King’s Trail
Tag: hike
Twin Craters
On the west end of the park is a vast area I had never ventured into, the Kaʻu Desert. This was going to change, the two hikes on the top of the list for this particular stay in the park were Mauna Ulu and the Kaʻu Desert. Having accomplished the prior it was time for the latter.
There are two sets of trailheads to enter the Kaʻu Desert. Several of the trailheads are along Highway 11 on the north side of the area. To avoid leaving my car on the side of the main island belt road I chose to use one of the trailheads along the Hilina Pali Road inside the park. Here one can find the Mauna Iki Trail leading to Twin Craters.
Continue reading “Twin Craters”Mauna Ulu
Mauna Ulu first erupted in May 1969 and would continue for the next five years. In the course of those eruptions lava would occasionally fountain over 1,700ft high while flooding much of the surrounding area, eventually constructing a lava shield nearly 400ft above the original ground level.
In many ways the Mauna Ulu eruption was very similar to the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptions that would start a decade later and continue for well over three decades. It is the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō eruptions that formed my first memories of Kilauea with television news of homes burning in the Royal Gardens subdivision and visits to the ocean entries at Kalapana. While Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō remains somewhat remote, Mauna Ulu is far more accessible.
Continue reading “Mauna Ulu”The King’s Loop
The region south of Waikoloa along the shore seems to be a barren field of lava with little to offer beyond miles of dark rock and baking sun. That may seem to be the case, but there are surprising gems out in those lava fields.
The plan? As usual hike the King’s Trail south from Waikoloa, but this time explore some of the smaller trails I had passed by in the past. Perusing the satellite imagery reveals a surprising number of trails through the lava. Considering the substantial effort it takes to cut a trail through the worst aʻa lava those trails must be significant somehow.
Continue reading “The King’s Loop”Taking a Walk
A long weekend? Cloudy enough to preclude a night with a telescope? May as well take a walk.
There are a few great hikes around the island, but often I just do not feel like driving very far. Thus I head out to Puʻuhinai again, one of my favorite local hikes just outside the village.
Recent rains have turned the landscape green and lush. Everywhere there are signs of flowing water, even along many of the old ranch roads, the downpours have been intense lately. The mauna have had snow all year so far, a reminder of a very wet winter rainy season.
Continue reading “Taking a Walk”Walking the King’s Trail
Rather than spend the evening obsessing over election results I opted to take a hike. Nothing dramatic, just a short loop hike close to home, along the shoreline south of ʻAnaehoʻomalu Bay .
The plan was to use the King’s Trail to quickly hike a couple miles out, then to take my time hiking back along the shoreline. I timed my start so that sunset would occur while I was coming back along the beach.
While this section of the King’s Trail is over 150 years old, it is in excellent condition and allows easy hiking across the lava fields. The trail cuts absolutely straight over the ridges and tumuli of piled rock, much faster than slogging through the beach sand.
I had hiked the shoreline here many times, but had not hiked any real length of the King’s Trail. The trail crosses the lava flows well above the coastline, as a result it can be brutally hot under a tropical Sun, while the shoreline offers regular shade and a cool ocean breeze.
This particular election day evening the Sun was muted by a broken overcast sky. Why not use the trail?
Continue reading “Walking the King’s Trail”Puʻuwaʻawaʻa Video
Another hike… Another video…
A little drone footage, a lot of stills. With the drone, the phone, and the little mirrorless M5 I was carrying three cameras for the morning. Most of my daypack was camera gear, along with a small first aid kit, 1/2 gallon of water and iced tea, and munchies.
I seem to have solved some technical issues that plagued my videos from earlier this year. Using a ND32 or ND64 filter really does help slow shutter speeds in full sunlight. You can see some choppiness in the faster pans, but that is mostly from using 30fps for the final rendering rather than in the source.
What did cause trouble is the vibrant greens of Puʻuwaʻawaʻa, some shots came out muddy yellow-green. Need the check how I am setting the white balance in the drone, need to use fixed sunlight rather than auto.
ʻŌhiʻa Forest
While the beaches may be closed during the pandemic, most of the trails are open. Deb and I did a little walking on the Puʻu Oʻo Trail while coming back over the hill from Hilo.
Nothing unusual to report, no rare native birds. As the ʻōhiʻa are not in bloom few birds were in evidence. Even without blooms or birds this is always a pretty trail, a rugged landscape over recent lava flows and the pioneer plants found on these flows.
Puʻu Hinai in Video
How bored do you have to be to make a video of a walk to a hill just a few miles from the house?
Yeah, that bored.
A combination of still and drone photography with a Mavic Air.
I did get out of the house for a few hours.
A Moonlit Hike to Lake Waiau
Sublime… One word in the English language that comes close… A frozen world of snow and ice, dark rock, illuminated by ethereal moonlight. A place more of the arctic than a tropical island. Recent storms have again created such a place on the summit of Mauna Kea. Just need to make a point to get out there and enjoy it.
The plan? Set the alarm clock for 2am, out of the house before 2:30am, arrive at the trailhead about 3:45am. I would take a walk with a camera, then drive back down to Hale Pōhaku for breakfast, then join the crew for a normal day working on the summit. A good plan, if somewhat exhausting. A plan that was executed exactly as originally envisioned.
It was the timing that was the factor here. A few things to come together to make this work… A good covering of snow, the summit road open to the public, and good weather with clear, starry skies. Clear skies have been in rare supply lately, a succession of winter storms bringing weeks of clouds.
The road being open to the public is also an important bit. While I could drive past the roadblock, the rangers know me, we are forbidden to engage in non-work activities on the summit if the road is closed to the public.
The needed factors came together this particular morning and I set the plan into action.