Yesterday we did the Kilauea Iki hike. I woke up at 5:30 to go and see the sunrise and man was it beautiful. The sun rose above the clouds and it was worth the early rise. After this, I went snorkeling and then came back to the house to get dressed for the four-mile hike. We arrived around nine and began our 400-foot descent into the Kilauea Iki crater. This crater was formed when an eruption began in 1959 with one fissure and lasted for five weeks with multiple eruptive episodes. Rocks erupted everywhere but luckily nobody was injured. While Nobody was hurt the forest was overrun with lava and debris.
When hiking down there are beautiful views of the once lava lake now black rock. After an eruptive episode, the lava would drain back into a vent at four times faster than the eruption. As the lava drained back into the earth the crust collapsed around 50 feet leaving behind cracked uneven rocks. As we walked across the one lava-filled river there was life. It is said that Pele’s (Volcano goddess) sister filled the crater with new life. The cracks in the rocks allow for seeds to be planted for new life to unfold.
After we exited the crater we went to the lava tube which was my favorite part of the day. As the lava flows through the earth the rock around the tube hardens and makes the lava tube. We next went to the Kilauea Summit. This summit is known as the home of Pele. This spot is known as the home of Pele as it is the most active volcano in Hawaii. There was an eruption in 2018 and in 2019 there was water in the caldera. People were very afraid that if the volcano were to erupt the consequences would be disastrous. The water would have made the eruption more explosive causing more damage than a regular eruption but luckily this did not happen. This was the morning and afternoon of my day 2 in Hawaii.
