Entries from Expedition Dispatches
Sunday, August 25, 2024 - 3:26 am PT
We made it to Machu Picchu!
Wow, what a day. We woke up and walked the final few hours to the Sun Gate. It was a little cloudy but we still had views of Machu Picchu below.
We spent the morning exploring the different sites - the Sun Temple, the Palace Quarters, the Temple of the Condor and so much more! Then we took the bus downhill to Aguas Calientes where we all enjoyed a shower and delicious dinner.
Tomorrow, we get to go back to the park and climb Huayna Picchu. For now, we are sleeping happily in warm beds.
RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the team
New Post Alerts:
Machu Picchu August 15, 2024
Posted by: Henry Coppolillo, Mike Bennett, Seth Burns, Calvin Jiricko, Rosie Hust, Claire Pennell
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
Although Paradise remains in a bit of a cloud this morning, it is sunny and clear above Camp Muir. The Five Day Climb August 21 - 25 led by RMI Guides Henry Coppolillo and Mike Bennett reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. The teams found a bit of new snow on the upper mountain but the route was in good shape and the weather is beautiful, so they had a great climb to top. They started their descent from the crater rim around 7:20 am. They will return to Camp Muir for a quick break and continue down to Paradise. Their program will conclude this afternoon.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Posted by: Sam Hoffman, Mitch Valaitis
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 9,127'
Led by Sam Hoffman and Mitch Valatis, the RMI team summited mid-day Thursday. With the anticipation of poor weather, the climbers adapted and climbed a day-early. The push paid off and we enjoyed sunshine on the top!
Congrats team.
Saturday, August 23, 2024 - 6:52 pm PT
“Good morning my friend!” Elbin says every morning as he wakes us up with hot tea and coffee at our tents with a big huge smile. Today was no different. We woke up looking into a valley of moving clouds, packed all our stuff, had a quick breakfast and hit the trail. One last big day was ahead.
We stopped at archeological sites, went up and down two more passes and finally arrived at Winay Wayna - our final camp before Machu Picchu. We were on the trail for over eight hours walking the 600-year old stone path. Tonight, we celebrated all the people that helped make this trek possible - our porters, cooks, and local guides! Complete with a freshly baked cake. We can’t say enough about how incredible they have made this experience.
Tomorrow we have just two hours to walk until we arrive at Machu Picchu and we are all looking forward to it.
Woo hoo!!
RMI Guide Jess and the team
New Post Alerts:
Machu Picchu August 15, 2024
Posted by: Dustin Wittmier, Robert Whyte, Avery Stolte
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
The Mt. Baker Easton Glacier Team led by RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier were unable to climb due to thunderstorms in the area. The team is hanging in their tents doing their best to stay dry!
Congratulations team on a real mountain adventure!
Posted by: Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Machu Picchu
Hi dear readers!
It was our first day joining up with the Inca trail and what a day it was! Up, up, up we went from 9,800 feet all the way to nearly 14,000 feet at Dead Woman’s Pass. Step by step we walked together. Everyone did awesome and the views were spectacular. The sun was beating down on us for most of the day but just before the pass we got some reprieve as clouds moved it and cooled down the temperatures. Then we descended into our next camp, Pacaymayo, which means “hidden river”. It’s a beautiful and remote camp with views looking into the valley and no one around for miles.
We were greeted by our incredible support team with smiles and cheers! Every day we arrive to camp with our tents already set up and water ready for drinking. We couldn’t do this without them!
RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the Machu Picchu team
New Post Alerts:
Machu Picchu August 15, 2024
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
Always tough to leave the Plantation Lodge in Karatu. It is only made possible because we then get to move on over to Tarangire, home of the Elephants! It is hotter and drier once we left the Ngorongoro highlands, but we had a thin cloud cover for much of the day, so the sun wasn’t oppressive. Within minutes of entering the park today we were looking at a pair of lions. A big male sitting regally beneath a shade tree and a female who seemed to have the hunting job for the day. A few minutes later we began seeing the elephants. Tarangire has a million big baobob trees, every one of which has been scraped by elephant tusks in search of moisture. We saw family groups everywhere, with plenty of youngsters staying close to their moms. As we got deeper into the park we saw giraffes and Cape buffalo (zebras and wildebeest barely rate a mention anymore, but we saw thousands of them) we saw antelopes of all shapes and sizes, from Dik Diks to Elands. We just barely saw a leopard (a tail hanging down and a couple of paws as the cat lay sprawled over a branch within a thick canopy). And we just barely saw a cheetah -or cheetahs if you believe those that think there was another speckled thing behind that bush.
It was a great day in a great big park. And we look forward to one more morning of Safari. But we are still in the park tonight, experiencing a “tent camp” out in the bush. There is no fence separating us from the wild animals tonight. If there is no dispatch tomorrow, you’ll know what happened.
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
PC: Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari August 10, 2024
Posted by: Jess Wedel
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Machu Picchu
Hola!
We woke up to sunshine and the sound of the river rolling below us. We normally have a dining tent that we eat in but we opted for a plain aire breakfast because the weather was just too good! It was our shortest day on the trail so we took our time this morning to enjoy an extra cup of coffee before we packed up and headed out.
Our route meandered downhill and we stopped frequently to learn about the flora and fauna around us - pink flowers used to treat colds, mint plants for stomach ailments, brilliant fuschias, special leaves used for dying wool bright green, and so many more.
We said goodbye to our cowboys and mules today - we’ve officially completed the Salkantay trek and are joining up with the Inca trail. We walked into our camp at Wayllabamba to the cheers of our chaskis who will be with us for the rest of our trek. We even had hot showers and a little bit of wifi!
A highlight of the day was the fresh-from-the-river trout ceviche and “jungle potatoes” we had at lunch.
We’re all sleeping well tonight!
RMI Guide Jess Wedel and the Machu Picchu team
PC: Jess Wedel
New Post Alerts:
Machu Picchu August 15, 2024
Posted by: Dave Hahn
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Kilimanjaro
We may be just tourists now, but today we still got an “alpine start”. It was still pitch dark as we were driving away from the lodge at 5:40 AM. Our guides had recommended the early start for Ngorongoro Crater as a way to see better wildlife. Most animals are a bit more lively in the cool mornings than in the hot afternoons. The light came up as we were crawling toward the caldera rim in our landcruisers. After a bumpy ride in the clouds along the rim, we made an important stop at a Maasai village. We wanted to learn a little more about this colorful tribe (one of 128 in Tanzania) hanging on to their traditional ways in a rapidly changing world. They greeted us with singing, then showed how they make fire without matches or lighters. They took us into their Boma (village) and into their homes. We thanked them for taking the time to answer our many questions and then we headed for the “crater” Immediately upon reaching the valley floor we began seeing bigger and bigger herds of buffalo, wildebeest, zebra and gazelles. There were a few ostriches mixed in for variety. Eventually we did a picnic breakfast -spitting distance from a flock of hippos. By the time we followed up with a picnic lunch, we’d seen rhinos, lions and elephants. There was a bonus encounter with a skittish cerval cat. We climbed out of the caldera around 3 PM under still cloudy skies, but it was a pretty good day all around. After a bunch more rough roads, we were back at the ultra-comfortable Plantation Lodge at 4:30.
Tomorrow we’re bound for the land of elephants -Tarangire.
Best,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn
PC: Dave Hahn
New Post Alerts:
Kilimanjaro Climb & Safari August 10, 2024
Posted by: Dominic Cifelli, Drew O’Brien, Josh Geiser, George Hedreen, Celeste Wilson, Miles Watson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 14,410'
The Four Day Climb August 18 - 21 led by RMI Guides Dominic Cifelli and Drew O'Brien reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning. They enjoyed some time in the crater before starting their descent from the crater rim around 7 am. It's a beautiful day on the mountain. The teams will return to Camp Muir for a short break before continuing down to Paradise this afternoon and concluding their program.
Congratulations to today's teams!
Jeff Miller and team we are super proud of you ! What an accomplishment to achieve in your life ! Way to lead the wolf pack ! Gus has the drinks ready !
Posted by: Gus on 8/25/2024 at 8:34 am
Congratulations!! Way to go team!!
So proud of you Jeff ❤️
Posted by: Jaimie on 8/25/2024 at 8:33 am
View All Comments