Oct 15-18, 2013
Spencer Beach Park was a good spot, so I decided to stay there for another full day. I had a good book and there was some good fishing, so I had a nice day reading and enjoying the nice Hawaiian beaches.
The next day I was well rested, so I hitched up the west coast to Hawi, then got a ride in a convertible Mustang to the end of the road and the north side of the Kohala Valley. It was about 2pm when I got there, so I just dropped down into the first valley and enjoyed the sights, some local Kona beer, and chocolate covered macadamia nuts.
The next day I got up early and headed up out of the first valley, then made my way over about 4 smaller valleys for about 6 miles??? It felt like a lot more since it was some pretty tough hiking and climbing. Ropes were involved at one point. I hit an area of too much bushwhacking, so I turned back. Another great day with lots of quality hiking. I got back to camp at a reasonable time and got to clean myself up in the ocean. There were signs up all over the place saying rough current, so I didn't get that far in.
Next, I headed up and got a lucky hitch from a tourist couple that got me to where I needed to be, for the most part. I wound up at Hapuna Beach, and took another dip. This is supposed to be one of the best beaches on the Big Island and it was, for the most part. Then I found a good spot away from the resorts and had a good sleep.
I got up and had some trouble for my last hitch on the island, so I started to walk and met a guy that had all sorts of stories, not all true, I'm guessing. He needed 10$ to get me to the airport, where I rented a car which I will have for 3 days so I can get to the mountains safely. It was on the later side by the time I got to the southern part of the Big Island and I heard the news that the national parks opened back up!!! Right in time. I took the car down to the southern point where I jumped off the coast into the ocean! Next, I had a short hike to Green Sand Beach, then back to the car and tent for the night.
I was up bright and early with anticipation for the Hawai'i Volcanoes NP. I did the tourist drive road stopping at all the craters and down to the beach where the most recent lava flow cut the road short. I thought it was pretty funny were there was a 'road closed' sign swallowed by lava. I was like, "Yah. Looks closed to me!" There was a good hike through a crater, then I went to see the big steam crater that closed a good chunk of the park because of the fumes coming out of it. And at the info station, they basically said that the only viewable lava flows require a good amount of walking, not on a trail, but over old lava flow, and it's very dangerous, so I decided not for me. I'm sure it could be done but I don't want to lose a foot accidentally stepping on some hot lava!!! And it was about a 15-20 mile hike one way. From what I gathered, now is not the best time for Hawai'i Volcanoes NP since the active stuff is in inaccessible places. So I headed to a beach for the night with hopes of going up both summits over the next two days. We'll see though. Both summits have questionable obstacles as to if I can actually do it or not. Tonight was Hilo area again, and again I'll say I'm not a huge fan of the tourist area. The west coast and Kohala mountains are where it's at. It just seems touristy here. Oh well, off to 13,000 feet tomorrow, hopefully.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papakolea_Beach Green Sand Beach
http://www.gokohala.com/maps.html Hawi
http://www.hawaiiweb.com/hawaii/hapuna-beach-state-park-hawaii-the-big-island.html Hapuna Beach
http://www.nps.gov/havo/index.htm Hawai'i Volcanoes NP
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