Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [207]
Though Waimea isn’t large, you need a car to get around. There’S ample parking, but peak commuter times create terrible traffic jams.
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AROUND WAIMEA
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KOHALA FOREST RESERVE
One of the Big Island’S best short hikes is the Kohala Forest Reserve Trail, leading several miles through an ohia forest to stunning views of the back of Waipi′o Valley. However, the trail was closed due to damage from the 2006 earthquake and has not reopened. Apparently, property owners (tired of careless hikers leaving trash and cattle gates open) want access through their land closed indefinitely. Call the Department of Land & Natural Resorces (DLNR; 794-4221) for updates.
Should it reopen: to get there, from Waimea head east on Hwy 19 for about 3 miles (past mile marker 54), then turn left (or north) on White Rd. Drive about a mile to the end of the road, park at the gate, and enter on foot (closing the gate behind you). Walk past Waimea Reservoir; in about 1.5 miles a sign lets you know you’ve entered the Kohala Forest Reserve (Map).
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OLD MAMALAHOA HIGHWAY
If you’re driving between Waimea and Honoka′a, consider taking this portion of the Old Mamalahoa Hwy (Map), a 10-mile detour off Hwy 19 (from Waimea, enter at the 52-mile marker; from Honoka′a, enter at the 43-mile marker across from Tex Drive-In). This winding, unhurried road provides a soothing glimpse of surrounding ranchland, horses, and herds of cattle; to deepen the experience, consider taking an agricultural tour at one of the small farms in this area (Click here).
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MAUNA KEA
At 13,796ft, Mauna Kea is Hawai′i’S highest peak, but measured from its beginnings on the ocean floor, it adds another 15,000ft, becoming the world’S tallest mountain (just edging out Mauna Loa). Size, however, is just one measure of Mauna Kea’S stature. Here, nature, spirituality and science converge and sometimes conflict in vivid ways. This dormant volcano’S harsh environment once sported a glacier and is home to numerous endangered endemic species. Mauna Kea is also one of the holiest places in traditional Hawaiian spirituality, and on its most sacred spot – the summit – has gathered the greatest collection of major astronomical telescopes in the world.
The Hilo museum ′Imiloa (Click here) provides a wonderful introduction to the mountain and its history, but a visit to Mauna Kea itself, particularly the summit, is an unforgettable experience. All of Hawaii lies below (not to mention 40% of earth’S atmosphere) as the sun sinks into an ocean of clouds – while the telescopes silently unshutter and turn their unblinking eyes to the heavens. Even though it means long pants, a winter coat, some careful arrangements and a little luck, you won’t be sorry you left the beach to make the pilgrimage.
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HISTORY
Mauna Kea rose to become the tallest peak in Polynesia. Between 40,000 and 13,000 years ago, ice-age glaciers covered the summit, beneath which lava continued to erupt. Mauna Kea’S last eruption was around 4500 years ago; it has since slid off the hot spot and is considered ‘dormant.’
Certain plants and animals adapted to this unique environment. Ascending the mountain, biological zones shift from rain forest to koa-and-ohia forest to open woodland to shrubs and finally (above 11,500ft) to alpine desert. Every elevation has numerous species endemic to Hawai′i, and some found only on Mauna Kea. Plants endemic to the summit include the dramatic Mauna Kea silversword, which takes 50 years to flower, and does so only once (Click here).
Summit creatures are restricted mostly to insects. Strangest by far is the endemic wekiu, a bug that adapted by changing from a herbivore to a bug-eating carnivore, and by developing ‘antifreeze’ blood to survive the subfreezing temperatures. Further