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  • Day 9

    Day 9: Big Island of Hawaii - Hilo

    June 5, 2022 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    22 years ago, Steve and I almost died on this island. OK, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but it’s absolutely true.

    From May to November of 2000, the lava from the Hawaii volcano flowed into the ocean. When we were here in September, we were told we could hike to the lava flow site which was 3 miles from where we were. Not knowing what did it mean to hike 3 miles one way in 90 degrees weather under the sun and walking on uneven lava field, with one bottle of water, we set off.

    The hike was treacherous because the lava field was very hard to walk on. But we made it to the flow of lava, it was indeed very cool to see up close. I didn’t think I ever got close to something hotter than this over 2,000 degrees lava before. It was thick and bright red, like a river of red molasses, flowing slowly towards the sea. I felt so hot standing near it that my inside was heating up.

    Then a park ranger walked towards us, told us:”you have 15 minutes to get out.” Confused and alarmed, we asked what’s that mean. She said there was another flow of lava coming down towards the ocean behind us, we had 15 minutes to race it so we wouldn’t be cut off from exit and be trapped. She then turned around and started to hike back herself.

    I remembered there was a Japanese couple ahead of us when we hiked. Realizing the park ranger didn’t know about them, I frantically started looking for them. Then I saw them and started screaming “hello” at them. They finally turned around and looked at me. I waved “coming back this way” at them over and over. They hesitated and then stated to walk back towards us. To this day, I bet they had no idea I save their lives.

    We walked as fast as we could and reached a safer area. I wanted to see the spectacular scene of lava hitting the ocean water. So I stepped on a rock and leaned over towards the ocean. Sure enough, when fire met water, it was so cool! I turned around and told Steve to come see as well. Then I noticed how pale his face was. I had never seen him looking so scared before. I asked what’s wrong. He was clearly trying to remain calm and he whispered:”get back here.” I was confused but complied. He held my hand and walked away from where I stood as fast as he could.

    “So what’s that about?” I demanded to know.

    “Well, I didn’t want to tell you then so you don’t panic. Where you stood on was a splinter of dried lava that’s already leaning towards the ocean. It could break off any second!”

    So yeah, I was at the brink of death at that moment.

    Last night, Steve found this recording of the event we experienced. https://volcano.si.edu/ShowReport.cfm?doi=10.54…

    It’s unnerving to read about the 2 bodies they found weeks later around this area. It could be us!

    Alright, story time is over and on to my travel journal for today.

    We reached the Hawaii Volcano Park in the rain. Most times it was just misty, but sometimes there were big rain drops. I was actually kind of glad that it wasn’t another hot day like last time.

    Kilauea lki trail is a 3 mile hike through a large crater that was erupted in 1959. It’s surreal to hike on a crater with a landscape seems so alien and out worldly. We had a great time hiking all the way to the other side of the crater. We also checked out a lava tube along the way. A bit shorter than we expected. We have arranged a tour to visit a much longer one tomorrow.

    Lunch was at a restaurant called The Rim. We ate here 22 years ago and the food was fancier and better back then.

    After lunch, Steve and I were excited to see the lava flow again! So we drove and hiked to the viewing location. Instead of uneven lava field we walked on paved road; Instead seeing the lava close we were viewing the eruption site from 2 miles away. Needless to say, we were a bit disappointed. We had no idea how lucky we were to be allowed to see the lava up close!

    We then drove down Chains of Craters road towards the ocean, finally saw some sunshine when we reached the Sea Arch site.

    Dinner was at a restaurant called the Pesto. I really enjoyed the local specialty called Loco Moco. After hiking about 7 miles today, we definitely need some quality calories.
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