Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Hiking on a Volcano, Kaaha and Hilina Pali trails

Hilina Pali Overlook, Kaaha trail, Hilina Pali trail

The Big Island on Hawaii has some amazing hiking trails. We picked Kaaha trail because it's crossing an old lava field and you get to walk by the ocean, also the length and level of difficulty were all key factors for us. The hike was a little more demanding compared to what we expected even knowing it was categorized as intermediate / hard. We were tremendously happy we didn't pick a longer trail because by the end of the day we were absolutely exhausted. Happy but exhausted. 

We chose this trail at the Backcounty office near the Kilauea Visitor Center. We had a quick chat with one of the employees who registered us for the hike. I'm not sure if registering is necessary for a day hike but they do prefer to keep track of hikers in the region in case something happens. For overnight hiking and camping registering and permits are necessary. For more infomation see https://www.nps.gov/havo/planyourvisit/hike_kaaha2.htm.


Ka'aha
Hilina Pali overlook on Hawai'i



Hilina Pali overlook

This 12km trail starts at the Hilina Pali overlook where you can see the entire lava field and the pacific ocean. There are some signs pointing out the trails at the beginning of the trail but you do need a good map to be able to follow the trails as there are no marks or signs elsewhere. There are two trails starting from the overlook, Hilina Pali and Kaaha trail and by combining these two trails you get a nice loop trail. This hike took us about 8 hours (started around 10.00 and were back at the parking lot around 18.00) as we stopped to take photos and had a longer lunch & swim break by the ocean. You could probably walk it faster with shorter breaks.


Trails on Google maps



The trail starts with a deep descent which takes much longer than you probably expect. The path is basically just small rocks, all downhill, switching back 24 times.


Be aware that even though it might not be very hot elsewhere on the island, it was extremely hot on the lava field. Not sure what caused it but we definitely underestimated the heat. The lava field is basically all rocks and you should pay attention to hollow lava tubes beneath the ground and try and follow the trail. Keep your eyes open and do peek inside the caves and tubes. Super interesting!


 
After descend

Lava tubes from past eruptions


Made it to Kaaha! Time for lunch and a dip in the ocean!

The hike gets slightly easier when you see the reward in front of you in the shape of a shed (finally some shade from the sun!), a toilet and tide pools! We had a long break here having lunch and swimming. It was such a refreshing experience! I've read about people having seen turtles here. We didn't have such luck but do bring your snorkels, if possible!

Swimming in a tide pool!
After returning to the trail, you walk along a trail with hay up to your knees. At this point we really missed long pants. Shorts were a bad idea. The heat, humidity and the hay were a bad combination. This was also the toughest part of the hike as it was afternoon and the sun was at it's hottest, we lost the trail and were running out of water. We had about four liters of water in total, which was way too little in that heat. Looking at several trails in the hay we obviously were not the only ones who had lost the way. I'm not even completely sure if we eventually found the Hilina Pali trail or if we just walked towards the hill in front of us, but we did make it back and started the ascend, the never-ending zigzag from hell. 

We were incredibly exhausted, taking breaks every five minutes. The sun was setting and we were in a hurry to make it back to the car before it set completely. There is literally no light anywhere and the Hawaiian nights are pitch black. We often record short video clips along our travels, and I must say that on the clip we shot somewhere along the ascend we sound like two exhausted three-years old's. Looking back, it's funny, at that moment it was far from it. 

When we finally got up the hill and saw our car (and remembered we had a big bottle of water in the trunk) we just started laughing, it was truly a moment of happiness. Don't get me wrong, looking back at the hike, I would do it again anytime but next time we'll bring more water, long pants and hiking sticks. 

Volcano Village

3 comments:

  1. Tere!
    Väga tore blogi :)
    Küsiksin Havai kohta veel nii palju, et kui mitu päeva kokku olite ja mitu päeva soovitate Suure Saare jaoks? Ja kui mitu Oahu jaoks? Ja kas käisite ka mujal?
    Tervitades,
    Saara

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    Replies
    1. Hei! Hawai'il olime kokku 9 päeva. Oahul viis ning Big Islandil neli. Oahul viis päeva oli täitsa piisav kuigi muutuva ilma tõttu jäid meil mõned plaanid vahele (näiteks Stairway to Heaven, ning Nu‘uanu Pali vaateplatform). Ilmaga tasuks arvestada kindlasti sest tormi puhul paljud kohad ning vaatamisväärsused on suletud, seega tagavaruplaan on nendeks päevadeks igati soovitatav. Meie visiidi ajal paar päeva oli väga tormine. Et juhul kui ilm oleks normaalne olnud, oleks selle ajaga vabalt kõik nähtud. Meil oli siin isegi paar rannapäeva ning isegi shopingut sees.

      Suurel Saarel oleks tahtnud veeta rohkem aega, vähemalt paar kolm päeva, et Mauna Keal korralikult matkata ning niisama lõõgastunud kas Volcano vihmametsas või uurinud Honokaa ja Hawi piirkonda saare põhjapoolses otsas.
      Kui ma uuesti sama reisi planeeriksin siis arvatavasti lisaksin ma mõne muu saare, näiteks Maui ning Oahul veedaks paar päeva vähem. Suurele Saarele lisaksin kindlasti paar päeva juurde.
      Toredat reisi!! :)

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