| This file is from Peter's Infrequent Travel Journal |
The Hawaiian Islands are formed due to a hot spot under the tectonic plate they sit on. As the plate drifts west, lava forces its way through new vents, and new land forms on the eastern end of the chain.
About Kilauea
Kilauea is an active volcano on the Big Island, it is the only active volcano in Hawaii. The best place to base yourself for seeing the volcano is in Hilo, about an hour flight from Honolulu. It's hard to budget travel on the Big Island, you must rent a car, and cheap digs are hard to find. Volcano National Park is a great place to visit to learn about the volcano, and to see the effects of recent volcanic activity. It's possible that active lava flow is viewable inside the park, but, Pu'u O'o, the active vent, is outside of the park.
The two most interesting spots to watch the volcano are at the Pu'u O'o vent, which became active in 1983; and at the lava outfall at the ocean. Lava travels mostly through underground lava tubes for several miles to to outfalls at the ocean on the Kalapana coast. Both these locations are very remote, and require at least 8 hours to hike there and back. Sometimes, lava oozes out of the tubes onto the surface. If you're lucky this can happen at spots that you can drive to, from Volcano National Park, or on the Kalapana road.
The hikes are dangerous. There may be no one else on the trail, so if you are injured you won't get help. It is possible to get lost. If your own carelessness and stupidity don't kill you, poisonous gases and collapsing lava beds could. I've heard of only one death, when a 27 acre piece of lava field collapsed into the ocean. I've been out there three times, and I have only seen glowing hot lava once.
I badly stubbed my toe on some lava rock on one hike; I consider myself lucky nothing worse happened. Had I fallen, there could have been broken bones, and my hands would surely have been bloodied on the lava, which is as sharp as glass.
Pu'u O'o
There is a 4 hour trail through pristine jungle forest that leads to the lava fields around the vent. This is the Kahaualea Nature Area Reserve trail, which starts in Glendale, a small rural town east of the park. Even if there wasn't an active volcano at the end of the trail, the trail is worth the hike.
Take Glendale road straight to the end. The road appears to make a left turn after a couple of miles, but don't make that turn. Continue on the much narrower trail-like continuation of the main road. At the end, in authentic Big Island style, you will find a muddy turnaround, abandoned cars, and a bullet riddled sign marking the trail head.
Kahaualea Trail
The trail is a difficult hike, mostly because of the amount of mud on the trail. In some spots, you can step in the wrong place and end up in mud to your knees. In other places, you will see unimaginably beautiful jungle vistas. I saw a worm-snake molting, and a huge freshly sprouted fiddle head fern. (Worm snakes are about 3 inches long, and Hawaii's only native snake. You could spend a lifetime looking for one, and never see one).
You will find cracks in the lava along the trail in a few places, when you reach the crack that you could actually fall 30 feet down into -- you are clear of the jungle, and it's easy walking from there. The jungle thins out and abruptly ends at the lava field, where you will get an unobstructed view of the Puu Oo cinder cone rising about 1000 feet above the lava field, with smoke billowing out of it. You will probably also see tourist laden helicopters flying around the vent. The helicopters are noisy and bothersome -- but for $100, it sure is an easy way to see the vent. The vent is actually 300 feet across, I hiked across two miles of lava field, got very close, but did not see it. It's scary up there. Signs along the way succeeded in keeping me scared shitless (see what the signs say here). Time was another fear factor, you will surely get lost in the jungle if it gets dark before you get out.
Kalapana Coast
Kalapana was a residential area on the east coast of the Big Island that was destroyed by the erution of Pu'u O'o in 1983. The highway still goes there, but ends where the lava flowed over it. A toll road was built over the flow, you can drive close to the outfall on that road. This is an amazing area. If you go far enough along to the outfall, then you will be surrounded as far as you can see in all directions by black lava field. If you do this at night, you will not be able to distinguish the ground from the sky.
Deadly Silence
I got close enough to "live volcanic activity" to be completely filled with the awe of death. The places are so remote, no one could find you if they tried, at least not on foot. What surprised me was how quiet volcanic activity is.
Pronunciation
| This file is from Peter's Infrequent Travel Journal |