Page 439 - Hawaii: Diving, Surfing, Pearl Harbor, Volcanoes and More

HOME OF PELE: Since ancient times Kilauea Caldera and the Hale- flows in the Kau Desert to Hilina Pali Overlook. Often hot and
maumau Crater have been revered as the Home of Pele, the sacred windy.
Hawaiian fire goddess who is the living deity of Hawaii’s volcanoes.
It is said that Pele controls the limitless powers of creation with her 4. Ainahou Ranch 5.7 mi (8.8 km) round trip with 800’ elevation
molten strength and unearthly beauty. From 1983 until 2007 she has change. 4.5 miles down Chain of Craters Road there is a turn onto a
created new land, pouring lava from Kilauea’s Puu Oo vent, adding service road with a locked gate. This bumpy road drops 800’ in 2.7
hundreds of acres along the Big Island’s shore. mi (4.4 km) to the Keauhou hiking trail, with great views.

Visitors often witness lava flowing down toward the sea from the 5. Summit to Sea Descend 3700’ (1128 m) over 20+ miles through
vantage at the end of Chain Of Craters Road. At times the view is remnants of forest and huge lava flows to the coastal plain. Gusty
near, at other times it is from afar. However, at the whim of Pele the winds and volcanic air pollution along the Chain of Craters Road
flow may even redirect itself in another direction that is not visible or are almost guaranteed. Ascent is hot, windy, and steep. No water is
approachable at all. The just-after-sunset view of brilliantly glowing available.
lava can be spectacular. Steam explodes from the sea whenever the
molten lava flows into the crashing waves. In the Kilauea Caldera 6. Mauna Loa Lookout 13.5 mi (43 km) one way with 2600’ eleva-
steam rises and sometimes sputters out of hundreds of vents in a tion change on the lower slopes of Mauna Loa Volcano to the look-
still-cooling lava field. The sights and sounds of the Home of Pele out at 6662’ (2031 m). Parking is available at Kipuka Puaulu picnic.
are awesome.
J MAUNA LOA’S MOST SPECTACULAR ERUPTION: Mauna Loa
BICYCLE RIDES IN HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK: has erupted 37 times since 1832, with the most recent being in 1950,
1975 and 1984. The 1950 eruption of Mauna Loa’s Southwest Rift
1. Circle the Rim 11 mi (17.6 km) loop with 400’ elevation change. blasted lava out of a 12-mile-long fissure all at once. The lava roared
Crater Rim Drive encircles Kilauea Caldera. Bicyclists watch out for to the sea in just 4 hours. This is the most powerful eruption ever
sight-seers in cars. witnessed on Hawaii. Mauna Loa has been erupting and building for
over 700,000 years, and it rose from the sea floor to the ocean surface
2. Escape Road to Mauna Ulu 12.5 mi (20 km) mountain bike loop 400,000 years ago. It is by far the world’s biggest mountain, rising
with 800’ elevation change. Escape Road descends through forest 32,000 feet from the sea floor (see graphic below).
and across a 1973 lava flow to the Mauna Ulu parking lot. Return
via Chain of Craters Road and Crater Rim Drive.

3. Hilina Pali Overlook 18 mi (29 km) round trip with 1400’ eleva-
tion change. This narrow paved road winds downhill over old lava