Not that I have any sort of death wish, but I can definitely see how safety precautions can quickly kill the giddy buzz of anticipation. Granted, not as much as actual death, but still. I consider myself to be a fairly well-read and well-informed individual and even I was initially underwhelmed by Kīlauea. This was a place I had learned about in the 1st grade - a volcano so notorious and active in my imagination that it fueled a series of recurring nightmares involving a volcano spontaneously sprouting up in my parents' backyard and spewing toxic green lava.
And when we finally got to the overlook of the summit caldera, we saw this:
Don't misunderstand me, I fully believed the USGS's posted signs about the toxicity and potential harm to come from inhaling these gases. But this was no volcano spewing red hot lava several hundred feet into the air; no Pele, Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, known for her power, anger, and capriciousness; not even an ooze or the flow of lava we had seen from the helicopter on our first day.
Ironically, I think part of my disappointment is fueled by the technological advances of my craft. Photography captures evocative images and replaces thousands of words in an instant. It captures our attention and fuels our imaginations to run wild. Not to mention, the wily photojournalists who spend their entire lives in the field capturing once-in-a-lifetime moments basically ruin it for all the rest of us who then go on vacation, expecting to see such natural wonders as if they were commonplace. Job perk of having to camp out in less than ideal conditions, I suppose. If nothing else, I've come to personally experience and learn that photography depends largely on being at the right place at exactly the right moment and when you're visiting an area that gets ~140-170 inches of rain every year and intending to actually have a vacation, the probability of arriving at each destination precisely for the golden window diminishes drastically.
We spent several hours over 2 separate days exploring Volcanoes National Park by ourselves via rental car, which is what I would recommend to most people. Contrary to my initial thoughts, a private hiking tour wasn't necessary. Like most national parks I've been to, Volcanoes National Park is well laid out for self-guided tours and there are rangers at the visitor's center that are more than happy to provide maps, directions, and a few ideas of what to see: steam vents, a lava tube, the ominously named "Devastation Trail," and more. There's an easily navigable road called Crater Rim Drive that loops through the park, with clearly marked turnoffs to the points of interest. Some of this main road was actually closed during our visit, a stark reminder that we were standing on an active volcano at that moment.
At other times though, Kīlauea showed its playful side. We approached the steam vents not knowing what to expect, but prepared to be underwhelmed again given the dreariness of the day. Suddenly, the wind shifted and sent steam straight into our faces and we were greeted by the sulfuric smell of rotten eggs. Alas, again due to poor timing and how steam doesn't play nice with a cold camera lens, there was no photo to commemorate the moment of our vog baptism. There were steaming vents at various points throughout the park; apparently, they form when water (like the rain) seeps into the ground and the hot rocks just a few feet below the surface heat it to the point of steam. One of the guides had mentioned to observe where there was plant life and where there wasn't - while volcanic soil can be rich in nutrients, other inhospitable conditions like the presence of sulfur as well as the hot temperatures just a few feet into the ground can eliminate trees with deep root systems. There were a lot of grasses and lichens throughout the park and one of my favorite pictures was of just grass:
To escape the rain at least momentarily, we also explored the Thurston Lava Tube, which formed when slow-moving lava flowed under a hardened crust and eventually hollowed out. There were definitely points of low ceilings and walls were wet and mossy in places. In general, it was interesting how we went from a relatively desolate area of crumbled lava rocks and a few errant tufts of grass to a lush forest with ferns and songbirds, just in a matter of a couple miles:
One of the unexpected highlights of the trek through Volcanoes National Park was spotting NēNē, a species of Hawaiian goose evolved from the Canada goose. I'm no ornithologist, but finally seeing a few breeding pairs after seeing signs all over the park alerting us to the fact that they are rare and still threatened from a conservation standpoint was oddly exciting. They also just happened to be beautifully colored birds with soft calls (which is how they got their name), nothing like the obnoxious honking of geese on the mainland.
It was a rainy couple of days and I had more than a few failures with photographing in the rain - as we've been experiencing record drought conditions in California, this was the first time since I've started this project that I've even really had the opportunity to take pictures in the rain. Some of the shots came out water splotched with droplets on the lens and others where the lens fogged up and blurred my images. Despite all of that, Kīlauea did not fail to impress, especially when my patience was rewarded with a view of glowing gases rising from the open vent in the Halema'uma'u Crater, which is a pit crater located in the summit caldera of Kīlauea.
It was a hazy evening and the photograph unfortunately doesn't do the color justice, but it was one of those moments when you realize that there really is more to this world than the latest gigantor iPhone or some passing drama and stress that seems to be taking over your time and energy. All around, a great reminder for me as I embark on this work-school-life juggling act to take time to get back to nature when feeling overwhelmed and find the right perspective... but maybe I'll skip the stopping to smell volcanic gases and stick to stopping for proverbial roses.
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Volcanoes National Park Home Page - 10/10 would highly recommend this as a destination for anyone headed to Big Island. Not to mention how cost effective it was, as of our trip and this writing: $10 vehicle entrance fee that was valid for a week!
Active Shooting Hours: 6
Review Hours: 3
Hours To Date: 196
