Mauna Kea (13,802 ft)
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31. März 2017 um 18:20.
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Out of all of the dorks who travel to Hawaii, only a few realize that it's one of the few places where you can go from sea level to over 13,000 feet in under 50 miles. This dork knew that, and he waited to go back for over a decade.
Mauna Kea is the high point of the whole archipelago and of the eponymous island, a.k.a. the Big Island, which is slightly bigger than Puerto Rico. The trailhead is located right by the Visitor Information Station (VIS), which is connected to Saddle Road (the main coast-to-coast thoroughfare) by an excellent 6-mile paved road. It takes just over an hour from Kona. If you've been to the area in the past, note that Saddle Road has been upgraded in recent years. As of spring 2017, there's still construction over a five-mile stretch on the Hilo side (gravel with a 25 mph speed limit).
There is a road to the top. Pavement ends right past the VIS and resumes after just under 5 miles of gravel meant to keep tourists without 4WD from driving all the way up without breaking the terms of their rental agreement.
Having said that, the hike from the VIS to the top is not to be missed. Aside from the elevation, there are no technical challenges, and the view is incredible, ranging from massive Mauna Loa 25 miles away to the Pacific Ocean and all the way to Haleakala on Maui, 85 miles as the crow flies. To put the planet in perspective, the Alps are 100 times farther, 8,500 miles due northeast.
Back to the hike. Don't let the road turn you off, as it's really not a problem. There isn't much traffic during the day, but at the same time it gives you the option of getting a ride down if the weather changes, as it often does. In fact, even if there isn't much traffic, rangers and astronomers often drive up and down. There are as many as 13 observatories in the summit area.
Because of the elevation, you do need to take this hike seriously. For one, don't plan on getting a ride back down. Dress like you would on any other 13,000+ mountain, and expect the same symptoms. Adjusting to the high elevation is harder than elsewhere because you can't spend the night anywhere near the trailhead, unless you sleep in your vehicle.
Be sure to read the Mauna Kea weather report before leaving for the trailhead [2]. Forget about weather.com: the information it provides on "Mauna Kea State Recreation Area" refers to a location along Saddle Road and is completely useless due to the frequent presence of an inversion layer between 4,500 and 7,500 feet: it may be sunny at 8,000 feet while it's raining at 4,000. Trust [2] and get an early start.
At the VIS, follow the signs and be sure to use a parking lot that stays open all day (as of spring 2017, the VIS lot closes at 3 pm). Stop by the VIS and fill out a registration form so you're on the rangers' radar in case something goes wrong. It's a free service and you'd have to be an idiot not to use it. (*)
The trailhead is at 9,200 ft asl. The total elevation gain is about 4,600 ft over roughly 6.5 miles. Walk up the paved road past the VIS and the small residential area that is home to rangers and visiting scientists. At the first bend in the road, continue straight up a gravel road, which soon turns into a well-signposted trail. The trail climbs at a constant grade and provides next to no respite for several miles. The landscape is amazing, so is the view, and the road is hardly ever visible. If you're like me, you'll suddenly feel the elevation when you hit 12,000 ft.
At about 12,500 ft, you'll be facing Pu'uhaukea (13,441 ft). Soon, your destination will appear behind it, and you'll recognize it as the main summit area because of the observatories located all around it. Before you start circling the western flank of Pu'uhaukea, you'll meet a trail from a parking area along the summit road, which you can see due east. With a few minutes' detour, you can hike to a viewpoint from which you can see Lake Waiau, the only alpine lake in Hawaii at 13,020 ft. Given the elevation, IMHO it's best to conserve energy and wait until the return trip to go see the lake up close.
Back on the main trail, you follow the western flank of Pu'uhaukea and eventually meet the paved road. Follow the road up to the next switchback. From there, in principle you can hike straight up to the summit crater's rim and follow it to the tippy top, but it's a lot easier to continue along the road up to the short summit trail.
With the latter option, you'll see a sign asking you not to go the summit because it's sacred to Hawaiians. It's true, but it's fine to walk to the summit as long as you do not stop and stand right at the top, which is considered disrespectful.
Note that, at this latitude, the dominant winds (trade winds) go from east to west. That explains the thick cloud layer you'll likely see over the Hilo area over on the east coast, as well as the fact that Hilo is ten times wetter than Kona on the west coast.
There are three options to get back down: (1) hitch a ride; (2) hike back down the trail; (3) hike back to the trail, follow it to the lake, then head toward the road and use the many 4WD tracks (closed to motorized traffic) as shortcuts. On my first trip up to the top I chose (1) because the weather turned very quickly, while on my second trip I chose (3) because it got foggy and I didn't feel comfortable using the trail. With (3), you can still minimize the amount of walking you do on the road, but at the same time you keep the option of hitching a ride. Just one caveat: the vehicular traffic on the road increases dramatically before dusk because folks drive up to the summit to watch the sunset. It's not a big deal because, as I said, you can mostly avoid the road; in addition to that, folks generally drive fairly reasonably because of the relatively rough gravel.
(*) Be sure to stop by the VIS on the way back and tell the rangers you're back. If you don't, they'll call the emergency numbers you wrote on the registration form and they may very well come looking for you on the mountain. One of the rangers told me lots of hikers "forget" to stop by and create a bunch of extra work. It's a total jerk move, especially considering that their funding situation is probably far from ideal under the current administration.
For more info:
[1] http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/hiking.html
Weather report:
[2] http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/forecast/mko/index.cgi
Mauna Kea is the high point of the whole archipelago and of the eponymous island, a.k.a. the Big Island, which is slightly bigger than Puerto Rico. The trailhead is located right by the Visitor Information Station (VIS), which is connected to Saddle Road (the main coast-to-coast thoroughfare) by an excellent 6-mile paved road. It takes just over an hour from Kona. If you've been to the area in the past, note that Saddle Road has been upgraded in recent years. As of spring 2017, there's still construction over a five-mile stretch on the Hilo side (gravel with a 25 mph speed limit).
There is a road to the top. Pavement ends right past the VIS and resumes after just under 5 miles of gravel meant to keep tourists without 4WD from driving all the way up without breaking the terms of their rental agreement.
Having said that, the hike from the VIS to the top is not to be missed. Aside from the elevation, there are no technical challenges, and the view is incredible, ranging from massive Mauna Loa 25 miles away to the Pacific Ocean and all the way to Haleakala on Maui, 85 miles as the crow flies. To put the planet in perspective, the Alps are 100 times farther, 8,500 miles due northeast.
Back to the hike. Don't let the road turn you off, as it's really not a problem. There isn't much traffic during the day, but at the same time it gives you the option of getting a ride down if the weather changes, as it often does. In fact, even if there isn't much traffic, rangers and astronomers often drive up and down. There are as many as 13 observatories in the summit area.
Because of the elevation, you do need to take this hike seriously. For one, don't plan on getting a ride back down. Dress like you would on any other 13,000+ mountain, and expect the same symptoms. Adjusting to the high elevation is harder than elsewhere because you can't spend the night anywhere near the trailhead, unless you sleep in your vehicle.
Be sure to read the Mauna Kea weather report before leaving for the trailhead [2]. Forget about weather.com: the information it provides on "Mauna Kea State Recreation Area" refers to a location along Saddle Road and is completely useless due to the frequent presence of an inversion layer between 4,500 and 7,500 feet: it may be sunny at 8,000 feet while it's raining at 4,000. Trust [2] and get an early start.
At the VIS, follow the signs and be sure to use a parking lot that stays open all day (as of spring 2017, the VIS lot closes at 3 pm). Stop by the VIS and fill out a registration form so you're on the rangers' radar in case something goes wrong. It's a free service and you'd have to be an idiot not to use it. (*)
The trailhead is at 9,200 ft asl. The total elevation gain is about 4,600 ft over roughly 6.5 miles. Walk up the paved road past the VIS and the small residential area that is home to rangers and visiting scientists. At the first bend in the road, continue straight up a gravel road, which soon turns into a well-signposted trail. The trail climbs at a constant grade and provides next to no respite for several miles. The landscape is amazing, so is the view, and the road is hardly ever visible. If you're like me, you'll suddenly feel the elevation when you hit 12,000 ft.
At about 12,500 ft, you'll be facing Pu'uhaukea (13,441 ft). Soon, your destination will appear behind it, and you'll recognize it as the main summit area because of the observatories located all around it. Before you start circling the western flank of Pu'uhaukea, you'll meet a trail from a parking area along the summit road, which you can see due east. With a few minutes' detour, you can hike to a viewpoint from which you can see Lake Waiau, the only alpine lake in Hawaii at 13,020 ft. Given the elevation, IMHO it's best to conserve energy and wait until the return trip to go see the lake up close.
Back on the main trail, you follow the western flank of Pu'uhaukea and eventually meet the paved road. Follow the road up to the next switchback. From there, in principle you can hike straight up to the summit crater's rim and follow it to the tippy top, but it's a lot easier to continue along the road up to the short summit trail.
With the latter option, you'll see a sign asking you not to go the summit because it's sacred to Hawaiians. It's true, but it's fine to walk to the summit as long as you do not stop and stand right at the top, which is considered disrespectful.
Note that, at this latitude, the dominant winds (trade winds) go from east to west. That explains the thick cloud layer you'll likely see over the Hilo area over on the east coast, as well as the fact that Hilo is ten times wetter than Kona on the west coast.
There are three options to get back down: (1) hitch a ride; (2) hike back down the trail; (3) hike back to the trail, follow it to the lake, then head toward the road and use the many 4WD tracks (closed to motorized traffic) as shortcuts. On my first trip up to the top I chose (1) because the weather turned very quickly, while on my second trip I chose (3) because it got foggy and I didn't feel comfortable using the trail. With (3), you can still minimize the amount of walking you do on the road, but at the same time you keep the option of hitching a ride. Just one caveat: the vehicular traffic on the road increases dramatically before dusk because folks drive up to the summit to watch the sunset. It's not a big deal because, as I said, you can mostly avoid the road; in addition to that, folks generally drive fairly reasonably because of the relatively rough gravel.
(*) Be sure to stop by the VIS on the way back and tell the rangers you're back. If you don't, they'll call the emergency numbers you wrote on the registration form and they may very well come looking for you on the mountain. One of the rangers told me lots of hikers "forget" to stop by and create a bunch of extra work. It's a total jerk move, especially considering that their funding situation is probably far from ideal under the current administration.
For more info:
[1] http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/hiking.html
Weather report:
[2] http://mkwc.ifa.hawaii.edu/forecast/mko/index.cgi
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