Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch

March 17, 2010 – Patrick’s Adventure Begins

This is Patrick calling in with my first dispatch. I had a lot of fun out here today, trekking was awesome. The Umbwe route is quite challenging, 4 or 5 hours of uphill walking to 9,400ft/2,865m, which I guess is what I wanted! It was a nice day for weather; it didn’t rain and it was pretty sunny.

The people here are great. The crew, Nicolas and Angel and everyone has helped me with everything I need so far. There are a lot of people working to help me reach the top, and I really appreciate that.

Yesterday I went with Julius to see the waterfall in the foothills of Mount Meru. It was awesome, really cool to see that. There are a lot of different ecosystems on Kilimanjaro; today I am in the forest and tomorrow I’ll get to hike up through the heather and moorlands.

Tonight, I’m sleeping in the jungle at Umbwe Camp underneath all the stars that you can’t see in the city. I’m loving it.

Dispatch out. Bye!