Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [210]
It was a pivotal moment, and the politicians and astronomers responded. A Native Hawaiian advisory council was created, Kimo conducted ‘cleansing rituals to forgive and repent,’ and then he applied for a job. He now spends his days like any other ranger, but his more important duty is communicating with Hawaiian leaders about what’S happening on their sacred mountain.
He says, ‘There is much more cooperation today. The directors acknowledge they need to respect Hawaiian protocol. Locals are accepting of astronomy. The mountain is calm.’
As he talks, two Japanese men approach the truck; despite the weather, they still want to drive to the top. One pleads, ‘We’ve traveled very far.’
Kimo shakes his head. ‘The mountain rules’ is all he says.
On this night, Poliahu is spreading her white robe over the summit, and Kimo doesn’t seem at all sad to be the one making sure no one disturbs her homecoming.
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Also, you can purchase (and heat in a microwave) coffee, hot chocolate and instant noodles, or munch on freeze-dried astronaut food, and there are books and gifts for sale. Several hikes are possible from the visitor center (see right), and at night the free stargazing program (Click here) is held here.
Summit Observatories
If you have a 4WD, you may drive to the summit in the daytime, and you are allowed to stay until a half-hour after sunset. Since vehicle headlights interfere with astronomical observation, all cars are asked to leave before nightfall. It takes about half an hour to drive the 8-mile summit road; the first 4.5 miles are gravel.
Just before the pavement begins, the area on the east side of the road is dubbed ‘moon valley,’ because it’S where the Apollo astronauts rehearsed with their lunar rover before their journey to the real moonscape.
Just past the 6-mile marker is a parking area; below this is the trailhead to Lake Waiau and to the ancient adze quarry Keanakako′i. Getting to both takes about an hour, depending on your rate of acclimatization. During Mauna Kea’S ice age, when molten lava erupted under the glaciers, it created an extremely hard basalt, which ancient Hawaiians chipped into sharp adzes at Keanakako′i. These tools were fashioned on the mountain and traded throughout the islands. Entering the fragile quarry is highly discouraged.
Nearby, sitting in Pu′u Waiau at 13,020ft, is Lake Waiau. This unique alpine lake is the third-highest in the USA. Thought by ancient Hawaiians to be bottomless, it is actually only 10ft deep and, despite desert conditions, never dry. Clay formed from ash holds the water, which is fed by melted snow, permafrost and less than 15in of rainfall annually. To Hawaiians, these sacred waters are considered the ‘umbilical cord’ (piko) connecting heaven and earth, and a traditional practice is to place a baby’S umbilical cord in the water to assure good health.
On the summit are the massive dome-shaped observatories, which rise up from the stark terrain like some futuristic human colony on another planet. Unfortunately, you can’t see much inside the observatories. Currently only two have visitor galleries, and they’re minimal: the WM Keck Observatory visitor gallery (www.keckobservatory.org; admission free; 10am-4pm Mon-Fri) includes a display, a 15-minute video, public bathrooms and a plexiglass-enclosed viewing area inside the Keck I dome; and the University of Hawai’i 2.2m Telescope (admission free; 9:30am-3:30pm Mon-Thu), which has displays and a view of the telescope room.
The short 200yd trail to Mauna Kea’S true summit begins opposite the University of Hawai′i telescope; it’S harder than it looks, and it’S not necessary to go to see the sunset. The summit is marked by a US Geological Survey (USGS) summit benchmark and a Native Hawaiian altar. Given the biting winds, high altitude and extreme cold, most people don’t linger.
From the summit, the breathtaking sunsets leave everyone speechless; look east to see ‘the shadow,’ or the gigantic silhouette of Mauna Kea looming over Hilo. Moonrises can be equally