Hawaii 2015: Volcanoes National Park
Tuesday, 19 January 2016 22:52![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iguana
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is a significant proportion of Big Island, and we were living within cycle distance of it, which meant I had plenty of time to explore it, both with Emily in her car, and by myself on Emily's bicycle. It's a really diverse place and this is a massive journal entry; sorry! (But lots of photos too.)
Kīlauea Iki hike
The Kīlauea Iki hike is a good introduction to the park, and was the first place I visited after arriving. It takes a couple of hours, and leads through rainforest at road level to a set of steps that take you about 100m down into the volcanic crater. It still boggles me that the floor you walk on, still steaming in places, was a lava lake in 1959. You can see the "bath scum" of lava as you reach the edge of the floor, then the route crosses the floor, taking you past giant cracks and boulders.
The coolest thing about volcanic rock is how light it is. It's basically dried magma foam.
Once you've crossed the lava plain, it's back up the other side of the crater and into rainforest again, then back to where you started. We did the walk a few times as it's a great way to see a decent proportion of types of environment in the park in a pretty short time span.
The Kīlauea Iki hike is a good introduction to the park, and was the first place I visited after arriving. It takes a couple of hours, and leads through rainforest at road level to a set of steps that take you about 100m down into the volcanic crater. It still boggles me that the floor you walk on, still steaming in places, was a lava lake in 1959. You can see the "bath scum" of lava as you reach the edge of the floor, then the route crosses the floor, taking you past giant cracks and boulders.
The coolest thing about volcanic rock is how light it is. It's basically dried magma foam.
Once you've crossed the lava plain, it's back up the other side of the crater and into rainforest again, then back to where you started. We did the walk a few times as it's a great way to see a decent proportion of types of environment in the park in a pretty short time span.
Sulphur Banks
I had forgotten visiting Sulphur Springs in St Lucia until I smelled the sulphur fumes at Sulphur Banks in Volcanoes National Park. The air is warm around here, owing to the hot gas escaping from a magma chamber below the ground. It's rather smelly, and vegetation also has problems with it, but it's nice to wander around and makes a nice part of a walk to the Jaggar Museum for the view of Halemaʻumaʻu.
I had forgotten visiting Sulphur Springs in St Lucia until I smelled the sulphur fumes at Sulphur Banks in Volcanoes National Park. The air is warm around here, owing to the hot gas escaping from a magma chamber below the ground. It's rather smelly, and vegetation also has problems with it, but it's nice to wander around and makes a nice part of a walk to the Jaggar Museum for the view of Halemaʻumaʻu.
Chain of Craters Road
Chain of Craters Road does what it says on the tin. It's a long, windy, and nearly deserted road that stretches down from Crater Rim Drive at the top of the National Park down to sea level after 20 miles. At the bottom is a sign telling you to turn around and go back! The road will eventually extend to Pahoa to avoid the town being cut off completely in the event the Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flow ever reaches Highway 130.
Along the road are various lay-bys you can pull into to see the next crater along the route. These are giant sinkholes that collapsed after the magma pools they were resting on were evacuated, and vary quite a lot in size.
We went exploring in one lava plain and found some tree moulds. These are holes where the flowing lava set around a tree just before the tree burnt up, leaving an imprint of the bark in stone. It also gives a sense of how high the lava flow had elevated the ground level.
In other areas were large cavernous pits, lined with iron-rich red rock.
When you reach about half-way along the road, there is a sharp increase in the gradient for a while, as you descend down the fault scarp from where the landscape had a sudden massive collapse into the ocean at some point in the past.
You can see the resulting cliff, which has since had new lava flowing over it, but more of note is how a recent lava flow has crossed an old road there!
At another lay-by we found some absolutely beautiful golden lava on a field that overlooked the sea in the distance.
Around it there was also a depository of Pele's Hair (natural glass strands), sheltered from the wind.
Eventually you reach the sea, where the new land is already being eaten away by the ocean. This area was popular when there was molten lava running into the sea during a recent eruption, and a lot of photography of Hawaii's volcanoes comes from around here. Unfortunately there has been nothing like for a fair few years now.
Chain of Craters Road does what it says on the tin. It's a long, windy, and nearly deserted road that stretches down from Crater Rim Drive at the top of the National Park down to sea level after 20 miles. At the bottom is a sign telling you to turn around and go back! The road will eventually extend to Pahoa to avoid the town being cut off completely in the event the Puʻu ʻŌʻō lava flow ever reaches Highway 130.
Along the road are various lay-bys you can pull into to see the next crater along the route. These are giant sinkholes that collapsed after the magma pools they were resting on were evacuated, and vary quite a lot in size.
We went exploring in one lava plain and found some tree moulds. These are holes where the flowing lava set around a tree just before the tree burnt up, leaving an imprint of the bark in stone. It also gives a sense of how high the lava flow had elevated the ground level.
In other areas were large cavernous pits, lined with iron-rich red rock.
When you reach about half-way along the road, there is a sharp increase in the gradient for a while, as you descend down the fault scarp from where the landscape had a sudden massive collapse into the ocean at some point in the past.
You can see the resulting cliff, which has since had new lava flowing over it, but more of note is how a recent lava flow has crossed an old road there!
At another lay-by we found some absolutely beautiful golden lava on a field that overlooked the sea in the distance.
Around it there was also a depository of Pele's Hair (natural glass strands), sheltered from the wind.
Eventually you reach the sea, where the new land is already being eaten away by the ocean. This area was popular when there was molten lava running into the sea during a recent eruption, and a lot of photography of Hawaii's volcanoes comes from around here. Unfortunately there has been nothing like for a fair few years now.
Petroglyphs
Near the bottom of Chain of Craters is a short walk to a boardwalked circle that surrounds rocks that are absolutely covered by symbols carved into them.
Some are recognisable shapes, such as people or animals; others are more abstract symbols like circles within circles that had some unknown importance to the person who carved them.
There are more appealing petroglyphs elsewhere on the island, but in terms of pure numbers, Volcanoes wins hands down. It was interesting to walk both directions around the circles and spot as much as we could.
Near the bottom of Chain of Craters is a short walk to a boardwalked circle that surrounds rocks that are absolutely covered by symbols carved into them.
Some are recognisable shapes, such as people or animals; others are more abstract symbols like circles within circles that had some unknown importance to the person who carved them.
There are more appealing petroglyphs elsewhere on the island, but in terms of pure numbers, Volcanoes wins hands down. It was interesting to walk both directions around the circles and spot as much as we could.
Thurston Lava Tube
Barely worth a mention is Thurston Lava Tube, since it was tarmacked inside during the National Park's early days (they wouldn't destroy items of geological interest any more) and frequently has a river of tourists emulating the lava flow that used to run through it, as bus tours usually only visit it and the Jaggar Museum before continuing on their journeys between Kona and Hilo.
However, it was my first lava tube, and for anybody who hasn't seen one before, they're pretty fantastical things.
Barely worth a mention is Thurston Lava Tube, since it was tarmacked inside during the National Park's early days (they wouldn't destroy items of geological interest any more) and frequently has a river of tourists emulating the lava flow that used to run through it, as bus tours usually only visit it and the Jaggar Museum before continuing on their journeys between Kona and Hilo.
However, it was my first lava tube, and for anybody who hasn't seen one before, they're pretty fantastical things.
Crater Rim Drive by bike
American roads are pretty scary for cycling on, but on Highway 11 around the Park at least there are really wide hard shoulders that gives cyclists some space. I discovered a way to get into the park without having to make any left turns, and took the bike out several times after that. My favourite route is this one.
It starts off going down an 'escape road', a rough 4x4 drive designed for emergencies but which is also public access in the meantime. This sounds way less pleasant than it is, as it's through dense rainforest. This takes you past Thurston Lava Tube, where you can get onto the main National Park roads if you wish. Otherwise, it's continuing through rainforest, on an increasingly steep slope.
The top of Volcanoes is often in mist, but this gives way as soon as you get a wee bit lower down, and the route is soon sunny and hot. After four miles the rainforest abruptly stops as you start to cross a lava plain -- quite a rattly experience! Fortunately there's not too much of this before you emerge at the road leading to the Napau Trailhead, 200 metres below and 6km south of the entrance to the park.
From there I had a few choices. Turn around and go back up the way I'd come -- not very appealing given the terrain. Continue South along Chain of Craters road, freewheeling the remaining 12 miles down to the coast (I wish I had arranged for Emily to pick me up in the car at the bottom, for alas, I never managed to do this). The last option was cycling back up Chain of Craters road, taking advantage of the tarmacked surface, so this is what I did.
It's a really nice cycle back, and the regular lay-bys were really convenient for me to catch my breath every so often. There isn't quite as much oxygen available at 1000m as at sea level.
At one point, I nearly fell off my bike as I heard a grunting in the bushes beside the road and looked around just in time to see a wild boar poking around in the undergrowth. That was rather awesome, as driving along the road gives you less sense of your surroundings. I did not, however, see any nēnē.
I also had the chance to cycle the no-cars section of Crater Rim Drive, which circles Halemaʻumaʻu, and has a pretty decent view of the vent. It was completely empty when I cycled it the first time, a weird experience on an American road!
After a couple of miles the road is properly closed to everyone, and has been since Halemaʻumaʻu started pumping poisonous gases into the air. A sign on the barriers makes it crystal clear why the road is closed:
... and so on. Needless to say, this is where I turned around, and cycled back to the Park exit, where a short ride in the hard shoulder of Highway 11 lead me straight back to the home estate.
A good day!
American roads are pretty scary for cycling on, but on Highway 11 around the Park at least there are really wide hard shoulders that gives cyclists some space. I discovered a way to get into the park without having to make any left turns, and took the bike out several times after that. My favourite route is this one.
It starts off going down an 'escape road', a rough 4x4 drive designed for emergencies but which is also public access in the meantime. This sounds way less pleasant than it is, as it's through dense rainforest. This takes you past Thurston Lava Tube, where you can get onto the main National Park roads if you wish. Otherwise, it's continuing through rainforest, on an increasingly steep slope.
The top of Volcanoes is often in mist, but this gives way as soon as you get a wee bit lower down, and the route is soon sunny and hot. After four miles the rainforest abruptly stops as you start to cross a lava plain -- quite a rattly experience! Fortunately there's not too much of this before you emerge at the road leading to the Napau Trailhead, 200 metres below and 6km south of the entrance to the park.
From there I had a few choices. Turn around and go back up the way I'd come -- not very appealing given the terrain. Continue South along Chain of Craters road, freewheeling the remaining 12 miles down to the coast (I wish I had arranged for Emily to pick me up in the car at the bottom, for alas, I never managed to do this). The last option was cycling back up Chain of Craters road, taking advantage of the tarmacked surface, so this is what I did.
It's a really nice cycle back, and the regular lay-bys were really convenient for me to catch my breath every so often. There isn't quite as much oxygen available at 1000m as at sea level.
At one point, I nearly fell off my bike as I heard a grunting in the bushes beside the road and looked around just in time to see a wild boar poking around in the undergrowth. That was rather awesome, as driving along the road gives you less sense of your surroundings. I did not, however, see any nēnē.
I also had the chance to cycle the no-cars section of Crater Rim Drive, which circles Halemaʻumaʻu, and has a pretty decent view of the vent. It was completely empty when I cycled it the first time, a weird experience on an American road!
After a couple of miles the road is properly closed to everyone, and has been since Halemaʻumaʻu started pumping poisonous gases into the air. A sign on the barriers makes it crystal clear why the road is closed:
Stop here! Go no closer to the eruption!
If you are near the crater during an explosion, you have little chance to survive. Rescue is not an option.
The toxic fume cloud that continuously blasts from the crater is suffocating. The toxic fumes flash-burn your nose, throat, and lungs.
If you are caught in the acid gas cloud, you will be in severe pain and will not be able to escape.
... and so on. Needless to say, this is where I turned around, and cycled back to the Park exit, where a short ride in the hard shoulder of Highway 11 lead me straight back to the home estate.
A good day!
Napau Trail
The longest trip I did by foot was with Emily when we walked the Napau Trail, which is a 7-mile trek to a viewpoint of Halemaʻumaʻu's sibling eruption at Puʻu ʻŌʻō (and then you have to walk back!)
Like Kīlauea Iki, this is a good showcase of the various terrains in the park, with a fantastic few miles over desolate lava fields, where we walked along dried rivers of lava and had to watch our footing lest we fell through a crack in the very thin top level of rock (incidentally, walking on lava is terrible for hiking boots). After eating our lunch at a massive crater, we entered first some thick rainforest, then some plains lush with ferns. We even passed the stone remains of a pulu factory that went bust when it turned out that the fern pillow stuffing had an embarassingly short shelf life.
The longest trip I did by foot was with Emily when we walked the Napau Trail, which is a 7-mile trek to a viewpoint of Halemaʻumaʻu's sibling eruption at Puʻu ʻŌʻō (and then you have to walk back!)
Like Kīlauea Iki, this is a good showcase of the various terrains in the park, with a fantastic few miles over desolate lava fields, where we walked along dried rivers of lava and had to watch our footing lest we fell through a crack in the very thin top level of rock (incidentally, walking on lava is terrible for hiking boots). After eating our lunch at a massive crater, we entered first some thick rainforest, then some plains lush with ferns. We even passed the stone remains of a pulu factory that went bust when it turned out that the fern pillow stuffing had an embarassingly short shelf life.
Kau Desert
The Kau Desert is a large lava flow desert that is largely off-limits since Halemaʻumaʻu started belching out toxic fumes, but there is one good trek which is to a small hut that tells the story of some old native Hawaiians who were caught Pompeii-style in an eruption. There are supposedly footprints in the rock that formed as the lava was cooling as the unfortunate characters ran for safety.
The walk itself is unusual for a lava plain in that it's a gravel track; another remnant of when the Park was older and had fewer do-not-interfere directives.
An amusing sign at the start of the trail greets anyone who perhaps drank too much coffee over breakfast:
The Kau Desert is a large lava flow desert that is largely off-limits since Halemaʻumaʻu started belching out toxic fumes, but there is one good trek which is to a small hut that tells the story of some old native Hawaiians who were caught Pompeii-style in an eruption. There are supposedly footprints in the rock that formed as the lava was cooling as the unfortunate characters ran for safety.
The walk itself is unusual for a lava plain in that it's a gravel track; another remnant of when the Park was older and had fewer do-not-interfere directives.
An amusing sign at the start of the trail greets anyone who perhaps drank too much coffee over breakfast:
