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May 26, 2006
There's snow in Hawai'i
KOHALA COAST, HAWAI'I -- Hawai'i may be the only place that one can stand atop a snowy 13,700 foot mountain and an hour later touch the sea. I left yesterday at 7AM to drive the "Saddle Road" from one side of Hawai'i to the other, up to an elevation of around 6,000 ft. It's a violation of the rental car contract to drive that road, which is stupid because it's a fine road, though a sign at the entrance warns "WARNING: WINDING ROAD NEXT 41 MILES."
The road crosses lava fields that date to the past 200 years, including some very recent flows from Mauna Loa. At the midpoint of the saddle, one has the active volcano Mauna Loa (13,679 ft and growing) on one side and Mauna Kea (13,796 ft) on the other side. A road leads up to a visitor center at 9,000 ft, where one is already above the clouds. I wasn't too keane to take the rental car up the rocky road to the top, so I tried hitching a ride. That morning, I had seen two young chicks hitching on the side of the road, and sure enough, the first truck to pass slammed on the brakes and backed up. It worked for me too, as I joined two Massachusetts newlyweds with a Ford Explorer on the way up the mountainside. The summit has a fair amount of snow, quite unexpected in Hawai'i, plus a dozen or so giant telescopes housed in giant metallic domes. From there, one puts the car in neutral and coasts down almost to the sea.
At the sea, one can visit Hawai'i Volcanos National Park, which includes a giant volcanic crater (it's a 13-mile drive along the rim) at 4000 feet, plus a road leading down to the sea past a half-dozen other craters and lava flows as recent as 1974. The road abruptly ends where the September 2002 lava flows covered the road, and from there it's a treaterous 45-minute hike over a rough new lava field to a viewing platform where one can see, at a distance, new lava entering the sea. The cooled lava is brittle, sharp, and loose, so a slight misstep can cause a broken leg and a nasty cut. I stayed until after dark, when the lava lights up in brilliant orange colors. The only problem after dark is crossing that long black lava field with absolutely no light. With a small torch/flashlight, it's a tough journey involving inspecting every next step and hoping the lava-rock doesn't collapse.
Today was the start of Kim's wedding festivities, including a dinner and cocktail party on the beach as the sun set. Aside from this, I spent the day laying at the pool with Jeremy Seigel's new book and getting sunburned shoulders.
Posted by adrianjo at May 26, 2006 04:31 AM