Reading the tiltmeter data it was clear that the pressure was building again, an eruption appearing likely in the next day or two. The last episodes have produced ever higher lava fountains, I expect episode 15 to go even higher and I truly wish to see it when it happens.
Right on schedule the first lava appeared, a little rivulet of lava overflowing the north vent onto the crater floor. If the pattern repeated this would be followed by high lava fountains in the next ten hours or so. Episode 15 was on.
Tomorrow it would be, and as tomorrow was also a holiday for me, Prince Kūhiō Day, I would be free to make another volcano run!!
We are a go.
The same plan… a 2am alarm, hit the road, 4am in the park, hike to the Keanakāko’i viewpoint.
The plan started badly. Turning onto the Mamalahoa Highway above Waikoloa a pair of goats stray onto the road. Black goats on a black highway on a moonless night. Coming over the hill I barely see them in middle of the oncoming lane. The smart one darts away from me. The dumb one? It’s dead now.
The damage is quite light, a dented lower plastic fairing and a fastener ripped free. It will take an hour or two to fix and in the meantime the vehicle is completely drivable. The big steel tow hook of the Jeep Compass Trailhawk edition takes the impact and saves the day… Again. This is the second goat kill for this vehicle. I am considering bestowing the Jeep with the official name of GB… Goat Bane.
The trailhead parking lot is already half full when I arrive, impressive for 4am, quite a few folks are anticipating the spectacle to come. I head down the trail in the inky blackness, a pleasant morning walk through the forest under bright stars.
A steady flow of folks are on the trail, many returning from the viewpoint. Greetings include observations of the activity, surging every ten or fifteen minutes with minor overflows, no fountains yet.
I arrive at the viewpoint to lava clearly visible in the north vent, bubbling up and overflowing the low cone surrounding the vent. The lava is surging upwards, what vulcanologists call gas pistoning as the gas pressure from below pushes the lava up for a moment. This is followed by a drain back when the lava dissapears from sight.
I settle in and assemble the little telescope, ready to enjoy the impending arrival or dawn and waiting to see what the volcano will do. Every ten or fifteen minutes the lava gas pistons upwards into view, occasionally overflowing onto the crater floor.
Conversations start among the gathered crowd, we talk about the eruption, the rising crescent Moon, the weather threatening to sweep misty rain in from the east. When the lava appears I share the view in the telescope or setup the phone adapter and allow folks to take a little video for themselves. Everyone is enjoying the morning, everyone is awaiting the lava fountains we all expect.
Dawn is subdued, low hanging clouds blocking the sun and muting the light. The dim conditions allow the lava to shine brightly when it pushes up into view. Still no fountains.
Some people come and go… There are those that watch one or two apparitions then depart, they have seen lava, mission complete. Others hang on to see the expected show, determined not to leave until they see what they came for. But, as dawn has passed and the hours drag with no fountaining, even those folks give in and take the trail back.
Around 9:45am I finally give in myself. I pay my respects to those still waiting, pack up my gear and head up the trail to the car. I find a parking lot now completely full, a morning surge of new arrivials joining the vigil.
I have not given up completly, I am simply going to find a breakfast and will hang out in the park, I do not plan on heading back across island until well after noon. I am in no hurry.
While the Devastation Trail parking lot had merely been full, Steam Vents is jammed. Cars are parked along the road and we move through at a crawl as more cars try to jam into any little spot available.
Breakfast at the Crater Rim Cafe in the military camp will do. A notably better breakfast than my last visit, a different cook is manning the grill. Not that I truly had time to enjoy it… As I was getting my food at the counter the park ranger getting her breakfast looked at my camera and let me know… The volcano has gone off.
Yeah, that is my timing today.
I wolf down my omlette and head to the rim. With the unfolding parking disaster I leave the vehicle parked at the cafe. Grabbing the camera gear I head for the viewpoints right in front of the military camp a few minutes walk away.
Just wow!! I have seen so many lava fountains, but nothing like this.
I find the viewpoint jammed with folks. Time to use the same old trick… “Folks… I am carrying a small telescope, anyone who gives me space to set it up gets first look” This plan always works, and results in happy smiles and fun conversations.
We watch in amazement as the lava shoots higher, easily twice the height of the 500ft cliff behind, and probably more. The south vent is fountaining to spectacular heights while the north vent hosts a massive low fountain which pours out onto the crater floor. I setup the camera and shoot some more.
A few specks drift down in front of my face… Is that what I think it is? I look at the enormous volcanic plume overhead, judge the weak breeze… Oh shit… It is… Pele’s hair and small gritty tephra is starting to rain down around us.
The conversation quickly shifts, the volcano verterans informing the visitors of the dangers of drifting fiberglass… Don’t rub your eyes, shake it off. Put your hat or glasses on if you have, pull up your hoodie. A park service volunteer shows up and repeats the advice with a few useful additions.
I have plenty of photos at this point and decide to call it, I already have enough grit in my hair. In the rush my hat got left back in the car. I trudge with my face down back to the car. Once back I do my best to shake the stuff off using the covered lanai at the cafe for shelter.
Arriving home a process of decontamination commences. I undress just inside the front door, head to the shower where I wash my hair three times and flush everything well. My camera gear sits on the lanai, where it gets throughly vacuumed before it is taken inside.
Yes, an adventure, all the more so considering the ups and downs… A goat strike, a long wait, and getting tephra dumped. All worth it for the spectacle of thousand foot high lava fountains.
As for episode 16? While the last few episodes have been wonderfully predictable this may change. There have been major changes at the vents.
When the north vent shut down a few hours before the south vent, the tall fountain promptly dumped a few kilotons of splatter and tephra into the north vent opening. It appears blocked, with no overnight glow showing as has been the case during the previous pauses. At the same time the south vent appears to be changing, the opening much different than before.
With the north vent possibly blocked and the south vent geometry changed, the start of the next eruptive episode becomes an open question… What happens next?
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