Category: Kilauea

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Mauna Loa and Kilauea

Our trip to Hawaii had been planned way back in August. By then, the activity at Kilauea had settled down.,but we still figured we'd spend a couple of nighttimes there in the hope that it might be doing something. So it was a pleasant surprise to have Mauna Loa start erupting on 27 November, less than three days before our arrival.

01 December

The morning of 01 December we headed out around 02:00 from Kona, for the Saddle Road, not knowing what to expect. As we approached the junction of the western end of the Saddle Road, we could see red glow off to the east.

We did know that the shoulders of the road had been closed to stopping along much of the top where the visibility was best. We arrived at the Mauna Kea Recreation Rest Area where there were a number of people watching the eruption. There was enough of a view that we didn't leave until after sunrise. During the night there was a steady stream of people stopping for a quick look, then moving on. I am guessing that a lot of them were tourist heading to one of the airports for an early morning flight on the other side of the island from where they were staying. Many people dressed in shorts and light jackets, while at that altitude (6500ft) it was decidedly cool.

View from Mauna Kea Rest Area, 2022 Dec 01

After sunrise, we proceeded onward to find better places for observations. Did notice a bunch of cars pulled off at the junction of the Old Saddle Road and the highway, just west of the Puuhuluhulu trailhead. That junction looked like a possible viewing site, as did the trailhead. Didn't stick around, though, but drove on up to the Mauna Kea visitor center at 9200ft.

From that location there was a nice view across the saddle of the smoke from the main eruptive vent, Fissure 3. There was also some evidence of red glow along the lava stream coming down the mountain. Was probably another good view in the dark.

When we picked up our rental, we were offered the opportunity to upgrade to a Jeep at no cost. Normally renting a Jeep would have added several hundred dollars, and we probably wouldn't have put it to enough use to justify the expense. But here the only drawback would be lower gas mileage, so we took the opportunity. Now we were about to put that opportunity to use. In order to drive to the top of Mauna Kea, a four-wheel drive vehicle is required. It's not because the road is gravel much of the way, but because it's extremely steep and possibly icy. The paved section coming down from the Visitor Center has a sign with "17% grade" on it, and the road above is probably steeper. Low gears are required. That also helps filter out much the tourist traffic.

As it was, the road was closed because it had snowed the previous day, and the authorities wanted to check the road for icy conditions before opening. But we didn't have to wait long before we were on our way up.

It's a long, slow drive, and the view is impressive. You don't really see the telescopes until you are near the summit area, because you are just too close and it's that steep.

We spent several hours up there. There was still snow piled up where it had been plowed. It was clear up there, because we were well about the cloud layer, especially the clouds coming from the east that covered Hilo. There was little wind. Haleakela on Maui was a huge mass below us to the west. Most of the time, we had the area to ourselves. There were a few vehicles parked at the observatories, and a few people there going about there business. Several times people drove up, snapped a selfie or two, then headed back down. In one case I don't think they even bothered to get out of the truck.

View from Mauna Kea Summit, 2022 Dec 01

By the time we left, I was starting to notice the elevation (just under 14,000 feet), despite having been in Denver only 24 hours earlier. Definitely did not want to do the short hike over to the actual summit. The drive down was no worse than the drive up. At the bottom, they will do brake checks and make people wait until they cool down a bit. Ours were just under the limit, which was surprising as I wasn't using them much.

Back on the Saddle Road, we noticed a lot of activity along the road as we headed back to the west. The Old Saddle Road jct was being coned off with lots of flashing lights from official vehicles.

We learned about what was going on when we got back. Turns out the authorities were in the process of turning the old Saddle Road into an observation area. From the junction across from the rest area to that exit junction was about 5.5 miles long. It was now one-way, to the east looking at the lava flow, with a low speed limit where the right lane was for parking/observing and the left for travel.

02 December

Headed out again in the middle of the night. When we got to the Rest Area, we took the side road to see what was it was like. There wasn't much view for the first couple of miles. The best views were in the last mile or so. The lava flow all the way down from the fissure was visible, but the base of the fissure was hidden by topography. We didn't stop, but headed on back up to the visitor center. All along the lower part of the Mauna Kea Access Road people had pulled over to the side to watch the activity. Higher up, there were groups of vehicles at various turnouts, too.

From the visitor center, we hiked to the top of Puu Kalepeamoa, a cinder code just across the road that rises up an additional 200 ft. The view from there was ideal. The activity from the fissure was visible, as well as the full length of the lava flow. It was a bit breezy, not surprising considering how exposed the area is.

03 December

Another middle of the night observation. This time we only went up the Mauna Kea access road to the Mana Rd junction, the last place with a view on the lower part of the road. Going down the slope slightly got us away from the Canadian expounding on his experiences with heating with wood stoves, and from from all the lights of the selfie takers. Sitting on that slope we had a wonderful view of the full extent of the lava river, along with the lights of the vehicles moving along the roads. It looked like we could see the lava flowing down the channel at various bright spots.

04 December

Changed accommodations over to Volcano, so we went to the Kilauea overlook in the early morning hours. That was something we had done on the previous trip, and was planned for before the Mauna Load eruption started. Arrived around 03:00 to a diminishing crowd. Unfortunately, the last two people to leave took a half hour trying for the perfect selfies with both eruptions in the background. (Is that the point of the automated cameras and their annoying countdown beeping?) They had their stuff spread out all over the place before we arrived, and as they gathered it all up, discovered a lens cap got lost. Moving their stuff was "totally disrespectful, as we are locals." Spent the next ten minutes looking all over bare, rocky ground for it. For about twenty minutes after they finally left, we had the area to ourselves before people starting showing up for sunrise. A much quieter, less well lit, and less self-absorbed crowd.

Mauna Loa was the more interesting of the two eruptions. We could see variations on the fountaining which caused various parts of the fissure to brighten on occasion, Kilauea had quieted down. There was some convection in the lava lake, but unlike last March, there wasn't any activity along the edges, or much changing in the cracks and fissures. There was there any evidence of movement. Because of the overcast, there wasn't much to see in the actual sunrise.

06 December

We tried the Mana Rd. Junction again, but was clouded out. So we went on to the Visitor center, and hiked to the top of Puu Kalepeamoa again, and stayed until sunrise. It was very windy up there, but fortunately it was bearable just downslope on the leeward side.

07 December

We went out to Kilauea for the sunset. The activity down in the crater was even less than the previous visit, but the fountaining from Mauna Loa was easily visible from there. I was surprised how many people left before it became truly dark and the glow from the eruptions were fully visible.

08 December

This was the day we had to vacate our Volcano accommodations and head back to Kona. So we didn't get within view until early morning. The drive up was cloudy with misting rain, and we didn't see any activity until we arrived at the Mauna Kea visitor center. From there we could see increased fountaining, with the clouds occasionally obscuring the view. We only saw a hint of red, but the plume was nicely silhouetted against the sky. From 15 miles away, it looked huge, well over 400 feet high. (Which would make it the tallest eruptive activity I've seen.) At times, the plume looked like a geyser similar to Daisy or Riverside, as not only was it going continuously, but it was also tilted. The tilting varied as we watched, but most of the time it was to the west/right.

View from Mauna Kea Visitor Center, 2022 Dec 08

09 December

Based on the activity the day before, we expected the eruption might be nearing an end. When we left from Kona, there was little activity showing on the webcams. By the time we arrived at the Mauna Kea visitor center at dawn, it was obvious that the activity had decreased dramatically.

This turned out to be our last visit. By the time we returned to our accommodations, the webcam was showing no lava fountaining, just a vigorous smoke plume from a vent hidden behind the cinder cone. The next morning, there was so little activity visible we decided to not make the hour long drive.

10-12 December

Not only were things quieting, but before we got on the plane to head home, the USGS declared both eruptions to be over. So our timing for a trip that we planned back in August was almost perfect. We missed the initial first couple of days activity, but that was about it.

We also put the four-wheel drive of our Jeep upgrade to one other use, that of visiting the Green Sand Beach near the South Point. Only a couple of miles, but the way there alternates between rough track over lava to deep ruts in the sand. (At some points, we drove though a rutted, sandy section where to original ground surface was higher than the vehicle.) Did get a bit confused by the maze of trails at one point, and probably didn't take the easiest route at times. The green sand is really that, fine grains of dark green olivine with hints of pyrite. Was almost tempted to take a sample.

We never were able to get up close to the volcanic activity. The front of the lava flow never got closer than a couple of miles from the Old Saddle Road. The Mana Jct. viewpoint was about ten miles from the erupting fissure, and the Visitor Center a couple of miles even farther.

But this wasn't surprising. There was only one rough road up most of the way to Mauna Loa, and it was blocked off by the initial lava flows. Much of that area is an active US Army base, with notices along the highway to stay out due to unexploded ordnance. One morning the view road got closed for several hours after some people who wandered off the road into the lava fields discovered and reported an unexploded smoke grenade.

The county civil defense authority seemed to manage things well. I was afraid that access would be heavily restricted, so the opening of the viewing road was welcomed, even if we never really used it. Only on the last day was parking along the Mauna Kea Access road restricted, with orange cones all along the road up to Mana Rd. Jct. The rationale was "extreme fire hazard", which seemed odd considering most mornings we experience dew in that area.

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Kilauea and Halemaumau

We were supposed to be in Rotorua, New Zealand this week, but the gov't there doesn't want people visiting. So as an alternative, we spent two weeks on the Island of Hawaii. The second week was spent in and around Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

The Halemaumau crater in the Kilauea caldera has been showing periodic activity the last few months. Every week or so, the activity dies down for about a day, leading to the pools crusting over because there isn't any new lava being fed into them. There was a pause the day before we were scheduled to arrive, which meant we had a good chance of seeing lots of activity.

It's about 0.7 miles along the old Crater Rim Road to the only legal overlook where one can see the lava from the eruption. The lookout itself is a new roped off area well off the road, and about a mile from the activity in the Halemaumau crater. Since it's a road most of the way, it's an easy hike.

We made a total of six trips out there. The first one was in the middle of the morning, to scout out the location and to determine what and when we should go next. The road itself is still open for a way beyond the turn to the overlook. It takes one past Keanakakoi crater to a couple of old caldera overlooks, but the lava can't be seen them. The road itself is closed due to a wide collapse fissure. So there was no reason to go there again.

We didn't visit the northern rim until several days later, but there too the overlooks didn't have a view of the lava.

We got to the overlook while it was overcast, and over the next hour it cleared, and as it brightened, the activity became harder to see. That first day the view was of a couple of lava pools being fed by a larger, slightly higher vent. There were areas of red visible where the lava flowed most quickly. The first was where there was a drop from the vent to the first pool, the second being the constriction where the second pool was fed. There was also incandescence visible along some of the shoreline. During our hour out there, we could see the crust over the pools crack, and occasionally there would be fountaining from them.

To the left (south) of the vent area were two or three spatter cones, where occasional spurts of red could be seen. I was never able to get a good feel for heights of the activity or the cones, since I had no references and the distance was so great.

To the right (east) was another large area which might have been another lava pool, but other than some steam and smoke rising from a few areas, especially along the shoreline, we didn't see any activity.

Decided our next visit was going to be that night. The moon was at first quarter, so it was easy to walk the road without any lights, letting our eyes adapt. It was a lot like going out at night to see geysers, but much warmer, and no need to worry about bison or bears lurking in the trees. Halfways to the overlook we could see the red glow as the forest turned to open lava fields.

We arrived shortly before midnight, and there were still maybe a dozen people still there. But the flow was mostly in the opposite direction, and by 00:30 we had the place to ourselves. The moon was at first quarter, and set around shortly afterwards.

The activity may have been the same as during the daylight visit, but it was much more impressive. We could easily see the jetting from the spatter cones. The pools themselves were various shades of red, and there were all sorts of red spots on the larger lava lake to the right.

We also saw a lot of lights were there should be any lights, west and southwest of us well up on the crater rim. Probably various groups wandering along the closed road from the other end.

We decided that our next visit would be at dawn a day later. We arrived around 05:00, which is about an hour before twilight and sunrise was at 06:30 (Note-- unlike Yellowstone, twilight at that latitude is short, and sunrise and sunset don't vary much during the year. It's pretty much always 12 hour of daylight and 12 of night.) We arrived with no one there, but people started wandering in almost immediately. As it got light, we got people showing up more interested in getting their own pictures taken than in seeing the lava. At one point we had a who group of "glamor girls" well downslope of the rope line striking various poses and ignoring what was going on behind them.

As it got light, I noticed that not only can you see the summit of Mauna Kea, but a number of the buildings housing telescopes are easily visible without even binoculars. Mauna Loa at night looks like a long, low cloudbank, and both mountains were cloud covered during our previous daytime visit.

The next night time trip was about an hour later, well after midnight. Instead of being alone, this time there were a number of people there. It being Saturday night probably had something to do with the numbers. Either an organized tour, or several large families all appeared shortly after we arrived. They were noisy and despite being there for over half an hour, spent most of their time taking pictures of themselves (with flash) instead of viewing the activity. They were even taking group photos with nothing in the background. There was also one woman who was telling people how to get to the overlooks in the closed area, who kept yammering away like a certain geyser gazer we all know, until another women there said that going out there would be "stupid."

But finally, they all left, it got quiet again. The volcanic activity was pretty much like the other views in the dark. One thing I did notice is that as the moon got lower, it became easier to see the ledges and cliffs down in the crater.

Another advantage to being alone is that one can actually hear the activity. There are a number of fumaroles that are roaring in the distance, and the occasional huffing sounds, some louder than others. All that gets hidden by the noise, not just of people talking, but of people walking on the gravel. It also helps that much of the nights were calm (or at least calmer) with less wind noise. It was hard to correlate the whooshing sounds with activity down in the crater, because we were so far away. I never did figure out exactly what was making it, but I believe it was from the spatter cones acting as vents.

Went out another time at even later so as to avoid people. The final night there was someone leaving just as we arrived, leaving us alone. This time the activity was perhaps the best yet. We could see the lava cascade into the first pool. The spatter cones were frequently and vigorously active. Not much fountaining from within the pools themselves, maybe because there wasn't much to crack. There were also red cracks in the eastern pool, and lots more red spots, probably skylights. I was also seeing what appeared to be a sort of small spatter cone.

Maybe it was from that spatter cone, because this night we heard a new type of noise. It sounded a lot like a deep mudpot. A low bass sound that reverberated and echoed with a definite liquid sound to it.

It never rained on any visit, although this last night the fog suddenly got so thick there was an easily visible moonbow. The steam from vents in the caldera wall, just below the overlook were hard to see most times, but now they were putting up a fog wall helping too obscure the view.

For the daytime trips, and hikes in other areas, we noticed the number of people suddenly increased around 10:00. As in Yellowstone, it appears tourists don't like to get an early start, and the main tourist areas are at least an hour's drive away.

The volcano paused at about the time of our last daytime visit. We hadn't intended to go there, but it was early morning and for some reason, the trailhead we had planned to go to had its gate closed. But because it was before tourist arrival time, the parking lot was half-empty. Could tell something was different with the activity, because in the first, earlier daytime visit (the first one to check out the area), we could see fountaining, and this time wasn't any of that. Found out later that we had arrived at the start of a pause. So we timed things perfectly.

There was some areas of red at the inlets of the pools, but no activity from the cones. I was also able to confirm that there was some sort of cone-like formation where I was seeing the spurts the night before, a cone I don't remember seeing during earlier daylight visits.

During that visit, with several dozen people at the overlook, some guy started setting up his drone. A tourguide told him that was illegal, but the drone operator said that the rangers gave him permission to fly it. Then he had it lift off and fly down in the crater and back. At that point, I walked over and reminded him that he didn't need to see the lava himself, and just down the road there were several viewpoints whose railing were visible where he could launch in peace because no one would go there. The guy actually packed up and left, and a bit later I think I saw him doing just that. I do hope his YouTube videos get so may views that the NPS will ask for a takedown.

We never saw any rangers out there. At some point I figure the NPS is going to have to do some nighttime patrols and make a few examples of people with the lights and drones, or things are going to get out of control. So far the only fatality this year was a 75 year old man who fell over a cliff at the northern closure.

Halemaumau Crater in the Kilauea Volcano Caldera, 2022 Mar 10

I didn't take much video, and only one still shot. I had to zoom it to x5 or x6 to get any detail, and at that point things are grainy and jump around a lot. If you want to see video, that from a drone is going to be better anyhow.