Tag Archives: Hiking

Red birds in green foliage

An indigenous I'iwi honeycreeper in Hawaii

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge is ‘Festive Colors of Red and Green.’ See more responses here.

A couple of weeks ago, I hiked a section of the Pu’u O’o Trail, off Saddle Road. It’s one of my favorites on the island. The trail mixes old lava flows from Mauna Loa eruptions with kipukas, areas of old growth trees bypassed by those flows. These kipukas are home to several native bird species.

On this day, approaching a kipuka, the bird calls got noticeably louder. Clearly a lot of birds were active. I chastised myself for, once again, not remembering to familiarize myself with the different calls so I could identify the birds I was hearing. But I needn’t have worried. They were visible too, if prone to move about a bit too rapidly for my convenience!

This bird is the I’iwi and I saw more of them on this day than any other time I’ve been up here. I’iwis feed on several kinds of native flowers, many of which are found in these kipukas. The tangle of branches and the flighty birds made for tricky photography, but I was happy to get a few good shots out of the many that I took.

I know these aren’t Christmassy photos, but I was feeling pretty festive by the end of the hike!

A bee on Pinkhead Smartweed

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A bee feeds on Pinkhead Smartweed flowers in Hawaii

The last photo from a hike on the Pu’u O’u Trail a couple of days ago.

Posted for Bushboy’s Last on the Card. See more responses here.

Mahukona walk

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The old Kohala sugar railroad is now a trail, at least for a mile or two north of Mahukona. It’s very curvy with many cuttings and embankments. In the early morning, the walk is a succession of changes from shade to sun and back again.

Posted for Becky’s Squares: Shadows. See more responses here.

Shades of orange and yellow

The morning sun illuminates clouds over Kohala in Hawaii — Early morning clouds over Kohala.

This week’s Sunday Stills color challenge is ‘Ocher, saffron (yellow hues), plus burnt orange.’ See more responses here.

A dirt road at Kaiholena, Hawaii — A dirt road at Kaiholena.

One of the Keawaiki golden pools in Hawaii — A dirt road at Kaiholena.

Colorful pahoehoe lava at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in Hawaii — Colorful pahoehoe lava.

Golden Bamboo in Hawaii — Colorful pahoehoe lava.

’Ulei flowers

A bee forages on ’Ulei flowers. ’Ulei, also known as Hawaiian Hawthorn, is an indigenous shrub that grows in a variety of habitats. I saw this one hiking on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The Numbers Game #83

A Long-tailed blue butterfly on a tasselflower in Hawaii — A Long-tailed Blue Butterfly on a Tasselflower.

The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 205. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.

Also posted for Becky’s Squares: Simply Red. See more responses here.

A brown anole keeps watch — Brown Anole.

Over the lava and through the woods

The Pu'u O'o Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii — Trails come in all shapes and sizes. Some meander through the woods.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Paths and Trails.’ See more responses here.

A Trail along the coast on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some follow the coast.

A Trail over Pahoehoe lava on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some follow the coast.

The trail to Akaka Falls on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some are paved and have rails for safety.

A sign marks the trail at Weliweli Point on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some are paved and have rails for safety.

The Ka'awaloa Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some trails are mysterious.

The Powerline Trail on the Big Island of Hawaii — Some trails are mysterious.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park

A lava breakout from the Kilauea lava flow. — A lava breakout in a flow from Pu’u O’o covers the old coast road, which is now a trail (here).

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Parks.’ See more responses here.

Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park is the best known park on the island. It covers 354,461 acres, which includes, not just the Kilauea area, but up to the summit of Mauna Loa and down the southwest rift zone of that volcano. The park contains 106 miles of roads and 155 miles of marked trails, many of them well off the beaten track.

I’ve hiked a lot in the park, though I doubt I’ll ever cover all the trails, but these photos are from ones I’ve done with links to the original posts for those interested.