BY ELOISE PARKER DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER  Monday, December 22nd 2008, 1:58 PM  Daily News reporter Eloise Parker, who will be comencing a 7-day climb of kilimanjaro on Dec 22, 2008.  DAY 1 Machame Gate (1490m) to Machame camp (2980m)  Hiking time: 7 hours Elevation gain: 1490m  Description: Beginning at the Machame Village, the guides and porters prepare and pack supplies for the climb and supply lunch and water for the day ahead. After registering at the gate office, the ascent begins almost immediately in thick rainforest, with soggy, muddy ground underfoot before arriving at the Machame Camp by late afternoon. Here, the day temperature is around 30C, but may fall below zero at night.  MONDAY MORNING â 11 a.m. Tanzania time  We were on one of only about two airlines to make it out of JFK on time Friday night, despite Friday's raging snowstorm. Thanks Qatar Airways!  After an overnight stop in Doha, we transferred from Tanzania's capital, Dar es Salaam, onto a smaller propeller plane to get us to Kilimanjaro International Airport on Sunday afternoon. Looking out of the window of the plane, most of the mountain was covered in cloud, making it difficult to get a handle on the feat ahead.  Right then, the captain mentioned we were cruising at 20,000 feet. We looked down at the microscopic plains and forests below, soaking up the view we'll hopefully have in a week... and realized we must be nuts. Jet lag kicking in, its time to pack our packs, pop a sleeping pill and pray for a long, deep sleep before the task ahead, because tomorrow, we hit the trail.  MONDAY EVENING â 6 p.m. Tanzania time  It was our first day of hiking and it took five house to get to the camp.  The camp is all set up. Weâve just had some hot tea and dinner is being prepared âvegetables and soup. There were a couple of traffic jams along the way. The first was at the only set of traffic lights in Machame Village the second was through the village because of a herd of cattle.  Weâre at the camp â which is about 3,000 meters and weâre feeling good â a little bit light-headed, kind of like when you stand up too quickly, but nothing too uncomfortable.  The hike has been great so far, we cam up through beautiful thick forest with no rain. Itâs not been too steep and there are natural steps made from the tree roots. There are even toilets along the trail â huts with a hole in the floor. Letâs just say, some people arenât a very good shot so the last thing you want to do is lose your balance in one of those.
Eloise Parker is calling in as she travels to Mt. Kilimanjaro and telling us how she’s faring. Here is her itinerary from day one, and her first dispatch via phone from the camp site.