DesolaTION!...CreaTION!

N. and I stayed for two nights at Volcano House, situated directly on Crater Rim on Kilauea volcano. We made inquiries at the ranger station about trail conditions. We were told to avoid Halemaumau Crater, Pele's home in the large crater, because it was currently producing 600 tonnes of sulfur dioxide a day, far above the normal 200. Because of the weather (rainy) and so little wind, the crater was filled with "vog" a toxic mix of volcanic steam, normal cloud cover and sulfur dioxide. I long ago learned to heed the advice of park rangers, since they are the ones who know the area better than anyone. It was suggested that we instead consider the hike across Kilauea Iki, a smaller crater formed when a 1900 foot plume of lava burst into the air in 1959. Since that was my birth year, it seemed a good thing to do and we set off, equipped with rain ponchos, a good supply of trail mix and water.

The trail is beautiful, filled with giant ferns, so that it appears as something out of a prehistoric time. Here you can see some of the rain forest, the trail and the crater floor 400 feet below...

The trail zig-zags its way down the cliffside. We emerge from the jungle at the bottom of the trail, on the floor of the crater...

...and walk out onto the surface of that vast bowl. We are totally alone on the trail. At this point the molten lava is about 70 meters below the surface (about 75 yards) and rain water seeps down into the deep cracks, to make steam which rises all around us. We set off across the crater, looking for the small cairns, piled up chunks of lava rock, which have been set up to guide hikers across the safest parts of the trail. Other areas are not stable... We do spy some of the various pieces of seismological equipment which is always on the volcano floor to monitor activity...

We approach the actual site of the 1959 eruption. The ground becomes much less even and smooth, giving way to rough terrain and areas of lava which look as if some angry creature has punched it upwards from somewhere below the surface. The steam increases...

This is the throat of the 1959 eruption - a direct passage from the center of the Earth...

We pass the huge mountain of cinder produced from the great tongue of fire. Beyond this mountain is a field of cinder and the so-called "Pele's tears" and "Pele's hair", various forms of volcanic glass formed from the eruption. The going is really rough now, the trail hard to follow. Everything looks like a cairn. But we manage to pick our way carefully over the trail and locate the next trail marker...

Finally we reach the end of the trail across the crater floor. A large cairn indicates the start of the trail through the rain forest on the other side of the crater. 400 more feet up and we circle back to our car. A beautiful and awe-inspiring hike. About two hours...

Next: An offering to Pele Herself!