Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [251]
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LIFE UNDERGROUND
Lava tubes riddle the Big Island like holes in Swiss cheese, and these remarkable caves are high-powered incubaters of new species – blind spiders, wingless crickets, possibly cancer-curing bacteria, and more we don’t even know about. In 1992, a pristine 500-year-old lava tube, Pua Po′o, was discovered in the national park, and it is the destination of a fascinating ranger-led lava tube hike (admission free; 12:30pm Wed).
The easy, 4-mile round-trip passes through ohia forest and involves about an hour underground exploring the cave’S bizarre ecosystem. Though you learn about how Native Hawaiians used lava tubes to collect water and bury royalty, this cave holds no cultural significance. There’S some stooping involved, but no serious crawling, and of course, everyone douses their headlamps once to experience a darkness deeper than night.
To protect the tube, only 12 people are allowed once a week, and participants are asked to keep the location secret. To sign up, call the Kilauea Visitor Center (985-6017) the week before, on Wednesday, at exactly 7:45am; slots fill up in about 15 minutes. Children must be at least 10 years old.
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On Hwy 11 between the 37- and 38-mile markers, look for the ‘Ka′u Desert Trailhead’ parking area. Start early, as midday can be brutally hot and dry. Initially, the trail is very clear, level and partly paved, threading through sand-covered pahoehoe flows. In 20 minutes you reach a structure protecting ancient footprints preserved in hardened ash; more footprints exist in the surrounding rock. Apparently, in 1790 the army of Hawaiian chief Keoua was marching to battle Kamehameha when a rare explosive eruption buried his soldiers, killing many of them and changing the course of island history (Click here).
Past the hut, the trail is marked by easy-to-follow cairns. As you gradually ascend, views expand, with gentle giant Mauna Loa behind and the immense Ka′u Desert in front. After 1.8 miles you crest the rise at Mauna Iki (and the trail junction) and stand likely alone in the middle of a vast lava field.
From here, backpackers will turn right, following the Ka′u Desert Trail over 7 miles to Pepeiao Cabin. Day hikers can turn left, following the Ka′u Desert Trail for 1232yd to the junction with the official Mauna Iki Trail, which runs another 6.3 miles to Hilina Pali Rd (the other starting point). Hiking about halfway along the Mauna Iki Trail, to Pu′u Koa′e, makes a good end point.
The lava terrain is noticeably more intense and wild as you continue, with vivid colorful rents, collapsed tubes and splatter cones; in cracks you can find piles of golden Pele’S hair. The discoveries are almost endless.
NAPAU CRATER TRAIL
The Napau Crater Trail (Map) is perhaps the most varied and satisfying all-day hike in the park. It passes lava fields, immense craters and thick forest, and it currently ends with distant views of Pu′u ′O′o, the source of Kilauea’S ongoing 1983 eruption. Backcountry camping is available if you want to do this overnight; the distance to the campground (the current end of the trail) is 7 miles (or 5 miles from the Kealakoma starting point), making it a 10- to 14-mile adventure (about six to eight hours round-trip). Note that this is the only day hike that requires a permit; all hikers should register at the visitor center before heading out.
Rather than taking the Napau Crater Trail from its trailhead (the same one as for Pu′u Huluhulu Overlook Trail, Click here), you’ll save about 4 miles and several hours round-trip (and lose nothing in scenery) if you begin on the Naulu Trail, which leaves from Kealakomo (Click here) on Chain of Craters Road. This route is described here.
For the first hour, you hike mostly sinuous, leathery pahoehoe lava, following sometimes difficult-to-see cairns. Then you enter some trees and (surprise!) stumble across paved portions