Hawaii - the Big Island 2014

This is a land of contrasts; simultaneous winter and summer, hard barren lava and lush tropical rainforests. Hawaii has 11 our of 13 climate zones. It consists of 6 overlapping volcanoes.

It was a 177km drive to the Namakanipaio campsite.

Volcano National Park -- here it was cooler, being 4200' above sea level.

Hike #1: The Halema'uma'a trail along the edge of the Kilauea caldera. 17.5 km / 277m gain. This lava lake was off limits to humans.

Every day Kilauea discharges hundreds to thousands of tons of gases, S0/2 being one of the most dangerous fumes. In the past 100 years it has erupted 40 times. The first eruption was in 1790 and the last one in 1982. The 1924 eruption threw 8 ton rocks as far as 1 km.

The trail then led into the forest where wild kahihi (ginger plants), gigantic ferns and fichus trees with their hanging roots grew in abundance.

The Byron trail led us down into the Kilauea Caldera for a small section. Steam vents spouted fumes here and there but most of them came from the distant lava lake.

Offerings left for the goddess of fire: Pele

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Hike #2: Iki / Devastation trail -- 12 km / 300m gain

We walked the short trail through the only tropical rain forest in North America to the Thurston lava tube.

This is a huge 500-year-old tunnel created by a river of lava. Fast central currents kept the core hot while the slower moving edges cooled and thickened.

The Kilauea Iki crater was still steaming from the 1959 eruptions.

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Hike #3: Mauna Ulu trail -- 16 km / 340m gain

First we hiked up the 214' high Pu'u Huluhulu cinder cone and then over the 1973-1974 lava flows to the Makaaupiehi pit crater.

Makaaupiehi crater is a massive 1 mile wide and 500' deep.

The Holei Sea Arch along the Chain of Craters Road.

Kilauea Calera.

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The Sulfur Banks

The short Sulfur Banks trail where volcanic gases deposited colorful sulfur crystals and other minerals.

Hike #4: Mauna Loa overnight backpack to the Red Hut -- 1025m gain / 3059m high

Mauna Loa is the earth's most massive volcano, rising 13,677' above sea level and 3 miles below it.

It has erupted 33 times in the last 150 years.

We braced ourselves for a difficult climb. The higher we got the more barren the landscape got. At 9000' there was no longer any vegetation.

Here we spent the night at the Red Hut. It was a barren alien landscape, reminding me much of the moon with no peaks to be seen.

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There was frost on the ground in the morning and the clouds had cleared from Moauna Kea's peaks so we had a clear view of its observatories.

After 5 days of walking on lava, our bodies were ready for a break. We left Volcano NP and drove northeast to Hilo.

After checking out the macadamia nut farm and then the zoo, we did a tour to Mauna Kea's summit.

A tour guide herded us into his van for the long drive to the summit. Mauna Kea is the world's tallest mountain, rising more than 30,000' above the ocean floor.

We left the clouds below us and parked at the 13,796' summit where there were 13 telescopes from 11 different countries, one of them (owned by the USA) being the world's largest.

At 6:15 pm we drove down for about 15 minutes and then parked, switching all lights off. Ken sang us an ancient Hwaiian chant and then went on to tell us about the diffgerent constellations. He told us how the ancients navigated using the stars, clouds, wind and even the sea swells.

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The Hawaiian tropical botanical gardens.

440' high Akaka Falls.

Onomea Bay became a shipping post in the early 1800s for materials to construct a sugar mill and export raw sugar. It was deserted in the early 1900s. In 1978 Mr. Lutkenhouse invested 1 million dollars into this park, working on it for 8 years before donating it to the people.

Ahh. those fresh Pina Coladas!

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Hike #5: Waipio Valley to Black Sand Beach

Its not actually black sand but lava that pours into the ocean and cools so quickly that it shatters into sand size particles.

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Hike #6 -- Pololu Valley

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There were resorts lining the beach close to our huts. We went swimming there.

It was thrilling to see the colorful tropical fish, but especially this huge sea turtle!

Pu'uhonua o Honaunau historic site. This was one of the royal chief's most important residences.

A massive 17" thick wall separated the royal grounds from the place of refuge for defeated warriors and those who violated Kapu, the very strict sacred laws. Here they could be forgiven and cleared of any wrong doing whether it be murder or walking in the chief's shadow.

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