Waiting for Episode 36

It was going to be Sunday.

A gas piston event in the preliminary stage of Episode 36
A gas piston event in the preliminary stage of Episode 36 at Kilauea, November 9th, 2025

Regular checking of the tiltmeter data, watching the glow and spatter in the livestream cameras, and nearly a year of experience with the current eruption’s repetitive episodes had allowed me to be fairly certain. Others were betting it would be Friday or Saturday. Some folks had been camping out on the volcano for days. I was sure… Sunday, probably Sunday morning.

Thus I readied the camera gear, made sure the car was fully fueled, and got to bed early Saturday evening for an early morning run.

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Into the Kaʻū Desert

Back in January I missed the eruptive cycle, spending several days in the park doing some trails I had always meant to hike. No lava needed to have a good day in the park, I went for a hike.

Hiking in the Kaʻū desert had long been on my togo list, and I did it. And now, many months later I finally edited the imagery I took that day into a short video…

A Day Without Lava

Reading the data it really looked like Saturday would be the day, the USGS forecast was for Saturday, the online chatter agreed… Saturday.

The volcano does what the volcano does… The eruption started Sunday morning.

This time I had followed up on my bet, spending all day Saturday in the park. Arriving well before sunrise, not leaving until well after dark… missing the eruption, but still enjoying the day.

A rainbow over Kilauea Caldera seen from Steaming Bluff

I spent some time on the north rim, the stars bright, Jupiter and Venus bright, it was going to be a lovely day.

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Volcano Run… Not

I was ready…

Kilauea eruption episode 28 just starting before dawn on July 9, 2025
Kilauea eruption episode 28 just starting before dawn on July 9, 2025

I had the day off, and the eruption was due. The camera was packed, batteries charged, memory cards cleared. Ready to go!

Work, as usual, is the complicating factor when it comes to volcano photography. I had been planning for a week. Some experiments at work required me to go in on Saturday. This giving me a chance to trade for a day for off in the middle of the week. Careful checking of the USGS telemetry showed that day would be Tuesday. Thus I arranged Tuesday off and was ready to go…

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