January 2nd: Mt. Meru, Day 1

We left for Arusha/Mt. Meru this morning at 7:00 a.m. The drive went quickly. Arusha is a very clean, nice city. I think I could live there! We went back to the Serengeti Select (headquarters) office, paid, changed our bags and clothes out, and said our good-byes to Ihla, Gail, Tammy, Jessica, and Katrina. It took about an hour for Dave, Tyler, Tom and I to get to the first gate of the park. We said our good-byes to Pascal (our other driver). We were picked up by Christian Missionary Tour Company, and they drove us 17k to the second gate. We ate our boxed lunch, registered and headed out. Our group consisted of the 4 of us, a park ranger (with a gun), our guide, Sini, asst. guide/cook, Christopher, and 7 porters, who carried our bags, food, and cooking essentials.

As usual, I jumped out of the starting gate a little too quick and got my butt kicked by the altitude and the high sun. We went through a short meadow which had cape buffalo, water buck, and wild pigs. It was very pretty. We then hiked up a short head wall where I got my first schooling. The ranger then helped me set a pace which was real slow. It was torture initially, but then I realized that it worked with my overheating. Tom also took the small backpack and I got the fanny pack, plus he gave me a wet handkerchief, which worked wonders. Anyway, the hike was scenic, but hot and steep. I really appreciated any breaks we had, as well as shade.

We arrived to the huts after 3 hours and a 3,000 ft. elevation gain. The accommodations were really nice with 8 small rooms in each hut and 2 bunk beds in each room. We were called for tea and had popcorn (YUMMY!) and cookies at 5:00 p.m. I chilled and took a brief nap and then we had a very big dinner, which included vegetable soup, potatoes, cabbage, chicken with a veggie sauce, and mangoes for dessert. WOW. This is unlike any backpacking experience I've ever had.

The stars were beautiful tonight. Also, the bathroom facilities are great! Tomorrow is supposed to be the steepest day, but only about 4 hours of hiking.