Kilimanjaro : Day 1 to Shira 1 Camp - A Test of preparation

Date: Feb 4th, 2024

Distance Covered: 2.2 Miles/3.5 Km,

Elevation Gain: ~1000 ft Elevation loss: ~800 ft

Net Altitude: 11,200 ft to 11,400 ft (several ups/down). Hiking profile graph below.

After the bus dropped us off, we hit the trail heading for Shira 1 Camp. You can check out some highlights of Day 1's rugged terrain in this video. That day was all about getting in sync with each other and the mountain. Between a heavy downpour and dealing with an injured hand, juggling our gear was a real test of our prep work.

Crossing a stream-down a steep slope and back up!

After a few hours of trekking, we started seeing a glimpse of the camp. There is no joy of coming closer and closer to the tents, sitting down and chit chatting with our fellow hikers. And here's something that totally blew our minds: during the hike, the porters zoomed past us, lugging heavier bags, and guess what? They still managed to set up camp completely by the time we rolled in. How amazing is that?