Suzanne Swedo - Best Easy Day Hikes Hawaii: The Big Island

Best Easy Day Hikes Series

Best Easy Day Hikes Hawaii: The Big Island

Suzanne Swedo

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Swedo, Suzanne, 1945

Best easy day hikes, Hawaii, the big island / Suzanne Swedo.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4930-0515-4

1. HikingHawaiiHawaii IslandGuidebooks. 2. TrailsHawaiiHawaii IslandGuidebooks. 3. Hawaii Island (Hawaii)Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.H32H388 2010

919.69'1dc22

2010011377

The author and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

For Patricia Medley

Contents

The Hikes

Acknowledgments

Thanks to everyone with the National Park Service for helping and caring deeply about their islands, especially Mardie Lane and Jim Gale at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and George Enuton at Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site. Thanks also to Peter Van Dyke, manager of the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden and the Na Ala Hele Trails and Access specialists for the Hawaii Division of Forestry and Wildlife.

For assistance in the field and elsewhere, and for moral and other kinds of support, thanks to Joellyn and David Acree, Chris Haun, Melinda Goodwater and Singaman Lama, Erica Crawford, and Peggy Graham.

Introduction

The Big Island of Hawaii is bigger than all the other Hawaiian islands put together, not only because it is geologically the youngest and is increasing in size faster than it can be eroded away, but because it is made up of five distinct volcanoes that have coalesced into one landmass. Kilauea, the newest most active volcano, is the current home of Madame Pele, the volcano goddess herself, but Mauna Loa, only slightly older, still rumbles, steams, and occasionally erupts. Mauna Loa is also the largest volcano in the world, measured from its base on the sea floor. Mauna Kea, now dormant, rises 13,796 feet above sea level, the highest point in Hawaii. Kohala in the north is also dormant, but Hualalai, in the western part of the island, is still in the process of falling asleep.

Because of its size and mountainous topography, the Big Island has the best variety of hikes anywhere in the state. Most of the trails are maintained by the National Park Service and by Na Ala Hele , the Trail and Access System operated by the state of Hawaii.

The mountains block the trade winds as they blow from northeast to southwest, bringing plenty of rain to the eastern coast where the water carves deep river valleys, creates waterfalls, and nourishes green tropical forests. Hilo is the biggest population center on this side of the island, a fun and funky little town with a wonderful old-time Hawaii atmosphere. Its the most convenient base for hikes along the Hamakua Coast, and it is also the cheapest place to stay on Hawaii, with several hostels and inexpensive motels.

The leeward (Kona) side of the island can be very hot and dry because the trades are blocked by the mountains. But the beaches are breezy and beautiful and there are many historical and cultural sites to explore on foot, as long as you avoid Kailua-Kona, its main population center. Kona consists of a string of beachfront resorts with golf courses, sunburned tourists, and traffic.

The most exciting and extensive hiking is in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, but you must be prepared to change your travel plans at short notice if Pele throws an unexpected tantrum. Since 1983 Kilauea has been pouring lava down the southeast slope of the island to the sea, burying the Royal Gardens housing development near Kalapana along with the national parks coastal visitor center. This has put a few favorite hikes off limits. Since March 2008 Halemaumau pit, inside Kilauea Caldera, has blown a new vent in its wall and is belching out an enormous plume of noxious gasses, so hikes to Halemaumau are also prohibited until further notice.

On one occasion since the latest eruption began, the trade winds failed, or at least temporarily shifted direction, and the entire park shut down for about thirty-six hours. For several days the whole island of Hawaii choked under an ugly layer of vog , volcanic gas and fog, that even affected air quality on neighboring islands. But dont let any of this discourage you from visiting Volcanoes Park! Its a big place and there are lots of hikes that are perfectly safe. Just make sure to check on current conditions at the visitor center before you go.

Flora and Fauna

The Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated landforms in the world, so it should be no surprise that they are home to some of the rarest and most unusual plants and animals anywhere.

Any creature living on these islands that was not brought by human beings had to be able to swim or to fly. Birds and insects could arrive on air currents or ocean flotsam, as could Hawaiis only terrestrial mammal, the Hawaiian hoary bat, but the only other mammals here are the aquatic ones: dolphins, whales, and seals.

Humpback whales arrive from the Arctic in late December or January. Some cruise on to Mexico and Japan, but many hang out in Hawaii until April. Spinner dolphins can often be seen from shore, and sometimes they put on a show for kayakers in protected bays like Kealakekua on the Big Island, shooting out of the water in great exuberant arcs, twirling their bodies like figure skaters.

Green sea turtles (named for their flesh, not their shells) can also be seen from Hawaiian shoreline trails, basking on beaches or swimming offshore. They are vegetarians that can weigh as much as 400 pounds and live as long as eighty years. They breed on the mostly uninhabited atolls to the north nowadays, though once they bred on the main islands. They are endangered now, not only because many of their traditional breeding beaches have been developed but because they were a prized source of fresh meat and eggs for the crews of thousands of sailing ships in the days of long ocean voyages.