Frank's Big Island Travel Hints #12: More fun in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Big Island, Hawaii

Deeper and Deeper into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

As you continue driving around and exploring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park you will find many great hiking and bicycling opportunities. Tour Guide has some 50 sights to see in the park and has details such as, parking, food and water and restroom facilities along the way.

One of the best day hikes in the park is the Kilauea Iki Crater Trail. This four mile round trip hike, about three hours at a nominal pace, will descend into the crater itself. From the floor of the crater, you will see fern, Ohia, and tropical rainforest crowding right up to the rim. The floor itself is stark desert, by comparison, as the trail takes you across and then up the other side. Make sure to bring plenty of water and maybe even some snacks for this hike. To see a video of this hike, go here.

To see even more of the parks wonders, we at Tour Guide suggest a drive down the Chain of Craters Road. This drive unlocks dozens more sights, hikes and vistas from high mountain rainforest to the barren lava landscapes and scenic ocean views below. Along this road are a number of overlooks for some fabulous photography. It ends at the sea where waves crash and spew against cliffs with steam clouds in the distance where lava reaches the ocean. Let’s see what this stunning area has to offer.

Lua Manu is a pit crater formed before written records were kept of the eruptive activity in the park. You will notice no cinder around the rim. This indicates no eruption here but a lava lake that formed inside the pit. As it drained, the pit collapsed, the latest of which was in 1974.

There are several more pit craters to see along this route and then you will come to Hilina Pali Road. This nine mile road takes you to some of the most magical views of the National Park. From forest down to the coast, the breathtaking scenery with leave you with the awe and majesty of Mother Nature and Madam Pele. For the hearty campers, Tour Guide will lead you to Kulanaokuaiki Campground. There are restrooms here but no water is available. At the end of Hilina Pali Road is an overlook not to be missed.

Back on Chain of Craters Road, Tour Guide brings you to Puahi Crater, a large hourglass shaped crater that has held lava from many different flows over the years. Most recently, the 1979 earthquakes opened the south rift of the crater and issued steam and lava fountains. Though this episode only lasted one day, it was precursor to the current flows from Pu’u O’o in 1983 that destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses miles away in the Puna District.

Tour Guide will guide you to Kipuka Kahali’i. A kipuka is a hole or space where the lava surrounded forest or grassland but did not burn it. This one was partially devastated by the 1969 hot ash eruption of Mauna Ulu. The tallest trees survived and some hearty species of plants have returned.

To see videos of some of the things to see and do along the Chain of Craters Road, go here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

For more information on traveling to Hawaii in general and the Big Island in particular, visit tourguidehawaii.com and lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Sloshing lava lake viewed within Halema'uma'u vent

Reprinted from here.

This near-vertical view reveals a vigorously bubbling lava surface below the rim of the vent within Halema`uma`u crater. Continuous spattering was casting globs of lava across the lake surface and onto the conduit walls.

For the first time since the new vent opened in Halema'uma'u Crater on March 19, HVO scientists in a helicopter hovering over the crater were able to see the surface of a sloshing 50 m (160 ft) diameter lava lake about 100 m (330 ft) below the vent rim. HVO scientists have speculated that a lava pond existed a few hundred meters below the vent, but have not been able to get visual confirmation until this morning.

A second viewing early this afternoon revealed a roiling pond with multiple bursting bubbles changing into a central upwelling circulation pattern. The lake level dropped slightly before the cycle restarted. This behavior has been witnessed before, most recently in Pu'u 'O'o vents and the July 21 lava ponds on Kilauea's east rift zone, and is known as "gas pistoning." One model explains pistoning as small gas bubbles coalescing into larger bubbles beneath a crust on a lava pond, rising to the surface, and then bursting. The released pulse of hot gas carries rock dust from the collapsing vent walls, bits of the lava lake crust, and small amounts of spatter.

The Halema'uma'u vent has produced six significant explosive eruptions in the past 5.5 months, most recently on September 2, 2008 at 8:13 p.m. H.s.t., during which noteworthy amounts of fresh lava spatter and lithic material (rock fragments and dust) were ejected on to the crater rim. Just prior to this event, incandescence from the vent was almost nonexistent except for brief pulses of glow.

Nearly eight hours later, Kilauea's summit abruptly inflated, signaling the end of 39 hours of deflation. Summit deflation-inflation (DI) events have been observed at least 20 times since the Halema'uma'u vent opened. Each DI event has been interpreted as the fall and subsequent rise in magma levels beneath the summit.

Less than 8 hours after inflation started, episodic tremor bursts began which are visible at night as pulses of bright incandescence every 5-6 minutes. Episodic tremor bursts have been a nearly constant feature of the Halema'uma'u vent over the past few months and were one of the early pieces of evidence pointing toward a gas pistoning source.

This unusually bright incandescence over the past two nights and the volume of material erupted on September 2 are consistent with a lava surface at relatively shallow depths beneath the vent. Molten lava is not directly visible from the Jaggar Museum overlook, but that vantage point provides excellent views of the glowing vent at night.

For more information on traveling to Hawaii in general and visiting the Big Island in particular, visit www.tourguidehawaii.com and www.lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Frank's Travel Hints # 10

Let's Go to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park!

About a two hour straight drive from Kona, going south, brings you to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. If you have a Golden Eagle Pass your entrance is free. If not, it is only $10.00 per carload to enter the park. The rangers at the gate will give you detailed maps of the area.

Super tip: Your receipt will give you free access to the National Park for seven days.

My first suggestion is to go to the Kilauea Visitors Center and the Jagger Museum. To see a video of the Jaggar Museum, go here. This will give you a nice overview of the park and rangers are there to answer questions. This spot also looks over the majestic Halemaumau Crater. At the time of this writing, the portion of Crater Rim Drive from Jaggar Museum to Chain of Craters Road is closed due to a gaseous explosion in the Halemaumau Crater. To see video of this eruption, go here. Tour Guide will get you to the park and lead you to the Museum and more than 50 sites. It is also possible that our state bird, the Nene Goose, will be huddled in the parking lots. They are protected as an endangered species, so be careful when parking nearby.

Another great place to visit is the Volcano Art Center. It may seem a strange, but the Volcano Art Center boasts one of the best collections of art in the whole state. World renowned artist in various media are on display as well as theatrical and musical performances.

There is only one restaurant in the park proper, and that is the Volcano House. Built as a lodge in the mid 1800’s, the Volcano House has hosted dignitaries, politicians, sports heroes and movie stars from all over the world. This grand edifice sits right on the lip of Halemaumau Crater and the views from her restaurant are stunning. Tour Guide will give a complete history of how it came to be. The food is good and the prices are reasonable. To see a is a video of the Volcano House go here. Bicycle rentals are also available near the lodge.

Crater Rim Drive is a great driving introduction to the park. It encircles the Halemaumau Crater and, for only an 11 mile drive, passes through several dramatic climate zones. You will encounter arid desert, grass savannah, and into tropical rainforest; this loop can easily be done in forty minutes. However, you will want to take more time to appreciate the beauty and majesty of one nature’s most awesome wonders. Tour Guide will suggest short to medium hikes and bicycle trails as well as over 50 historic and geologic sites to visit within the park.

If you are up for some hiking, Tour Guide will lead you to the trail for Waldron Ledge Overlook. This short hike is through the Ohia and fern jungles, shaded most of the way, and can be done on bicycle as well. From this vantage point one can see the active vent, Kilauea Iki, and breathtaking views of the coast. Video of the overlook at Kilauea Iki is available here; a video about the hike through the bottom of Kilauea Iki is here.

Along the Crater Rim Drive you will also see many steam vents and sulfur banks. This is where water seeps into crevices and meets the molten magma about a half mile below the surface, is super heated, and returns to the surface as steam. These vents are often accompanied by a “rotten egg” smell common where sulfur is rising with the steam, turning the ground around the vents hues of yellow, green and white. A video about the Sulfur Banks is available here.

For more information on visiting Hawaii and the Big Island in general, and touring Hawaii Volcanoes National Park in general, go to tourguidehawaii.com and lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Kilauea Iki Trail, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Perhaps the finest short day hike in the park, a four-mile, 2-3 hour trip down into, across and back out of Kilauea Iki Crater gives one an intimate feel for volcanoes, Hawaiian-Style. Crossing the crater floor on this surface provides one of the most interesting hikes in the Park. Looking up from the bottom of the crater, one can see the distinctive ring around the crater marking the high point of the lava lake during the last eruption. The four mile loop-hike descends from the rim in two places and crosses the crater floor in about three hours hiking at a nominal pace. Along one side, thick fern and ohia forest skirts along the rim and on the other, lush tropical rainforest crowds to the very brink of the crater; bleak volcanic desert lines the crater walls and covers the floor. The start and finish of the hike are along well marked, wide trails following the rim with handrails and stairs in some spots as you begin to descend into the crater. The remainder is an easily followed, well marked trail with stone ahu (cairns) over the crater floor. Recent bore-hole measurements indicate that roiling molten lava is lying beneath the skin of the caldera only 230 feet beneath your hiking boots. Keep your eyes open for Peles Hair and Peles Tears (fine, thread-like and bead-like deposits of volcanic glass), gaseous vents and other marvels of the living lava mountain. This hike requires you to take plenty of water, rain gear, suncream, a map and compass, to wear sturdy hiking shoes or boots and to be in fairly good physical condition. As always when hiking in the Park, it is wise to avoid the noonday sun, and to remember that afternoon showers are common, especially at the crater rims.

For more information on visiting Hawaii in general or touring the Big Island in particular, visit tourguidehawaii.com and lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Sulfur Banks and Steaming Bluff, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Sulfur Banks, on the crater side of the road, is just one of hundreds of gas seep on the flanks of the summit crater spewing hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide and steam. Hematite, native sulfur and gypsum minerals precipitate out of the gas flux streaming through the rocks, making colorful splashes on the outcrops. Children and people with heat or respiratory conditions, or anybody with a weak stomach should be wary of venturing down the road to see this.

Non-sulfurous steam vents, mostly across the road from the crater and at the aptly named Steaming Bluff, result from rainwater percolating down through the ground being boiled by the hot rock beneath and streaming up vents to the surface. There is a short walk to the Steaming Bluff from the Sulfur Banks parking area which comes to a breathtaking view of the crater and more productive steam vents.

For more information on touring Hawaii in general and the Big Island in particular, visit tourguidehawaii.com and lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Kilauea Military Camp, Hawiai Volcanoes National Park

Now run by a private foundation, Kilauea Military Camp was built as a military R and R camp shortly after World War 1 and operated through the Vietnam conflict. Now it offers small but clean cabins for rent to active and retired military members.

No services for the general public.

For more information on touring Hawaii in general or The Big Island in particular, visit www.tourguidehawaii.com and www.lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.

Produced by Donnie MacGowan; videography by Donnie MacGowan and Frank Burgess; Narrated by Frank Burgess; original music written and performed by Donnie MacGowan.

Jaggar Museum and Hawaii Volcano Observatory: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Big Island, Hawaii

Famed for its fabulous views of Mauna Loa and Kilauea as much as for its interesting exhibits, The Jagger Museum (named for geologist Thomas A. Jagger) is open daily from 8:30a.m. to 5:00p.m. Exhibits include murals by Herb Kawainui Kane, seismograph charts of eruptions and earthquakes, geological displays and display about the natural and human history of the Park.

Founded by Dr. Thomas A. Jagger, the Hawaii Volcano Observatory (or, HVO) was the first of its kind in the world. Although closed to the public, the Observatory is the workplace of numerous world-famous geologists, geochemists and geophysicists who study volcanoes, eruptions, earthquakes and the effect of eruptions on contemporary ecologies.

When entering the parking lot of the Museum/Observatory, be especially careful of the Federally-protected Hawaii Goose, the Nene, who seem to congregate here. The Nene is the State Bird of Hawai'i, and this parking lot and its surrounding area constitute one of the best places for viewing them.

For more information on touring Hawaii in general and the Big Island in particular, visit tourguidehawaii.com and lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.