Category: Kilauea

Exploring an active volcano

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.

The Kaʻu Desert along the Mauna Iki Trail
The Kaʻu Desert along the Mauna Iki Trail

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.

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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.

Mauna Ulu as seen from the top of Puʻu Huluhulu
Mauna Ulu as seen from the top of Puʻu Huluhulu

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.

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An Eruption from Beginning to End

We really wanted to see an eruption.

Episode 9 of the Dec 2024 eruption of Kilauea fountains from two vents on 11 Feb 2025
Episode 9 of the Dec 2024 eruption of Kilauea fountains from two vents on 11 Feb 2025

The ongoing eruption of Kilauea has been an off and on affair, starting and stopping every few days since this eruptive sequence started just before Christmas. The last few cycles had been more off than on, going several days or a week with no lava visible. While the lava fountains have been short lived, just 13 to 20 hours.

To be sure I was not totally without, I had made the run across island on Jan 16th to see episode 4 of the current eruption, but my parents had not witnessed lava for many years, their annual winter visits not overlapping with an eruption.

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