Monday, July 31, 2017

Mauna Kea Summit Hike - Big Island Hawaii

Mauna Kea Summit Hike

September 20th, 2016
(Big Island) Hawaii

13,803' - High Point of Hawaii
Standard trail from "Switchback" at 10,100'
9.3 miles, 3,700' of elevation gain


My parents have always been big fans of Hawaii, but I've never made it out there. We started saving airline miles, and 5 years later we thought - hey, we finally might be able to do this. Along the way I was climbing mountains, and I realized that Mauna Kea was definitely something I wanted to do when I was there.

My fantasy was to climb Mauna Kea at nearly 14,000', and then take a dip in the warm ocean later on that day.


Mauna Kea from the plane

Gorgeous coral reefs can be seen in the crystal clear water




Heading up the road on Mauna Kea

Higher up the road on Mauna Kea

What the switchback looks like where we started hiking

The trail from the switchback



Mauna Loa

Looking ahead on the trail

Not a spec of vegetation to be found

The trail was pretty sandy but not too rough



The trail started to flatten out near the top



The true summit is to the right

At this point it goes slightly downhill

Moon over Mauna Kea

Heading up the final pitch

Summit observatories




Mauna Loa from the summit of Mauna Kea


Panorama shot from the summit
 
Hero shot

Looking North-East

Our friends top out on the summit!
Summit selfie, of course


Heading back down

Oh look, I found vegetation!

Nearing the end


Google Earth map of GPS tracks for the hike. It doesn't look like we climbed almost 4k feet!





We ate at TJs BBQ on Da Beach! (note- not on the beach)
After the hike we drove all the way back to Kona, about 90 minutes, and ate the best smoked ribs I've ever had! They were served atop white rice and fresh pineapple slices! It tasted extra good after the long hike and drive!

Kona area from the boat



Sunset from the boat


BONUS PICS- BECAUSE HAWAII
Here's just a small slice of some of the other stuff we crammed into the other 3 days we were in the Big Island Hawaii

Looking SW from about 1,000' (south of Kona)

Southernmost point in the US


I am about to get blasted by a huge wave

Green Sand Beach


Green Sand

Waipio Valley

Akaka Falls

Some flowers at the Botanical Gardens
 
Orchid

Sunset from the Mauna Kea visitor's center area



Black Sand Beach



We made the long drive to Hawaii Volcanos National Park and hiked 11 miles RT to see lava entering the ocean! HVNP was an interesting place. It was 6,000'; cold wet and rainy at the entrance. Hot and dry and clear at the ocean.

The hike to the lava entry was long and hot

There were several warning signs around the hot crossing entrance


The "hot crossing" was a bit spicy knowing lava was underneath our feet



Lava Entering the Ocean

Weird looking plants growing out of the lava flow


Lava spraying into the air at the Kiluaea Crater

We had a great time in Hawaii. The big island is nothing short of magical. I highly recommend you check it out if you are on the fence.

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