HDP_5118

Audio Blog

We woke up this morning to the sound of pouring rain, not an uplifting way to start the trek to 10,000 feet! As we ate a hearty breakfast the rain petered out ,which raised our spirits considerably. Once the trucks were loaded, we piled into to the bus for the 45 minute trip to the Machame gate. It was a beautiful drive through the African countryside. We ate lunch at the park entrance and then headed out on the trail. The trek began with nervous laughter and excitement.  It got warm quickly and our confidence grew. The ascent was quite manageable and the nervousness soon vanished. It wasn't long after that, the rain began to fall. And fall it did. We quickly stopped to put on our rain gear, but we were already soaked. The rain pounded down on us for the duration of the climb. Spirits stayed strong and there was a lot of shout outs and laughter up and down the column of bodies moving up "pole pole" (slowly slowly).

 It wasn't long before we sighted our camp on the trail ahead. We were wet, cold, tired and hungry.

A quick briefing and we were in our tents getting changed the boys broke out the football and tea and popcorn was served in the dining tent. Life was good again.

We were graciously serenaded by our porters before dinner. Our menu consisted of cucumber soup, bread, fish, avacado and vegetables. Amazing considering every item had to be hauled up on someone's shoulders or head.

After a great meal and a briefing by our fearless leader, Shawn, we all relaxed, chatted, wrote in journals and sent our happy, but weary bones to bed.

 The following are a few quotes from the team on their experiences from the first day on the climb:

 "Rain and sunset made for a beautiful day.  10K and LOVIN IT."  Doug D.

  "It was a great day, we had some rain, sun, more rain.  But all and all fune. We are at 10,000 feet.  I look forward to tomorrow. and a whole new adventure." Stuart.

 "Arrived at Camp 1.... we are warm, happy, dry and full... all is right with the world." Kelly

 "Hike was great but the rain sucked. Great dinner and ready for bed.  Porters astound me with the loads and pace.  Looking forward to more and whats ahead."  Bob.

 "Wet-wet-wet- very happy to glimpse the camp through the trees.  Great first day - scenery incredible. Climb quite manageable. Food excellent. Fish, avacado, cucumber soup. Ready for a good sleep. First night in the tent." Heather.

 "Wet and wild is what I think of today!  Wet is obvious from the two downpours we hiked through, wild for the foliage.  Scenery we saw almost prehistoric. The best part was arriving at 10,000 feet for the first time in my life." Jann.

 Special thanks to Heather for all the great photos!

Donations can still be made throughout the climb at the link below:

http://www.dreammountains.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=29

All The Best from Kilimanjaro!

Dream Team Kilimanjaro