Berg

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We had a great walk up here today. We're still in the clouds, but the temperatures have been perfect for walking and it's been really a great feeling to move up out of the forest and get into the arid sections of the mountain.

You're very aware, of course, that Sally, Helen and Tom, and one Chagga guide named Mark, and seven of our porters began their trip from the Machame Gate presumably today and will be arriving to Machame Camp, as we probably did, sometime between five and eight o'clock tonight. And we'll all be reunited here tomorrow.

This is our acclimatization camp; a very good elevation to put in an investment of time to acclimatize and that is what we're looking forward to getting started here tomorrow. We had the thrill, just awhile ago, of seeing a partial clearing. And oh, this group was really excited when they ran out and saw the glaciers, part of the Breach Wall, part of Kibo, which is the central summit of the massif of Kilimanjaro, and of course where we'll climb to Uhuru Peak in a few days.

Things are going great; we had a nice lunch today at our traditional stop here, just when you climb up to the flats just above the forest. Had some nice biscuits, great avocados, I have this deal about how I love the avocados you get in Tanzania. Tobias has been giving me a hard time for years because he says, "this is woman's food." But, I love them here anyway and I eat a lot of them. Of course, when I asked Tobias, "Well, if this is woman's food what do real men eat?" he always refers naturally to ugali. Ugali is a thick cornmeal paste that is a staple in the diet of Tanzanian people and it's pretty good. It's pretty substantial; with some descent sauce, I can eat a lot of ugali. These porters eat a lot more than me and that's probably why they're so strong. But, I'm into a pretty diverse diet; so, I'll take my avocados as well as my ugali.

Things are going great; we're looking forward to being united tomorrow, and I'll keep you posted as to how our rest and acclimatization phase is going up here at Shira.

—Alpine Ascents Guide Wally Berg, MountainZone.com Correspondent