Photos 3, page 9
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Lava Ocean Entry - Real Good Lava! - Chain of Craters Road
| February 24, 2007 |
| the Volcanoes National Park at Kilauea down Chain of Craters Road. This was the way that Robin and I first hiked on 8/6/06 (pages side and it had taken me 3 hours to cover OK, this time we're headed for thethe 4 East Lae'apuki ocean entry but this time we're going to approach it from the other side: coming from the miles. So I figured to take the shorter route this time. The irony here is that we have to drive for an hour all the way around (green, East orange, and purple lines) to get to the Ranger Station where we start our hike when it's probably only 10 miles as the crow flies from our house to the Ranger Station. You'll notice that the roads on either side of the lava flows are called "Chain of Craters Road". They used to connect until the lava covered the road back in 1992 or so. Click the map images to enlarge. |
| (5:58:37 PM) And then, of course, David had to try it. |
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| All these lava photos were taken from the location marked "R0" on the maps above. |
| (5:59:29 PM) This is the result. |
| Ellen communing |
| (2:50:04 PM) At the ranger station there are boards with all kinds of warning posters about the lava, the volcanic fumes, etc. This was my favorite. |
| (1:18:07 PM) David at the Halema'uma'u Crater communing with Pele, the goddess of volcanoes, before our hike |
| station communing with the elements before our hike. It's always a good idea to get on the good side of nature when one is about to go on a hike like this... |
| This is a view of our route out and back as well as our route while we were out there. For comparison, I've included my route from 2/12, on the right side. For both routes, the white line is the path out, the yellow line is the path while there, and the red line is the path back. Between the two routes is surface lava (the lighter colored lava) so that one can't get from one side to the other. The lava has spread more than that shown in the image on the left so that it came to where we were on the left side of the picture. The points marked S# are flashing lights, strobes, on poles to mark the path for those returning in the dark. The points marked "R#" are points along the rope line that the Park Service has strung to keep people from getting too close to the coastal lava entries because the mixing of the lava and the water can cause explosions. The rope was removed at the back part to allow the lava to flow through. There were no restrictions regarding people's approach to the lava flow - we could just walk right up to it! The cast of characters for this trip were myself, friends David, Joshua, Ray, and Ellen. Ray and Ellen are our friends from the Kona side of the island who have shared in many of our adventures in the past. CLICK IMAGES TO ENLARGE |
| (5:51:32 PM) That's David on the left in the black jacket chatting with a nice German guy, with the yellow shirt, who was just sitting there with his shoes off watching the lava. Joshua, on the right, is using a little stick to |
| (5:57:16 PM) My good buddy, Ray, says, "Hey Chris, can I borrow your hiking stick?" |
| (3:29:05 PM) A girl fell on the lava and hurt her ankle and had to be carried out by the rangers. I guess she didn't commune. |
| (3:39:19 PM) The sign says, "End of Trail" means end of marked trail. |
| (6:00:35 PM) And then a whole bunch of people showed up to have their pictures taken with the lava. |
| (6:01:37 PM) That's David in the blue hat and black jacket with all the visitors. |
| (6:02:02 PM) Robins says that for these people this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience where for us, we can see it any day we feel like it... |
| (6:03:13 PM) The lava that is in contact with the air hardens and forms a crust over the rest of the lava, insulating it. When you poke it with a stick, it feels kind of doughy. If you poke hard enough you can poke a hole and the molten lava will flow out... |
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