Tag Archives: Hiking

The bench overlooking Honokane Nui Valley

The bench overlooking Honokane Nui Valley on the Big Island.
At the end of the highway in North Kohala is the Pololū Valley overlook. This is where most people park their cars (if they can find a space), snap a photo or three, and then climb back in and attempt to turn around and head back.

Quite a few people head down the steep, third-of-a-mile trail to the valley and beach below. Some walk the half-mile-long beach. Very few continue up the trail on the other side. There are good reasons for this. The trail is somewhat hidden. If it’s been raining, it can be even muddier and more treacherous than the trail down to the valley. If conditions are right, it can be alive with bugs. But for those that do press on for another a mile or so, this is the spot they will reach.

Overlooking Honokane Nui Valley, this bench is the perfect spot to experience some welcome solitude. Chances are it will be unoccupied. Chances are no one else will even pass by. I like to sit on the bench (rickety though it is currently) and enjoy the ocean stretching away on one side and the tropical jungle climbing the side of the Kohala Mountains on the other.

For more information about the trail go to bigislandhikes.com/pololu-valley/.

Kilauea Volcano’s firehose of lava

Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.
I’ve posted before (here, here, here and here) about trips I’ve made to see the current lava flow from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent. Lava first reached the coast on July 26, 2016 and has been pouring into the ocean ever since. However, on New Year’s Eve, much of the newly formed delta collapsed into the ocean taking with it a chunk of the older cliff. As a result, the lava tube carrying the active flow was suddenly left exposed and lava gushed out into the ocean as if from a firehose.

I was aware this was going on, but hadn’t really appreciated what it meant until this past Wednesday. Then, I read a report about the phenomenon, saw some photos, and realized this was something I had to see. Since the weather was favorable and it was early enough, I set out the same day.

After a three-hour drive and brisk hike I got to the viewing area, from the Kalapana side, around 5 p.m. These photos are from that trip. The top photo shows the firehose, lava gushing into the ocean in a constant, unwavering stream. When it hit the water, it generated a series of explosive reactions. The second photo shows the Lava Ocean tour boat nudging in toward the action as one of these explosions occurred. Below is a closer look at the stream with chunks of hot lava being hurled out into the water.

I stuck around until it got dark and then headed home – another hour-long hike and long drive – but it was so worth the effort. This was emphasized when, the next day, another cliff collapse caused the firehose to disappear from view. It might return, since the whole area is unstable, but it might also be gone for good.

I guess timing really is everything and I feel very fortunate that I was able to experience this phenomenon before it was gone.

For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it current eruption, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/activity/kilaueastatus.php.
Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.

Hawaiian Upland damselfly

A Hawaiian Upland damselfly (Megalagrion hawaiiense) on the Big Island
The Hawaiian Upland damselfly (Megalagrion hawaiiense) is endemic to the state. Hawaiians called dragonflies pinao and damselflies pinao ‘ula. I’ve never been sure what the difference between the two is but I have learned that, among other things, damselflies tend to be smaller, have eyes on the side of the head that are clearly separate, and can fold their wings behind them.

This one was on the Kaumana Trail off Saddle Road (officially the Daniel K. Inouye Highway) at an elevation just over 5,000 feet.

Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent

Pu'u O'o vent on Kilauea Volcano
Pu’u O’o is one of two active vents on Kilauea Volcano. It sits on the eastern border of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Continuously active since 1983, Pu’u O’o is currently pouring lava into the ocean around Kamokuna on the south-eastern coast of the Big Island. These views of the vent were taken from Pu’u Huluhulu cinder cone.

For more information about Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, go to nps.gov/havo/. For more information about Kilauea Volcano and it’s eruptions, go to hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/history/main.html.

Pu'u O'o vent on Kilauea Volcano

V-22 Osprey

A V-22 Osprey lands at Upolu Airport.A V-22 Osprey banks as it approaches Upolu Airport.
Returning from a walk around Upolu Airport, I was startled by a loud thumping noise close by. Through the trees I saw this peculiar-looking aircraft touching down. The plane is a V-22 Osprey, a tiltrotor aircraft used by the military, in this case, the U.S. Marine Corps.

The plane made several loops, out over ʻAlenuihāhā Channel and back around to the airport to land, then do it all over again. It was actually quite fascinating to see the engines rotate from horizontal to vertical while in flight.

Eventually, the plane headed out over the channel and kept going, probably back to its base on Oahu.

Kiawes – a thorn in the foot

Kiawe thorns on a Big Island beach.

When twigs break off a kiawe, the thorns dry to hard, sharp spikes.

Kiawe thorns growing on a tree on the Big Island.

Kiawe thorns growing on the tree.

A stand of kiawe trees bordering a trail on the Big Island.

A stand of kiawe trees bordering a trail.

Hiking on the west side of the Big Island can be a hot and arid experience. The landscape is often barren lava or scrubby growth. If it’s scrubby growth, chances are that kiawe trees (Prosopis pallida) are prominent and if they are, it’s wise to tread carefully. That’s because kiawe trees produce long, tough thorns.

Hiking in slippahs (flip flops) is asking for trouble. A kiawe thorn will go through them like a knife through wet tissue. I’ve felt the jab of these thorns through my Tevas, which have robust soles of decent thickness. The first time I wore my new trail shoes, toward the end of the hike, crossing a kiawe-bordered beach, I felt a familiar prick in my foot. A thorn had buried itself in the ¾-inch thick sole and penetrated far enough to make itself felt. One of my routine tasks with my trail shoes, and the Tevas, is to examine the soles and extract any thorns with a pair of pliers. When a hike is over, it doesn’t mean the danger is past. Drive over one of these thorns and it can and does cause punctures.

But if all this makes it seem as if kiawes are reviled, that’s not the case. It’s widely used in smoking meats. The smell of burning kiawe is commonplace.

Kiawe isn’t a native tree; it originated in Peru. In fact, all Hawaii’s kiawes can trace their roots, as it were, back to a single seed planted by a priest in Honolulu in 1828.