Up Mauna Loa, On Foot

During graduate school in Hawai’i, a group of friends invited me to join them in climbing Mauna Loa on the Big Island. We flew to Hilo and a friend dropped us off at the foot of the mountain. After a night’s sleep, we began our climb early the next morning.

Mauna Loa is the big sister mountain of Mauna Kea, and it is an active volcano. The trail begins just above sea level, in a tropical climate. By the time we reached Red Hill, roughly the midpoint of the trail, my new boots were already cut up by lava along the way.

From Red Hill upward, we were guided by cairns—mounds of stones that mark the trail. Glaring sunshine, reflecting off the lava flows made us squint, even though we were wearing sunglasses. When we reached the 4,169-meter summit, the sun had set and we were guided only by the cairns. Above us were the most brilliant stars I’ve ever seen.

Heads pounding from the climb, the sun, and reflection from every direction, we ate our evening meal and then stretched out in the bunks. In the middle of the night, I needed to walk the short distance to the outdoor toilet. Midway, I felt a quake. There we were, on the summit of an active volcano, with no way of getting down quickly. We decided that we would just pray there were no further quakes, and head down the next morning.

On the way down the next day, we could see Kilauea in the distance, with steam rising from that caldera. That was where the quake caused lava flows. Too close for comfort.

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