Lava in the Dawn

At 3am on a Sunday morning Saddle Road is a lonely place, no traffic. A full Moon lights the saddle and the looming peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, a sublimely beautiful sight with the stars and bright Jupiter overhead. A 2am alarm clock led to an early departure half an hour later. But why? To see the lava of course, not much else would disturb an otherwise quiet Sunday morning. With a house guest in from off island and reports of a very active flow at the end of highway 130, the plan seemed like a good idea until the alarm clock went off.

Reaching the lava was easy, we simply walked out the highway 130 right-of-way to what was left of the Kalapana highway 137 intersection. To get there we crossed lava that was only a few days old, hot underfoot with bright red to be seen in the deeper cracks. The parking area we used on previous visits was still there, but now cutoff by the advancing flows. Just a few feet off the road there were multiple breakouts amongst the burning brush. Our way was lit by the full Moonlight and the glow of a small tree going up in a sheet of flame.

I scouted ahead, checking the route across the flow to the visible breakout, a couple times deciding that one way or another was a bit iffy. The smell of sulfur permeated the air along with the smell of woodsmoke from the burning brush. The gals were very nervous crossing the hot flows, expressing their concerns. All of that disappeared when we came face to face with the flowing lava. It became worth the risks and the 2am wake-up as wonder overcame the fear.

The lava was on a small rise, filling a good sized depression in the week old flow we stood atop. As it crested the edge we watched it spill over a small slope creating small rivers of gold and orange. Fifty meters to the west another tongue burned through light brush outlined with small flames. For two hours we moved back and forth along the face of the breakouts, shooting stills and video. As memory filled we handed cards back and forth to keep the cameras going. The brightening dawn created constantly changing light conditions, while the lava activity stopped and started at the breakout, offering new things to photograph every few moments.

The flow is advancing towards the east. Talking to Bryan Lowry of Lavapix.com we learned that a house burned just a few hours earlier as the lava finally reached it. The smoke of burning trees and brush could be seen all along. Behind the group of homes in Kalapana Gardens as tongues of pahoehoe moved closer to other structures.

In the bright morning light we headed back to the vehicle, sticky and sweaty despite a cool, brisk sea breeze. Curiosity satisfied and memory cards full, a short drive to Hilo and a hearty breakfast was now a more pressing plan.