Entries By casey grom

Hello again everyone,

The team had a good nights rest last night and today was just a short 3hr hike up to 15’000ft to our high camp. Everyone is excited and maybe just a touch nervous, which is very normal! 

The team has just wrapped up lunch and discussed in great detail the plan for tomorrow’s climb. Everyone knows what we’ll be wearing, what will be in the pack, as well as the schedule. 
Our game plan will be to wake at 10:30pm and have a quick breakfast at 11, then hopefully hit the trail around 11:30pm. It’s a bit busier then I’ve seen previously, hence the slightly early departure tonight. Hopefully that will get us out in front of the majority of the other climbers. 

The team has been doing great thus far and I’m expecting us to reach the summit in 7 to 8hrs if things go according to plan. 

We had another trivia challenge, and one lucky winner will get a phone call from the summit. 
So, everyone back home please keep your phones handy and if you receive a call from a strange number please answer. We are 8+hrs ahead of the east coast time zone. 

Casey Grom and the RMI Summit Team!

Hello again everyone,

Things are good here on Kilimanjaro and the team is doing great!

Today started like the last few, beautiful, and clear and then slowly clouded up as the day went on. 

We left camp a little later today to allow the many porters to hit the trail before us as we had our only major obstacle right out of camp. This obstacle is the great Barranco Wall, which rises about 1000ft and looks as intimidating as it sounds. Thankfully there is a nice narrow trail that weaves its way up and through the wall and all the way to the top. Most of it feels more like steep hiking, but there are a few places that require our hands to help us climb up. The team did great and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. After reaching the top we took a nice break to enjoy the beautiful view. We spent the remainder of the day relaxing in our camp and solving many of the world’s problems! 

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili Crew

All is well here on Kilimanjaro!
Once again, we woke to beautifully clear skies with even better views of Kilimanjaro and clouds obscuring the valleys below. Our morning ritual has been walking around 6:30 and getting everything in our tents packed up before heading into our very spacious dinning tent for quite the feast. Normally there is fresh fruit, fried eggs, bacon, and plenty of hot coffee awaiting us, obviously we’re being spoiled up here by our wonderful staff!

We hit the trail once again around 8am and hiked for an hour before taking our usual 10-15min break, then back on the trail for another hour. All total today we hiked for just over 6hrs before reaching camp which is set up and ready for us. 

Along the way we passed around the famous and beautiful Lava Tower reaching just over 15’000ft, setting new altitude records for some and we also chatted with a few other climbers who are on the same schedule with us. All in all, it was a really nice day with clouds gathering in the afternoon to help keep the temperature comfortable for hiking. 

That’s all for now. 
RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili Crew

Hello again Everyone,

It’s been a bit cloudy the last few days, but the team awoke to beautifully clear skies and views of Kilimanjaro looming above us.

We started our day with fresh fruits, eggs, porridge, and plenty of coffee, before setting off on our second day. The trail out of camp slowly ascends through the last remaining trees and makes its way along a rocky ridge that climbs up onto the Shira Plateau. We hiked a little more that 4 hours to reach our next camp arriving shortly before the clouds returned.

Everyone enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the views of the valleys below as we climbed steadily up Kilimanjaro.

We are currently relaxing in our camp enjoying good conversations and stories from team members.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew!

Hello Everyone

We awoke early today and left behind the comforts of our beautiful lodge and have headed to the mountain towards the start of the climb. We hit the road shortly before 8am we drove along the rural country side for two hours to reach the park entrance. Most of the area surrounding Kilimanjaro has been cultivated and primarily used for coffee production and for a variety of other agriculture needs, but there are still some areas that have been untouched and resemble more of a savannah that Tanzania is known for.

The base of Kilimanjaro is forested and resembles a jungle or cloud forest. Traditionally it supports a large part of the banana production for this area. Lucky for us it was cloudy, which made for wonderful hiking conditions.

Once at the gate we had all of our gear weighed and divided into 20kg loads for our porters to carry before hitting the trail. Once everything was in order we started our climb slowly making our way up the winding trail. It was slightly busier than last week, but the team made good time.

The team just finished an amazing hot meal and are looking forward to a good night of sleep at a little bit of exercise.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew.

Gangs all here! There are six of us in total this time. Everyone is doing well and we have enjoyed the RiverTrees Lodge that is nestled in between Arusha and Moshi and not so far from the base of Kilimanjaro.

Today was officially Day 1 for us. So we had our usual round of introductions and then discussed the upcoming program for the days ahead. The team spent the remainder of the day getting our gear packed up, exploring the grounds of our peaceful lodge and getting adjusted to the nearly 12 hours of time change. 

Tomorrow we hit the trail and everyone is looking forward to seeing the mountain and stretching the legs after those long flights!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Kili crew number 2!

Hello everyone,

We spent today touring Tarangire National Park which is home to more elephants per square kilometer than any place on earth, and a huge diversity of other animals, it was amazing to say the least.

We saw elephants, giraffes, warthogs, impala, mongoose, baboons, ostrich, and a lot of other animals, and 13 lions! Several of them were cat napping in trees and even one that was still dinning on last nights feast by the looks of things.

We ended our day at a remote and off grid camp within the National Park and surrounded by wildlife. The camp has screened in rooms that allow the night sounds of Africa in. Hopefully everyone sleeps well tonight!

This is our last dispatch as we will exit the park tomorrow and head back to our lodge near Arusha for a quick break and shower. Then it’s off to the airport to return to our loved ones.

Thanks for following along.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew!

Today we visited the famous Ngorongoro Crater, and considered by many to be the 8th wonder of the world. The crater is what remains of a once massive volcano that erupted and collapsed on itself, leaving behind a giant caldera that's almost exactly 100 square miles. Every time we've visited the crater it's been excitingly different, and today was the same.

We were able to see several lions and it was exciting to see two other cats, a Seval cat and a Caracal! As we made our way around the crater we saw tons of other wildlife, zebras, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, jackals, Giselles, countless large birds. It was quite a day to say the least, and I'm certain one that won't be forgotten by anyone.

We finished the evening here at the plantation lodge and are looking forward to what tomorrow may bring as we head to Tarangire National Park.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari crew

Today was our first day of safari and we headed west to visit the beautiful Lake Manyara. The lake is a brief stopping ground for many migratory animals and home to more than 350 different birds. Everyone enjoyed the day cruising around in our safari vehicles with cold beverages in hand while seeing a few animals up close.

We didn’t see a ton of animals today, but we did get up close to a few elephants, baboons, and a number impalas. Also managed to see a couple of zebras and warthogs off in the distance. 

It was a nice introduction to the incredible diversity of wildlife that Africa has and the team is looking forward to seeing more tomorrow.

We wrapped up the evening with a wonderful meal at the Plantation Lodge.

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Safari Crew

Today we started our day at 6:30 refreshed after a much needed nights sleep, we had breakfast, then hit the trail one last time. It took just under three hours to reach the Kilimanjaro National Park gate where the team had lunch and said our final goodbyes to our amazing crew that took such great care of us on the mountain. 

We finished the little celebration by handing out their well deserved tips and then hopped aboard our awaiting bus for the ride back to the lodge. 

Finally we are all safe and sound, cleaner, and smelling fresh after an exciting seven day journey up and down Kilimanjaro. 

Stayed tuned, Safari starts tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew