Aloha!!! (Good Bye)

     Photo by Greg in Oahu 2013

Oct. 22-23, 2013
For my last two days on the Big Island, I took it easy and did quite a bit of fishing on my way up the coast. For my last night, I returned to my favorite spot near the Kona airport which was just a quality free spot on the beach. And I'd say overall, Hawaii was just as great as I expected.

The whole National Park closure was kinda a bummer and I do say it kinda pissed me off, in terms of not agreeing with our government and the kind of stuff they do. But, what are ya gonna do. (I just snuck in when I could, and if ya want to argue with me why I did that, I would be glad to discuss, but too much writing for now.)

Also for my last note, I did pick up on some hostility between the natives and locals, and...kinda hard to explain what the hostility was towards, but for the most part, the hostility was at the government as a whole. The sad part about the hostility was that I heard of it sometimes being directed towards other things. It seemed to me like a confusing 'What are we mad at?' type deal, the whole 99% deal.

So, yes, paradise still has the problems that the rest of us have.

And as a finisher for Hawaii, I'd say go visit and have a great time because it is a beautiful island. If you ever visit the Big Island, please put some time away for hiking into the Kohala mountains. That was my favorite for this trip, but my favorite, well you know the story. My list of bests/favorites is a long one now. 
Aloha
Doug  

Chillin in Hawaii

October 20-21, 2013

Got up bright and early and set off for the Kohala mountains. It was all farmland and I headed up the hill in about an hour. At the very top it turned to dense rainforest. There was a decent trail going through the rainforest, so I took it and started going down. After and hour or so, it turned to a good amount of getting whacked by branches and bushes, aka bushwhacking, so I headed back to the beach. I rented a boogie board and hit the small waves, then took off in the car looking for a spot that I saw some guys surfing the other day. The waves lasted forever for them but I couldn't find the spot. Oh well. From there I enjoyed some Kona beer on the beach at my spot and had a good sleep. Next day I returned the car and walked down the beach to a spot I stayed at night 2. It was about a 5-10 mile beach walk but I had dropped off all my stuff at that spot this morning, so I wasn't carrying anything. Stopped for some good fish tacos halfway through too. I must have drunk a gallon of water because the waitress just gave me the jug and said, "You seem very thirsty." Good thing I had fish tacos because I didn't catch anything in my couple hours of fishing, well, anything worth keeping. The little yellow ones aren't really worth it. If I had a deep fryer they would be great though. Gonna have a chill day at this spot all day tomorrow and do a lot of fishing, hopefully, successfully. Also I have 5 local Kona beers that need to be had and a great pond that's gonna keep em chill.

Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa

       Mauna Kea Observatories

10-19
What a great day.
Started off with McDonald's breakfast. Haha!!! From there I spent some time cleaning some spilled almond milk off the floor of the rental car. Should be good. Then I drove out to the middle of the Big Island where I wanted to pull over and climb up every hill, but I kept going till I hit the road that goes up the back of the southern mountain, Mauna Kea. It was a little too rough for my rental car 4wd skills, so I passed the mountain and drove to the northern mountain, Mauna Loa. I drove up the visitor Center at 9000+ feet then got ready for a climb. The climb was amazing and I was ready for it. I knocked it out pretty fast and met some people on the way up. Ended up spending some good time chatting with a Dutchman that had a lot of good stuff to say. I know I knew his name but it was a toughy, so I'll pass on trying to spell it. The top was very cold...very, very cold and windy compared to the beaches of Hawaii! I kept moving and had a good look at all the observatories. (There's a paved road that goes to the top and also the 7 mile climb that I did.) On my way down I hit a warm, not windy, spot and passed out for an hour or so:) It looked like it was raining all around a couple thousand feet below. Apparently, it had just snowed two days ago. I got back to the parking lot and headed to the west coast for a great warm night with no rain.
Off to the high Kohala mountains tomorrow. This is northeast Hawaii and my favorite spot thus far. A last little bit of exploring those valleys and peaks.. Maybe even another McDonald's breakfast!!!

                Lake Waiau

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Lake_Waiau?o=2801&qsrc=999&ad=doubleDown&an=apn&ap=ask.com

Still Hiking, Jumping, and Driving on the Big Island

                       Green Sand Beach, Papakolea, Big Island

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

                            Ocean jump. A fellow jumper...Not Pacman

                       Government closure?

Black Sand Beach, to Hilo, to Waipo

Waimanu Valley

Week beginning Oct 9, 2013

Took a few hitches throughout the day. First was from a local older lady for a few miles to an intersection and cafe for breakfast. Next was from a guy who is retiring in Hawaii and was previously a director of photography for Discovery and History channel, so we had a thing or two to talk about. He got me to a development called Ocean View Estates, which isn't the greatest part of Hawaii, so I kept going with a local couple and their dogs to another town. Then the last hitch of the day was to the Black Sand Beach where I retired. [See the previous post picture.] The wind picked up that evening and it was pretty cool to watch the waves crashing and trees blowing.

Next day I was up early and making my way to Hilo to an area called Puna that I was planning on going through to get to the beach. I was told the area is one of the worst parts (gangs and stuff) of Hawaii, so I'll wait until I rent a car to make it through there. Hilo seemed ok, just a normal town. I decided to just do one night in Hilo since it seemed like a 'must spend money tourist area' with not great beaches. Some cool parks though. Stayed at the hostel with some Swiss guys and an old San Diegan. So, I moved on through.

Next day I took off up the east coast and had a stop at the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Gardens, then to Waipo Valley. Waipo is an amazing valley and a great beach. I had a good time body surfing and watching the surfers.

The next day was about a 16 mile hike to Waimanu Bay along the Mulawai trail. This was the most amazing thing I've seen here so far, maybe ever. It's another beach in a deep valley that you can only hike or boat into, so there were only a few people (5-10). The cliffs seem to go straight up and there were a few waterfalls on a beach, the beach being easy to get stuck at. I shoulda planned it out better and stayed a couple days there, and I think I will eventually.

Anyways, I headed back and climbed out of the valley the next day, then started hitching again. Now I'm back at the west coast, 20 or so miles from were I started. This is the best beach area on the island, so I'll make my way slowly to the airport, then rent a car so I can do some stuff that would be too difficult or dangerous without a car. I had a great sunset. There's a small National Park area here that's closed, so I'm gonna get up early and sneak around. Sorry government but I really want to see these ruins.

 

Waimanu Valley 

Spencer Beach Park, West Coast

 

http://www.htbg.com/index.html  Botanical Garden

 

http://www.hawaiidriveguides.com/HawaiiDriveGuide/12_13_hdg.html?gclid=CPL2zr6Pm7oCFRRk7AodzSYAFA#.Ul5nC6Hn_mI   Map

 

Hummmahummmawhat?

South Black Sand Beach

Bite me! I'm on the Big Island!

Oct 4-8th
Walked through Kona and saw all the Ironman people and normal Hawaiian tourists. Then at about 4pm, I was well out of town and found some picnic tables, so I settled down and had a glass of rum. The next day I walked to Captain Cook Point, then had a big climb to Cook Town where I ate and bought food and stuff. After pizza and beer, I walked down to the bay and got a ride the last half mile from a local who offered her kayak if I helped move something, so the next day I did some chores then had a kayak to myself in an amazing bay. I spent a bit of time on the kayak exploring. It started pouring, but it's not Hawaiian rain, so it was actually nice being out on the bay in the downpour. That night at her house, I got bit on my back by one of those red centipedes. It was a very sharp pain. She confirmed it's not deadly or anything, so I slept through it and had some bad dreams. One vivid one was of me on the losing end of a knife fight!!! Talk about a bad dream. The next day I did some early morning kayaking looking for the dolphins but couldn't find em. I said my thanks to Heather then took off to the beach for a nap where I set up early for the night. I wasn't feeling well. It might have had to do with that centipede bite. The tiredness carried over to the next day, so I stayed at the same spot and lounged around the beach sleeping and eating. Not a bad day. Kealakekua was a bay that was about 4 miles south of Captain Cook Bay. It's where the old Hawaiians used to send prisoners or something. Since the government is shut down, the National Park area that had all the info was closed. That also made me realize I might have to change plans since Volcano NP is a NP and might be closed. That was next on the plan too. So, I might have to skip it for now and go to Hilo. Hopefully it'll open up eventually, then I can come back later since I've decided I'm gonna rent a car for about a week later on in the trip since there's some stuff that is car necessary to see.
Aloha!

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_Cook,_Hawaii

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kealakekua_Bay