Entries By dave hahn

It rained for a good chunk of the night, but things were not too bad when we got underway at 8:20 am this morning. It is always tough to leave Phakding with all the flowers in bloom. But we had a mission: enter Sagarmatha National Park and get up to Namche. Before we reached the park entrance, it began to rain on us, but it never got too bad. Just a little soggy. We took a deluxe lunch break in the village of Monjo, and things dried up a little while we were inside. Then we got busy with the big Namche hill. We have already gone uphill plenty in these two days, but the Namche Hill is different. About 2.5 hours of steady climbing. The team crushed it though and we were pulling into the amphitheater-like town of Namche at about 4:15. Now we are getting used to life at 11,400 ft -a task made far easier by the comfort of Camp De Base, our “tea house” for the next two nights. 
Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Wednesday, October 2, 2024

The day worked out spectacularly.  We had to get up pretty early, of course -we left the hotel at 4:30 AM- but the upside to that was there wasn’t much traffic. We were out to the airport in no time, and then it was a little crowded and busy pushing bags through x ray machines and working our way through various lines.  We had just a little bit of waiting and wondering whether the flight would go  -it isn’t uncommon for travel to Lukla to be snarled and delayed by weather- but then we got the call and headed out to our plane.  We filed into the Twin Otter and strapped in for liftoff at 7:45.  Before long the plane was up above the clouds and giant Himalayan peaks were marching past the port side windows.  We could pick out Mt Everest looming on the horizon. By 8:15 the pilots had us safely touching down on the tilted runway at Lukla.  It turned out that all of our baggage had made the flight as well (which doesn’t always happen). We were in business.  And we had earned some good coffee and breakfast.  We took a little time to eat and get organized and at 10:30 we set out walking.  Downhill at first, we’d landed at 9200 ft, but eventually we did a little climbing as well.  We were passing through small farms and villages and dodging porters and pack animals.  In just over three hours and about five miles, we pulled into Phakding and our comfortable Tea House on the Bhote Khosi river. 
This left us plenty of time to relax through the afternoon and evening.  Turns out that tomorrow is another big and important day in a beautiful place. 

Best Regards,
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

PC: Dave Hahn

Tuesday, October 1, 2024 - 8:42 am PT

This was a busy and important day for our trekking team.  We started out with a discussion of our planned itinerary and strategies for success.  We then embarked upon a few hours of tourism.  Nraj took us to the scenic and significant “monkey temple” and to the giant Bodinath Stupa.  He explained how Buddhism and Hinduism exist side by side in Nepal and recited the long history of settlement and development of the Kathmandu valley.  He took us to a painting school where we learned how the iconic and exquisitely detailed mandala tankas are produced.  We were back to the hotel by mid afternoon and then got into full on preparation for trekking.  Equipment checks were performed and the final packing commenced.  The team ate an early dinner and then headed for the rooms early as well.  We intend to get up before dawn and be out at the airport, ready to fly at first light.  We’ll need good luck, weatherwise, to allow safe air travel through the biggest mountains on the planet.  But this seems like a lucky team. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

September 30, 2024 - 7:52 am PT

Step one… get to Kathmandu.  Job done!  Our Gokyo Trek Team came together today, half a planet away from home.  As we were leaving home several days ago, Nepal was in the news for horrific monsoon flooding -news which we each monitored as we came through the airports on the way.  It was quite a pleasant surprise to have big, clear views of the Himalaya when we landed on a sunny, dry day in Kathmandu.   Obviously, we’ll hope that the monsoon continues to fade.  But the first order of business wasn’t fretting about the weather… it was getting a little rest and trying to adjust to all the time zone shifts.  We then had our initial team meeting in the lobby of the classic Yak and Yeti Hotel.  After a few introductions we ventured out into the crazy traffic of Kathmandu.  The seven of us managed to survive crossing ten minutes worth of wrong way traffic and torn up sidewalks to get to the tranquil rooftop Mezze restaurant for a relaxed dinner. 
Tomorrow we’ll get a little more into just how a trek through high mountains works, but for today -just getting here was plenty. 

Best Regards
RMI Guide Dave Hahn

Ok we didn’t get eaten by lions that last night in Tarangire National Park.  There were fresh overnight Hyena tracks in the dirt where we were loading up the Landcruisers though, so we’ll count it as a close one.  It was still dark when we ate breakfast at Nyikani Tent Camp and just beginning to get light when we drove away -on the prowl again for a final morning of wildlife viewing.  Our excellent naturalist guide/drivers Johnson and Chacha kept finding (and explaining) the good stuff, including a big python on an overhead branch, and “strangular“ fig trees taking over baobobs.  Safari couldn’t last forever though, so at 10:30 we left the park finally and began making our way back to Arusha.  We made a final stop for shopping, some culture and a picnic lunch before returning to the familiar Rivertrees for the afternoon.  By evening the team was going separate ways; some to Zanzibar, some to the Serengeti and several of us back into uncomfortable airplane seats.  We shared a fun and memorable adventure on the roof of Africa…more than making up for airline/airport tediousness. 
Thanks for following along. 

RMI Guide Dave Hahn

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
 

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

Yesterday we were a climbing team, today we are tourists.  But comfortable tourists.  We slept in real beds last night, on level ground, after hot showers and an excellent dinner.  We rolled out of Rivertrees at about 8 AM, heading west.  It took a few hours on two lane highways to reach Lake Manyara National Park.  We did plenty of people watching on the way and saw many cattle herds being shepherded from place to place on the way. 

We spent the afternoon cruising dirt roads through the forest looking for animals.  We saw elephants, a bushbuck, a monitor lizard, baboons and monkeys, impalas, and lion tracks.  There was a leopard… which turned out to be a bird’s nest upon closer inspection.  The lake levels are quite high, reducing animal habitat in the park for the time being, but we enjoyed what we did see.  Our guides, Chacha and Johnson were able to explain what we did see and taught us about the cultures and communities we passed through today. 

 At day’s end we headed up out of the great rift valley and moved toward the Ngorongoro highlands.  Near Karatu, we made our way to the fabulous Plantation Lodge.  It was a pleasure to stroll through lush gardens to luxurious rooms.  We explored the wine cellar and enjoyed a gourmet four course dinner. 

An early start is in order for tomorrow. 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team

Today was big in every way.  We woke at 11 last night and got climbing at midnight, as planned.  It was a beautiful night with a big moon and not much wind. There were plenty of other climbing teams on the move at the same time. It looked like a big Christmas parade with all the headlights.  Thomas, our lead guide, did a wonderful job weaving our team through the traffic on the route. 

It was progressively colder as we got higher and closer to dawn, so of course we were interested in keeping moving.  We took short rest breaks to add more clothing and to take in food and water.  It was still dark as we hit Stella Point on the crater rim a few minutes after 6 AM, but the sunrise was imminent. We enjoyed the victory lap along the rim over to Uhuru (the true summit) as morning broke.

The team hit Uhuru at 7:05 AM. We took pictures and gazed around in wonder from the continental high point. By 7:30 we were headed down.  About three hours later, we were back in Barafu being serenaded by our staff as they sang a few traditional Kilimanjaro songs. We repacked and ate a great lunch before taking on one of the bigger challenges of the day - dropping another 5,000 vertical feet to reach Mweka Camp.

It would be a rough hike on fresh legs, which ours were not. But by 5 PM, we'd all made it. Life is considerably easier way down here at 10K.Especially with the excellent dinner our team put together. Quality sleep is next.

Best Regards, Dave

Barafu. High Camp, 15,200 ft, poised for the summit push.  We are into some nice weather now.  It was calm and clear and not all that cold this morning at Karanga Camp.  After another of chef Tosha’s wonderful mountain breakfasts, we set out for high camp.  Naiman led the way today, taking us up broad and easy terrain for the first hour or so.  Above 14,000 ft the trail got a little more rocky and narrow in places but it wasn’t giving our seasoned team any real trouble.  We took a couple of long and lazy rest breaks today so that our staff of porters and camp builders could get out ahead.  Even so, we were walking into Barafu by 11 AM.  This gave plenty of time for resting and rehydrating and strategizing for tonight’s climb. 

It’ll be an early dinner and then early to bed for this team.  We hope to launch for the summit at midnight.  All systems are go. 
 

Best Regards,

RMI Guide Dave Hahn & Team