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Tue. January 18, 2000, 11:43pm PST
Skunked again
Not many stories to tell today. Frankly I think everyone was still tired from Monday and last weekend. We embarked on yet another journey to the edge of the newest portions of the Earth. Yes, the active lava flow just a short twenty miles from here. Dressed in our long sleeves, long pants, and durable boots we followed Dr. Benham out to the flow like we actually knew what we were doing. Last time we ventured into the danger zone we were, as Dr. Benham put it, skunked. Not a hint of red rock was seen. What happened this time? Well, we hurried out to the flow because we received word yesterday that the molten material was above the surface for our viewing pleasure. The hike felt quicker today but we saw only signs of the flowing lava. The huge plume of deadly steam billowed from the ocearn shore and steam and smoke filtered through lines of cracks in the solid flows on which we stood. Mere feet below us surely flowed the rock that we so despirately saught. The winds soon shifted to a direction that might have lead it ashore and into our lungs. "Let's get the heck out of here," Benham said as he again took us all back to safety. Skunked again we were. Try again we must.
The rest of the afternoon was a blur of visiting the Jagger Museum just down the road from KMC and the Halemaumau Crater just down the road. Although my hike on Sunday didn't include a visit to the museum, I did become familiar with the route the road took through the area. Weather conditions were far more favorable today than two days ago and allowed for great views of the entire caldera and the Halemaumau Crater. The next part of our afternoon was somewhat unclear to the group. We gased up the vans at KMC and some (including me) took this as our cue to get out and head back to our rooms. Not the case. We drove down Highway 11 just a few miles and turned off on a road that would lead us to about the 7,000 ft level on the side of Mauna Loa. My stomach grew uncomfortable as our van slowly weaved its was up the one-lane road. Ten miles later we reached the end of the line for vehicles and the beginning of the road for dedicated hikers with a day-and-a-half to spare to reach the summit and back. We were pretty well socked in so views were limited to our direct surroundings. Koa trees dominated the area and, in some places, painted scenes most unreal to my eyes. After assessing the value of the wood and how it could easily fund our college education (and set us up in a nice house afterwards) we caravaned back down the gradual slope and headed for home.
The time to recoup was upon us shortly thereafter. Not a soul was in sight until the dinner bell clanged. After a brief "plantation life" skit performed at the nearby visitors center the crowds at the firehouse scattered. In light of the early rise we all must endure tomorrow I'm going to bed now. We'll be snorkeling off of some kind of cruise ship tomorrow which requires the vans to take off from here by twenty minutes to six (a.k.a. the buttcrack of the morn').
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