Mauna Loa

Our third day of insane hiking came a few days after the Kalalau Trail. We hiked to the summit of Mauna Loa. Mauna Loa is a mammoth mountain in terms of proportions. Most of the island of Hawai'i is actually part of that mountain. It is also an active volcano -- most recently erupting in 1984. This trail is something else. There are a few ways to reach the summit, but we opted for the trail that can be done in one day. We didn't really have time to do the more laborious routes that start further down the mountain. Instead, we drove up to just over 11 000 feet, and parked at a weather observatory that is situated there. Then, over the next five long hours, we climbed 2500 feet over 6.5 miles. This was a much more arduous process than Half Dome. The sun was exceptionally intense. It beat down mercilessly. Not only is the peak of Mauna Loa at about 20 degrees of latitude (hot), but it rises above the clouds (no shade), and is composed entirely of rough volcanic rock. One type of volcanic rock, 'a'a, is like sharp pieces of popcorn each about 2-4 inches in diameter. It is an unsteady surface to walk on, and did some serious damage to my hiking shoes.

I was prepared for the possibility that altitude sickness would force us to turn back. Mauna Loa is 13 679 feet at its highest point. While I was prepared to have to abandon the hike, I wasn't prepared for the uncertainty and how miserable that height and heat can make one feel. Less than a mile from the summit, we were seriously contemplating abandoning the hike. We both had the start of a mild headache, and were operating at noticeably less than our normal capacity.

And then the final concern is cloud cover. The trail up the rock is only marked by small cairns made from the same volcanic rock as the trail. This makes them sometimes hard to spot in clear daylight. In the afternoon, clouds start to ascend the mountain. Most of the time, they will not reach the summit. But it is always a risk that they will. It's not a good idea to be up there when this happens. If the clouds come in, then one will lose sight of the cairns and be forced to camp until the clouds clear. This is not the the idyllic paradise of Kalalau. Camping overnight would be horrendously cold and unpleasant. So we kept looking at the clouds with a little trepidation.

But we prevailed, and were rewarded with spectacular views of the volcanic crater at the summit. The crater is maybe 2 miles across and almost a thousand feet deep. The floor is undulating fields of black volcanic rock. Around it's perimeter are sheer cliff faces overlooking the floor.

And again, no one around. On the day we hiked, there was only one other couple attempting the summit (and they didn't make it) and one older couple who were just hiking part of the way up. It was just us, our feet, and many square miles of barren volcanic wasteland.

While the ascent was 5 hours 7 minutes, the descent was only 2 hours and 38 minutes. Down truly is easier than up.