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Sun. January 16, 2000
Sleeping in is a pretty good feeling. I knew there was really no reason to be up at the 6:43am butt crack of dawn so I neglected to set my alarm last night. I was briefly awakened by Dr. Benham talking to Brook over breakfast as to my sleepy whereabouts but I didn't let that phase me. So when I finally did wake up I ate, showered, and wrote a letter to Sarah that I would enclose with a necklace and hair thingy I'll send her. Lunch somehow rolled around and before too long everyone but me got in the van and went to town. At about 2pm I decided suit up and head out to hike around the caldera.
Although the weather wasn't exactly the best for a journey outdoors I put my jacket and nylon shorts on, attached my GPS to my hip and set out. Just outside of camp at a junction on the trail I turned right (east) instead of my usual left and walked along the crater rim toward the Jagger Museum. Brief clearings passed overhead as the wind blew constantly at my back. Once I got to the Jagger Museum I decided against going in, dashed past a bus load of tourists, and kept on hiking. The train stayed near the abrupt edge of the Kilauea caldera and by this time Pele's residence (the Halemaumau crater) was in plane sight below. This crater sits as a staggering and roiling pothole inside the greater surrounding caldera. On its sides steam and sulfur dioxide vented out and were carried to the southwest by the strong gusts. The trail soon crossed the road and constantly decended the volcano. I found myself in a landscape that was very similar to the nearby Kau Desert. Vegetation was sparce and what was there looked in dire need of a drink. The area seemed to be carved by only the heaviest of rains because I saw definite signs of water's cutting power. Just south of this is a previously active rift zone over which flowed lava as recent as 1971. It is a distinct flow that is very dissimilar from the ground nearby. The trail winds around and through the rifts' various cracks and lava until finally it decends into Kilauea itself.
Once I reached caldera level the hike became a tad rougher. The trail was more sparcely marked as now it carried me through fields of shiny lava. I turned north and headed toward the Halemaumau crater. Once there I peered over its edge at a point that is a sacred Hawaiian place. Various offerings to Pele herself sat on the crater's edge. With billows of steam rising up from the crater and all around me I felt as though I was in a very, very powerful place. One glance over my shoulder showed a vast expance of past lava flows extending for a couple miles to the caldera's edge. Now, with the wind and rain at my face, I again turned north and hiked over the bottom of the caldera toward its wall. Blustery and constant wind pushed small drops of moisture straight at me as I advanced across the ominous ground. The trail was difficult to find sometimes which worried me when I saw signs warning me to stay on the trail do to the fragile (unstable) nature of the lava's surface. My waterproof jacket flapped violently like a flag caught in a hurricane. My legs grew tired of struggling against into the wind that carried the heat away from my hands, rendering them practically useless. Stepping over sometimes deep cracks and wondering when I'd finally reach the other side, I turned around to see the ground I covered. Once near the end of the caldera, I turned around. Behind me was a pale and colorless scene given depth by the layers of streaming rain that grayed out features that lay further and further from me. Jagged ribbons of lava sat still and reflected what light of the sun partially shown through the wet mess of the sky. I felt very alone here. Very much like I was on another world far, far from normality. Color and relative tranquility greeted me when I left the caldera bottom and began on the trail up its side. This portion of the trail went through a lush forest with many of the species of flora that I'm sure we'll be tested on next week. As I climbed I saw steep drop-offs leading to valleys whose bottoms were shrouded by foliage. To the other side of me there were reminents of rock falls from the cliffs above. Pickup truck sized boulders lined the edge of the trail backed by piles of more debris. I soon conquered the ascent and quickly cruised back to KMC on a familiar part of the trail. My body ached with the cold and wet I hiked in. My solution? Take a hot, reviving bath. Funny how my hands worked after that!
The group that was in Kona all weekend made it back safe and sound and had stories to tell about some of the goings on there. Let me just say that bad decisions are only made worse by the stupid people behind them. Lots of people (women) hung out here longer than normal tonight. Renee and Brook were treated to a highlighting of their hair by Cari. They all seemed to have fun with that. Once Kristin was done kicking the pants off of Matt playing Speed, the ladies headed to their cabins and the men (all except for diligent little me) went to bed. Now, it's my turn.
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