Kilimanjaro Expedition Dispatch
July 9, 2008 – Huffines Reach the Shira Camp With Ease
A beautiful view of Kilimanjaro
It’s late afternoon on July 9 and I’m calling you from the Shira 1 Camp (11,400 ft above sea level) on Kilimanjaro. I’m looking out across the distance and I see the glacier capped summit of Kibo, the central volcano of Kilimanjaro rising above us. That’s going to be our goal, of course.
The highest volcano on Kilimanjaro, Kibo
Yesterday, after we left the Linde School, still driving towards the Lemosho entrance to Kilimanjaro National Park, we looked up and were astounded to see from the highway, Kilimanjaro off in the distance. We couldn’t believe how far it rose above the continent of Africa. Kibo is the highest and also the youngest of the three volcanoes that comprise Kilimanjaro. We are now at Shira which is the old collapsed volcano that no longer looks likes a top of a mountain or a volcano. We are in what is called a caldera, the old collapsed portion of the oldest volcano. I wasn’t sure if the Huffines family knew about this but when I asked them a little while ago how many volcanoes are there on Kilimanjaro, they quickly answered 3. Later in the trip we are going to see Mawenzi off to the east. As I said our goal is Kilimanjaro or Kibo and it’s looking beautiful right now.
The team settles in at Shira Camp
When we got started the BAI team already had the first lunch prepared at the base of the trail before we started up. I noticed those wonderful women who keep the Huffines family going, Holly and Mary Catherine. They seemed very relaxed when the saw the quality of the food that was going to be served to the team. Quickly I saw Mary Catherine asking Luca, the head chef, about the dressing he had prepared for the fresh avocado salad we had for lunch, along with several other very delicious items we had before we started up the trail.
Our first camp last night was at 9,200 ft and I’m happy to report that the entire team (all 12 members of the Huffines family) has been doing great as we climbed all the way to 11,400 ft. As you know we are just getting started, we are going to trek from west to east all the way across this massive mountain before we finally attempt to go to the very top. So keep posted everyday as we give the reports of the Huffines family’s experience on their attempt to climb to the highest point in Africa.