Days 22 - 25 (June 12 - 15)

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We took an 8am shuttle from Nairobi to Arusha, Tanzania, which is about 2hrs from Mt. Kilimanjaro main gate. We met up with Dave and Allison on the bus and caught up. They'd been in Africa for 10 days already (South Africa and Kenya).

I had to get another visa at the border (I was the only one on the bus who didn't already have one). Again, no problem - big relief. I had driven to DC the week before I left but I didn't have sufficient documentation to get one...

We arrived in Arusha around 1pm and met up with our tour operator. They had organized our climb, safari, flights and hotels in Tanzania. Tad spent an hour on the phone trying to get his bag situation resolved but things were still up in the air. We were to board a bus at 8:00am to head to the mountain. Our only hope was that British Airways put his bag on the early flight to Mt. Kili airport so we could grab it on the way...

Somehow the bag made the next flight from London and the early shuttle so Tad was not forced to spend 6days in one pair of underwear. As his tent-mate, I was excited.

We rode the bus for about 5hrs that day, 2 of them on a dirt road that filled the bus with dust. It was miserable.

Day 23 (June 13) - Simba Camp Somehow the bag made the next flight from London and the early shuttle so Tad was not forced to spend 6days in one pair of underwear. As his tent-mate, I was excited.

We rode the bus for about 5hrs that day, 2 of them on a dirt road that filled the bus with dust. It was miserable. We hiked for about 3.5hrs and camped at about 2800m. Alison and the porters heard a lion in the middle of the night...

Day 24 (June 14) - Second Cave Camp We hiked about 3.5hrs today to around 3300m. Uneventful...

Day 25 (June 15) - Third Cave Camp We hiked about 3hrs today to around 3700m...

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