Denise Goldberg's blog

An experience on two feet instead of two (bicycle) wheels
Denise's 2004 adventures in Hawaii

Wednesday, October 27, 2004

A visit with Pele's earlier creations...

The day started with a wonderful breakfast - papayas and bananas to start, followed by quiche. Good food, and good company too. There were 3 couples here along with me - all 4 rooms were rented last night. One couple was from France, one from the Seattle area, and one from Cincinnati. Between the seven of us and Robert - our host - we had some enjoyable breakfast conversations. Of course we woke to rain again, which gave me an excuse for a slow start. By just before 10 the rain had pretty much stopped and it was time to go exploring.

I have to say that this wasn't my best energy day of this trip, but I still managed to hike for about 3 and a half hours so I guess I shouldn't complain. I started with a hike to Pu'u Huluhulu in the Mauna Ulu area. It started by crossing some lava flows from 1973 and '74, and it was a really good thing that the park service had marked the trail with those small yellow highway markers. When you're hiking across lava it doesn't really wear down to allow you to easily see the trail, and without the yellow markers I imagine it would be very easy to end up wandering much further than you intended to. In addition to the little yellow rectangles there were periodic piles of rock. No problem navigating, and the end of the trail was actually up and through a wooded area. It's amazing how different it was from the area I walked through yesterday - lave that's 30 years old vs. lava that's only one year old.


Better watch where you walk out here!


After finishing up, I headed back uphill to Crater Rim Drive. This morning I had seriously considered hiking into Kilauea Caldera after my visit to Mauna Ulu. That hike is 3.5 miles one way, and I was thinking of doing not the one-way and return, but a loop using another set of trails. Still a long way any way that you look at it. From an energy standpoint I decided that wouldn't be a smart move - and I don't really think it would have worked for me first thing this morning either. Maybe tomorrow, maybe the next time I visit this park! I wanted to take a quick jaunt through the Thurston Lava Tube, but when I passed the parking area there were several tour buses there so I went a bit further to the Kilauea Iki Overlook. I walked from there back to the lava tube, and by the time my feet got there the folks from the tour bus had disappeared. Good timing! I actually had a solo walk through the lava tube. I only walked through the section that was lit since I hadn't grabbed a flashlight when I left the house this morning. So the lava tube was my tourist move for the day. I walked back to the car, and headed for the starting point for the Byron Ledge Trail, which is part of the trail that is in Kilauea Caldera. I figured that even though I wasn't going to do the whole trail that I'd wander down part of it. I don't know why it still surprises me, but as soon as you head down one of the longer trails, people just disappear. So I had a solo walk down that trail too. I probably headed down about a mile before I decided it was time for my return trek. Again, I crossed over a section that was what I guess you could call sandy. You could tell where others had walked before, which was a good thing since the trail was missing those handy yellow markers. And again, I ended up in a section that was covered with trees and ferns. Beautiful.

Before I headed back I walked to the Sulphur Banks where there are bright yellow deposits and steam rising. And warning signs about sulfur fumes not being good for people with certain health problems. And I loved the warning sign about cracks in the earth!


Funny that this sign was along a paved trail!


I stopped early this afternoon - early enough for a relaxing time in the hot tub. And soon it will be time to head out for dinner.

Tomorrow is a traveling day, but I don't have to go too far. I'm staying in Hilo, which is only 28 miles from here. As long as the weather cooperates I'll probably start my day with a little more hiking in the park before I head downhill to the rainy side of the island.

A bit later...
I almost had dinner somewhere other than the Thai restaurant. I was going to go out with Jean and John - the couple from Cincinnati - until they decided to head to a place that was described as an "all American cafe" with meat and potatos type of fare. That sounds like not my kind of place, so guess where I ended up! Of course - Thai Thai one more time. The restaurant staff recognized me from last night and I had a nice chat with one of them. And I had another excellent dinner, Panang curry with shrimp. If I were still going to be in Volcano tomorrow night I have a feeling that I could happily eat there again.

I was very lucky that I grabbed an umbrella as I walked out of the B&B on my way to dinner. And I was equally lucky that the B&B supplies umbrellas for the guests like me to use. It has been raining every so often all day long, and true to form it was raining again when I left the restaurant. It wasn't a heavy rain - more like a very heavy mist - but I would have been soaked by the time I walked the half mile back to my home for the night. (Walked? Yes, walked. Somehow I can't convince myself that I need to take a car to go to a restaurant that is as close as that one is!)

Photos for today can be found in my Hawaii Volcanoes National Park photo gallery.