Kilimanjaro: Hahn & Team Arrive in First Camp
At exactly 8 AM -the targeted departure time- we left the Arumeru River Lodge and drove East. We did some people watching from our bus as we cruised the 90 minutes to the Machame Gate of Kilimanjaro National Park. That had to suffice since we had no views of the mountain. It was a solid carpet of cloud making things a bit gray, but we focused on the close-in views as we drove through a few changing vegetation levels getting to the 6,000foott elevation of the gate. As usual, it took a bit of time getting checked in and registered with the Park, but we finally got to the good part -the walking- by 10:50 AM. We set out in a big forest of moss covered trees. The trail was pleasantly dry and fine for walking -since I'd warned the team that it would be slimy and muddy. We gained elevation steadily as the hours went by. The team did admirably and walked well, but all were quite impressed with porters zipping by at twice our speed with heavy loads balanced on their heads. The gang was also impressed to come into a fully built, comfortable camp in the giant heather at 10,000 ft. Our local staff of fifty porters, camp builders, cooks and guides had been busy. We made it up in five hours and twenty minutes, surely a new world's record, which we celebrated with afternoon tea and then a dinner and story-telling session in our dining tent. There were many comments of surprise that Tosha, our head cook, could have produced such a great meal, so quickly, so far up a volcano.
Rain sprinkles began intermittently just after we reached camp but of course that didn't bother anybody.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
On The Map
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Comments (1)
Great Job! Go April!
Posted by: Kevin Ellis on