled on an excellent trail through the "forest" zone and into the "heather" zone and we began getting great views of Kilimanjaro and her glaciers. At around 4:30 PM we strode into a cluster of tents and admired the work of our porters and kitchen crew as we took packs off in our new home. We ate dinner in our grand dining tent and turned in early under what appears to be a magnificent full moon.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We got together after a relaxing breakfast in our tropical garden of a lodge and we talked about going up amongst the glaciers of Kilimanjaro. It was a morning of going over the plan of attack and for discussing gear and best practices for staying healthy in this part of the world. The middle of the day was spent getting the gear and clothing sorted and by afternoon the team enjoyed a bit of free time to wander about or to nap. The wanderers didn't have to go far before they could see Kilimanjaro floating in the distance. The nappers surrendered for a short time to the jet lag we all feel.
The team enjoyed seeing groups of monkeys swinging through the trees of our compound as well as listening to strange birds call out as they cruised overhead.
We enjoyed a group dinner and some storytelling for the evening. It will be hard to leave this luxurious and laid back setting, but the thought of getting walking on the flanks of the largest freestanding mountain in the world is pretty enticing as well.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Be safe team!!! “Hi” to Liz!!!
Posted by: Gina on 9/17/2013 at 5:09 am
Have a great trip! Love you lots.
Posted by: Joan on 9/16/2013 at 6:45 pm
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
It is 11 PM at the Dik Dik Hotel near Arusha, Tanzania, and the entire climbing team has made it through the worldwide obstacle course of airports and aircraft to begin a Kilimanjaro expedition. We'll get started in the morning with strategizing and packing gear and prepping, but for now it it just a great relief to have everybody in one place (the correct place) and to have all the baggage safely off the carousels.
Our drivers and hotel staff gave each tired traveler a friendly hello, a handshake, a glass of champagne and a flower or two. The kitchen stayed up late to get an excellent dinner out to each and every climber.
We'll hope that a night's good rest goes a long way to refreshing, rebooting and rejuvenating the gang. An adventure is waiting.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
Thanks for taking such good care of everyone. :)
Posted by: Mara on 9/15/2013 at 4:31 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We spent all of yesterday in Tarangire National Park. It's home to more elephants per square mile than any place on earth, and we weren't disappointed at all. If I had to guess I'd say we saw somewhere close to a thousand elephants between yesterday and on our short drive back through today.
We spent the night just outside of the park boundaries in another tented camp. And enjoyed an amazing meal provided by the kind staff at the Kikoti Camp.
It's been an incredible adventure and everyone has had a wonderful time here in Africa, but our trip has come to an end and its time to return to our homes.
Thanks for following.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
WOW! Looking forward to your return and the narration of these pictures!
Safe travels home!
Posted by: Tracy O. on 9/15/2013 at 9:23 am
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, believed by many to be the 8th wonder of the world. It is a two million year old collapsed caldera that is home to more than 25,000 large mammals, and has a dense population of lions.
We spent nearly the entire day driving around looking at all the animals and waiting at times for either the wildebeest, or zebras to get out of our way. We saw about a dozen lions, a far off black rhino, thousands of pink flamingos and many others. I'm pretty sure everyone had a great day.
We finished off the day with a quick visit to a working Maasai Village to see how this semi-nomadic group of people still live the way they have for thousands of years.
Hopefully tomorrow we'll catch a glimpse of a cheetah and leopard to round out the safari.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
Words cannot describe my envy, but so happy at the same time for these experiences for you. Love and miss you (and Gig ‘Em)!
Posted by: Tasha on 9/14/2013 at 7:34 am
WOW. Just like on Wild Kingdom. “Jim, jump down and get that lion”. ( showing my age here). Waiting on giraffe pictures.
Posted by: Tracy O. on 9/13/2013 at 8:44 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
On our first day of safari we headed south to Lake Manyara, which is know for its colorful flamingos and tree climbing lions. It wasn't long before we spotted our first of many elephants to come. In fact we stopped just short of a mother and her baby and watched them cross between our two safari vehicles. It was surreal to see them so close and feel as if we could almost touch them, while they barely noticed us. We then headed off to our normal lunch spot but had to find another place as several lions had beaten us there. We think we counted 5 all together, two young males and a few females, but it was a little tough to tell as they were trying to stay cool in the bush.
After a nice hot meal provide by our traveling chef Michael, we headed off to see other animals and a quick visit to the hippo pond. Along the way we spotted a huge Monitor (giant lizard) in a creek and spotted many zebras, giraffes, wildebeest, bush bucks, and a few warthogs too.
All in all it was a pretty rewarding first day on safari.
We are spending the night overlooking the lake in a nice tented camp called Kirurumu. Everyone is doing great and excited for what tomorrow might bring.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and Crew
Incredible. What an experience…but come home now. Can’t wait to see pictures.
Posted by: Tiff on 9/12/2013 at 4:07 pm
WOW!! What an awesome day! Thanks for putting up the pictures. Can’t wait for the stories..
Posted by: Tracy O. on 9/12/2013 at 3:34 pm
Posted by: Casey Grom
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
After a short hike today we finally arrived at the exit gate of Kilimanjaro National Park and meet up with more of the Dik Dik staff who had prepared a wonderful lunch for us. It took about two hours to reach the Lodge where we greeted by all of the lodge staff outside awaiting our arrival singing and dancing. It was a very warm welcome and left everyone with big smiles.
As you can guess there were hot showers for all and a few naps too. We finished the evening with a celebration dinner and handed out summit certificates to everyone.
Now it's time to enjoy the success and do a little animal watching!
Safari starts tomorrow!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
That certificate will be framed and hung in a place of honor!
So proud! Have fun on your safari! Love you!
Posted by: Tracy O. on 9/12/2013 at 7:52 am
A JOB WELL DONE
Posted by: randy on 9/12/2013 at 5:29 am
9/10/13 6:49 am PT
Hello all -
The team has finally made it all the way down to Mweka camp situated around 10,000' and are resting after such a big day.
We had a wonderful day for climbing today with clear skies, moderate temps and very little wind. Everyone did a great job of taking care of themselves the entire day and really impressed me by making the summit in a little over 6 hours. We spent about a half hour taking in the spectacular views and getting the obligatory summit photos, then headed back down to high camp. After a brief rest we packed up and headed further down valley to tonight's camp.
Everyone is doing well and I'm sure will sleep well tonight.
Looking forward to hot showers and clean clothes tomorrow.
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
9/10/13 3:10 am PT - Success!
Our entire team reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro today.
We have safely returned to high camp and are getting packed up for our descent.
We'll try to update this evening.
On The Map
Congrats Fatima, another fine accomplishment with great memories. Impressive girl! Casey rocks.
Posted by: Greg Barber on 9/11/2013 at 9:47 am
WOOO HOO!!! you made it…never doubted it.
Be safe!
Love and hot cocoa to all!!!
Posted by: Marilyn on 9/11/2013 at 9:34 am
Hello again everyone.
Day 5 and we have arrived at Kilimanjaro's high camp, 15,000ft!
The team once again did a great job of getting to camp in just under our 3-hour target time. It was another nice day here this morning and now we are sitting in the clouds, which will make for perfect napping temperatures.
We have just finished another enjoyable lunch and have discussed the plans for our upcoming climb. Everyone seems excited and as usual, a little nervous too.
Our plan is to wake up at midnight, have breakfast at 12:30 p.m., and hopefully start our climb around 1 a.m. If all goes according to plan, we should reach the summit somewhere around 7 - 9 a.m. EAT (5 - 7 a.m. PST).
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
On The Map
Jami & Heidi. We got your message. Congratulations! We have been watching your progress. Love you both, Mom, Dad and kids.
Posted by: Carrie Whitney on 9/10/2013 at 5:13 am
My Heidi Looks COLD…..Keep warm Girl! Miss You!!
Posted by: Mary Jo Sabo on 9/10/2013 at 3:51 am
Hello all.
It was a beautiful day here on Kilimanjaro today. Clear skies and relatively warm weather made for an enjoyable day.
The team easily climbed the 1,000-foot high and intimidating Barranco Wall on our way to camp today. We made our way via a series of broken ledges and small steps and we were in awe of how easily the porters climbed this wall while still balancing their loads on their heads.
We are currently resting at Karanga Camp, which sits above the great Karanga Valley and has views of the towns far below.
Everyone is doing well and we are in good spirits!
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew
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Happy and safe trails. Looking forward to reading about your progress.
Posted by: rachael c lujan on 9/18/2013 at 3:35 pm
Happy and safe climbing. Looking forward to your updates. ABQ Uptown/RS 985 NM/CO
Rachael
Posted by: rachael c lujan on 9/18/2013 at 3:33 pm
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