Page 32 - 2012 AMA Summer

DRAGON HAWAIIAN
Climbing the Summit of Mauna Loa
SSgt Paul Chamberlain
Ten members of 258 Signal Squadron, 3(UK) Division Signal Regiment, based at Bramcote, Nuneaton conducted a trek- king expedition to Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii, USA between 7 – 23 July 2011.
This involved a lengthy trip via Houston, Texas and Los Angeles before finally arriving on the ‘Big Island’ of Hawaii, home to the Vol- cano National Park and most notably the world’s largest active Vol- cano, Mauna Loa, 13,679ft.
Following a few days acclimatisation involving small treks around the Island’s worthy notable features, it was time to embark upon the Exped for real. After an early start and a hearty breakfast in the Kileau Military Camp (KMC), the group were collected by a volun- teer from the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and taken to the start of the Mauna Loa summit trail. At this point, personnel were appre- hensive about what lay ahead, knowing they were to gain almost 5000ft over 7 miles towards the Red Hill Cabin whilst carrying an average of 25kg per person. The trail started through woodland before entering an open plateau of old volcanic lava flows which seemed to go up and up. These lava flows were undulating and difficult underfoot. However, the effort was worth the view that could be seen whilst climbing this trail.
The weather was hot at the start of the climb, however after a few hours a large grey cloud emerged and the heavens opened with
torrential rain. This remained until the later end of the days climb. However, morale was still high and the site of the Red Hill Cabin was a welcome relief to the group. Upon arrival at the cabin, a group of Canadian tourists were established there which the expedition leader was not informed about when booking the cabin with the National Park tourist office. Although willing to share the cabin, the other group decided to camp outside as some personnel had done that the previous night. The cabin was basic inside, provid- ing wooden bunk beds with old mattresses and a kitchen area. In addition, the cabin had a rain water storage tank which thankfully had enough water that could be boiled for the overnight stay. Once the group was established, an evening meal of pasta was cooked by Cpls Rimmer and Graham to provide plenty of carbohydrates for the following day and water bottles were refilled with the boiled water from the storage tank.
The team awoke early ready for a 0630 start. Despite LCpl Bar- rington being extremely vocal whilst asleep, everyone had man- aged to get some rest ready for the day’s accent to Steaming Cone at 11,480 ft. This was where the terrain really started to have an effect on the speed of the team. It was constantly changing from soft Tephra to razor sharp A’a’ flows. Fortunately, the weather was much more forgiving with the team basking in glorious sunshine for the duration on the day. Sgt Morris led with a steady pace incor- porating regular welcome rest stops. As the team reached the planned overnight camp site the terrain, weight of the packs and
30 ARMY MOUNTAINEER