Struggle of the ElementsThe title is no mistake. This article is really about hiking ON lava, as our hike will lead us across a stream of lava on cooled lava. You cannot really call it cool though, as it was hot as hell. The Big Island of Hawaii is home to Pu'u 'O'o Crater, continuously erupting since 1983. The hot lava eventually meets the Pacific Ocean in an awe inspiring display of sheer power, creating new land every day. This spectacle is as frightening as it is beautiful, showing that despite all of mankind's power, we are helpless bystanders as the lava eats our houses and roads. It destroys and creates, rejuvenating our planet.

The only way to see lava today is to hike across the lava in the scorching sun without any shade. If you are still interested read on.

The hike

Newly Created LandThe Big Island of the State of Hawaii is called Hawaii. The state capital Honolulu is on O'ahu, which is not the Big Island. I find that many people mix that up a little bit. I had one lady telling me she was going to meet someone on Hawaii and booked a flight to Honolulu thinking it's on Hawaii. The Airport of Hawaii is near Kona.

Now that we cleared up some common mistakes, lets focus on the hike.

I came to Hawaii, expecting a fiery display of Lava, gushing out of a crater 50m into the sky. Well not really, but who knew it would be such a hike.

Lava flows change on Hawaii and shift year by year. You may get here and have a relatively easy access to lava flows, or you may have to go through what I call the grueling death march of paradise. I am exaggerating of course, but its less fun than a pleasant stroll on the beach.

At the point where the lava flows into the sea, you will see a huge cloud of deadly acids rise into the sky. In fact the cloud is so large, that the whole thing seems to be much closer than it actually is. At night it is even worse, since the red glow makes it appear even closer (see chapters below).

Speed LimitWe started our hike being very well aware of the fact that the wind was blowing land inwards and the cloud would make it impossible to reach the lava. We were hoping for the winds to shift towards the evening as they often do. While we were on our way (maybe after one hour or so), we met a Park Ranger coming back. Red-faced she told us that she crossed the lava flow, but had to wear a mask. Crossing the lava flow? How reckless! So we kept pushing on and after about another hour I knew why the park rangers looked at me funny when I started out with just two small bottles of water. They were babbling something about half a gallon of water. The water ran down my dry throat faster than Dale Earnhardt on the track and out my pores even faster than that. Se we pushed on always trying to dodge the smoke cloud. Hiking on the cooled lava is not really that much fun, it's not like a paved road. Amazingly there were many others like us, all red-faced, dried-out, face clenched to a fist. We waited in a ditch for about 30 minutes and while time passed the wind really started to shift. We made the last 30 minutes of hiking gaining speed as we could see other people standing at the cliff, looking down to what had to be lava.

The lava

We got to the point where most people were standing looking down. We didn't see anything but a huge cloud of smoke, boiling mud ponds and even more smoke. This is as far as most people went. What a disappointment. Standing there, I had this strange taste in my mouth from the acid sulfur cloud.

As you may have deducted from the picture in the teaser, this was not the end. We eventually worked up enough courage to go further. One reason we found the courage was the people we saw out on the lava field.

The power of creationWith every step we took the heat from underneath grew. Now the pleasant 3-hour stroll to get here seemed like a chill in comparison. I kept checking my shoes to see if the sole would melt as it surely had to. Looking through the cracks I saw it glowing red hot a mere 2-3 inches from the ground (if you don't believe it, send me an email for a picture).

Once on the other side of the flow we could actually make out some lava spots, since the wind was now blowing the smoke away from us. Since we came out this far, we decided to wait for the sunset, as the lava should be more beautiful then. That was also the reason for us to leave that late.

The sun went down and all of a sudden my mood took a 180-degree swing up. What a sight, what a display. I felt sorry for the guy who didn't believe in this anymore and told me he would leave. Fortunately as a photographer I know how to be patient and wait for something good.

Lava meets OceanWe stood there for about one hour, fully taken by the spectacle. The whole smoke cloud started to glow and we could see lava sputtering out of ponds when water hit. After a while, when we finally took our eyes away and looked up the mountain to the other side, we could see the lava running down the mountain in veins. There was no sight of this during the day.

The hike back

When we made our way back across the hot lava, I was still so taken by my successful hunt, that the hot lava I was walking across simply didn't bother me anymore. Even the hot lava shining through the cracks as we walked on them only sparked my curiosity.

When we made our way back, in total darkness, equipped with flashlights I started realizing that this is not going to be easy either. It was not nearly as hot anymore, but my water was gone and I started getting thirsty, yet I had three hours ahead of me.

There were beacons on the lava, spaced about one mile apart, but it was still very hard to stay on a straight line, since you are walking though ditches and across small hills. The only orientation we had was the beacons, the sound of the water and the lava flow on the mountain. We were warned not to get too close to the water as the lava is fragile and may brake off, so we started drifting away more. When we were finally able to see the lights of the ranger station, I met people asking me how far it was to the lave. They thought I was joking. Turning back, I could still see the glow of the lava. It looked like a 15 minute hike from here, something that took me over 2 hours (Before you ask: We were the fastest, leaving everyone behind). Finally back at the car, I still was high on endorphins from my experience.

Some facts

I wrote this page as a story, so here are some more hard facts.
The volcano is erupting since 1983. Since then the flow of lava has changed several times. The Chain of Craters Road, where you start your trail is completely buried for large portions. A campground and an ancient Hawaiian Place of Worship (Heiau) are now gone. A church has been moved to avoid the lava.

Drive down the Chain of Craters Road all the way to the end. The visitor center is in a mobile home, so that it can be moved when the lava flow moves. Make sure to check here, or in the main visitor center near the crater for current conditions. Please do not take their word lightly when they warn you about acid sulfur clouds or dangers on the trail. The rangers are usually pretty cool about letting you get up close and only warn in case of real danger. The ranger we met actually told us it should be save to cross the lava. She was concerned about the acid cloud, but fortunately the wind shifted.

Do not venture too close to the ocean and obey the warning signs as lava banks sometimes break off.

You should wear good hiking shoes. The lava stone can be very sharp and the hike can be very long.

If you plan to stay until dark, bring one flashlight per person.
Volcanoes National Park offers many more things to do which I will talk about on another page.

Credits

All text and images by Andre Gunther
http://www.aguntherphotography.com

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