Tag Archives: Lava

The trail to Pepeiao Cabin

View from Hilina Pali Shelter on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
View from the shelter at the trailhead.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Great Outdoors Month.’ See more responses here.

I did this hike, at Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, quite a while ago, but for one reason or another the post never came together and then went missing in my files! This hike started from the lookout at the end of Hilina Pali Road. A few years back, I did a different hike from this starting point that almost did me in (here). This time, having learned from that experience, I stayed on top of the pali (Hawaiian for cliff). My destination was Pepeiao Cabin (pronounced ‘pay-pay-ow’), about five miles away, though the trail is the Ka’u Desert Trail, part of which I’ve hiked from the other end (here).

Ohia trees on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Ohia trees on the trail.
A spider wrapped in a leaf on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
A spider sheltering in a leaf.
The Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
The Ka’u Desert Trail.
A cairn on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
The Ka’u Desert Trail marked by cairns.
A view from the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
View from The Ka’u Desert Trail.

The day was sunny, but not too hot, and with a nice breeze for the most part. The elevation drop (and gain on the return) is only around 500 feet so it wasn’t too strenuous, and the trail was fairly easy to follow. It passes through grassy areas and across lava flows, and is well-marked with cairns. Ohia trees dot the landscape, along with a variety of shrubs and other flowers. I didn’t see too many birds, but there was a decent show of butterflies and bugs. The views were splendid, down to the coast or upslope towards Mauna Loa.

Balloon plants on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
A Balloon plant on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Balloon plant flowers on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Balloon plant flowers on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Common Guava on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Common Guava on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Grass borders the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Grasses alongside the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Grass borders the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Grasses alongside the Ka’u Desert Trail.

All the backcountry trails I’ve hiked in the park have featured something particularly unusual and interesting. On this hike, I was amazed by the substantial areas of sand on the trail or alongside it. This certainly didn’t get there from the beach, since the elevation is around 2,000 feet. My assumption is that it’s just volcanic rock broken down by rainfall, but just not washed down to the coast. Some of the sand was grassed over and it was like walking through dunes on the coast!

Sand and a pool of water on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Sand on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Footprints in the sand on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Footprints in the sand on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Tracks in the sand on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Tracks in the sand on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Sand on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Sand on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
Sand in the lava on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Sand in the lava on the Ka’u Desert Trail.

Eventually, I reached Pepeiao Cabin. There are several of these backcountry cabins in the park, and they require a permit to stay at them. This one was typically rustic, with a catchment water tank that may or may not contain water, depending on the weather and use. There’s also an outhouse with a splendid view. Inside, the cabin was basic, but the kind of place I’d be happy to stay in if it was raining outside.

Pepeiao Cabin on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
The Pepeiao Cabin on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
Pepeiao Cabin on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
The interior of the Pepeiao Cabin on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
The interior of Pepeiao Cabin on the Ka’u Desert Trail.
The outhouse near the Pepeiao Cabin on the Kau Desert Trail in Hawaii
The outhouse by Pepeiao Cabin on the Ka’u Desert Trail.

After I got back, I saw that the park website says “Pepeiao is in the southwestern reaches of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park backcountry. The cabin is no longer safe for use and visitors should plan on tent camping.” I was a bit surprised because I’ve certainly stayed in plenty of less salubrious accommodations in my day!

Also posted for Jo’s Monday Walk. See more responses here.

The Numbers Game #18

Strong winds create whitecaps in Kawaihae Harbor, Hawaii
Strong winds whip up whitecaps in Kawaihae harbor.

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 139. Captions are on the photos.

You can see more responses here.

A Black-crowned Night Heron snaffles a Tilapia. Original post here.
A beekeeper removes a swarm of bees nesting in a wall
Bees and their honeycomb inside the wall of a house. Original story here.
A firehose of lava at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii
The firehose of lava at Kilauea Volcano in 2017.
Hawaiian Stilts flying in Hawaii
Hawaiian Stilts in flight.
A pair of Northern Pintails on a pond in Hawaii
There’s always one who’s got to get your attention, as evidenced by these Northern Pintails.

The Numbers Game #14

The shadow of Mauna Kea stretches out above the clouds.
A favorite photo of mine. The shadow of Mauna Kea stretching out over the clouds!

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 135. Captions are on the photos.

You can see more responses here.

Sunrise at Upolu on the Big Island of Hawaii
Sunrise at Upolu. I was looking to capture an eclipse, but got this instead.
This mare and her foal were among several horses in a pasture alongside Old Saddle Road.
A horse and foal in a pasture off Saddle Road.
A metallic skink peeks out from under a lava ledge.
A Metallic Skink skulking in a barren lava field.
An Oma'o on the Big Island of Hawaii.
An endemic Omao in a kipuka off Saddle Road.
Ho'okena Beach Park is a popular swimming spot.
Ho’okena Beach Park.

The Numbers Game #12

A green turtle is temporarily stranded on a rock.
A turtle on the rocks. See more photos here.

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 133. Captions are on the photos.

You can see more responses here.

A Red-billed Leiothrix sings on a branch
A Red-billed-Leiothrix calls out.
A wild pig that has been eating fallen mangoes
A wild pig snacking on mangoes.
A cow chats with two cattle egrets.
A cow in conversation with a pair of cattle egrets.
The Tahitian voyaging canoe Fa‘afaite off the coast of the Big Island of Hawaii.
The Tahitian voyaging canoe Fa’afaite off Mahukona.
A surface lava flow on Napau trail.
An Ohia tree toughing it out in the lava on the Napau Trail.
The old Wo On Store in North Kohala.
The old Wo On Store at Halawa.
Bougainvillea flowers in bloom
A Bougainvillea in a neighbor’s garden.

The Numbers Game #10

Green darner dragonflies mating at Kiholo on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Green darner dragonflies mating.
Coconut palms line the beach north of the park at Kiholo on the Big Island.
Palm trees line the beach.

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 131.

You can see more responses here.

A Brown Booby skims the ocean.
two Hawaiian sea turtles look like an impressionist painting as they swim underwater
Green turtles in Kiholo lagoon.
The entrance to Emesine Lava Tube on the Powerline Trail off Saddle Road.
The entrance to the Emesine lava tube.
A gold dust day gecko with a forked tail.
Snake the gecko!
One of the ocean-side campsites at Kiholo Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii
A campsite at Kiholo campground.

Hawaiʻi on Fire

Daybreak reveals the onlookers gathered at the Jaggar Museum viewing point.
Daybreak reveals onlookers gathered at the Jaggar Museum viewing point in April 2016 (Original post here).

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Iconic Places and Spaces.’ See more responses here.

I wasn’t sure what to post for this, but Kilauea is about as iconic as anything on the island, so I thought I’d post some photos from volcanic activity that I’ve seen since I moved here. Captions on the photos with a link to the original post.

Kilauea lava pours into ocean as people watch from the cliff
Lava from the Pu’u O’o vent reaches the ocean in July 2016 (Original Post here).
A lava breakout from the Kilauea lava flow.
A hike to the July 2016 flow revealed surreal scenes like this one (Original post here).
Lava from Kilauea Volcano’s Pu’u O’o vent enters the ocean as if from a firehose.
This fire hose of lava was a short-lived feature of the 2016 flow (original post here).
In April 2018, lava in Halema’uma’u Crater spilled onto the crater floor. (Original post here).

Thurston Lava Tube

Inside Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

I visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park recently, with friends from the mainland, and towards the end of our visit we stopped by Thurston Lava Tube. These days the tube is known as Nāhuku, which means “the protuberances” in Hawaiian. There aren’t any protuberances in the tube these days, but it’s still fun to walk the dimly lit tube, imagining magma rushing through it, until the eruption stopped and the tube drained.

Inside Thurston Lava Tube in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park