By Mac Malambri
I woke up this morning to text about the most incredible view of Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea, being above the cloud line, is almost never visible. It was incredibly beautiful to see a 14,000 ft mountain from the sea to the peak. You could even make out the little white observatories dotting the top of the mountain. It was cool to explore a couple more beach parks. I went for a short bike ride around the area. It was weird to be riding on flat land for the first time since January.
We first departed for the farmers market. It was cool to spend a couple hours in downtown Hilo. The venders had all sorts of different items. There were all sorts of fruits in the farmers market. I especially loved the pineapple and mango. The fruit was so cheap too. The nearby tourists markets were not quite as cool. They had a lot of cheap items, but nothing super exciting.
Kaden told us about this awesome Hawaiian barbaque restaurant he loves. We made the trek from the farmers market to enjoy it; it wasn’t actually that long, but felt like it was. Half the group showing up at this small restaurant at once seemed to overwhelm the restaurant and it took a while. We then enjoyed lunch in Queen Liliuokalani’s Japanese Garden. It is the largest Japanese Garden outside of Japan.
Finally, we began our ascent of the Saddle Road. We drove through fog and rain up 6000 ft. The Saddle was suprisingly clear considering the surrounding conditions. We first went to a hill that was spared by the lava flows of Mauna Loa. It is considered sacred by native Hawaiians and is geologically interesting since the flora was isolated by the lava fields. Surprisingly, non-Hawaiians are allowed to explore these places; however, there are specific rules one must follow in them. The rules are reasonable and seem like common sense for respect. For instance, you shouldn’t photograph people as they pray without their consent. There was actually no one else there, though. It was an island of lush growth in a sea of rock and small grasses. From this island, we had a great view of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. Professor Knapp said that normally you can hardly see your hand on the saddle, so seeing both volcanos was extremely lucky. From there, we went to a park for restrooms and relaxation. It was cool to have a break in such a beautiful place.
Some may wonder why we did not accend Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is the world’s largest mountain, beginning on the Pacific Ocean crust and reaching a height of 14,000 ft above sea level. It is home to vital observatories. Being in the center of the desolate Pacific Ocean, above the cloud layer, and on an island that has a strict light curfew of 9:00 PM, the observatories have a clearer view than anywhere else on earth. However, being above the clouds, native Hawaiians view it as the most sacred space—the spot where the earth meets the sky. It has become home to protestors—or protectors, as they call themselves—who oppose the use of Mauna Kea for Westerners. Between this and the fact that ascending 14,000 ft in a couple hours makes you very sick, Professor Knapp decided to stop making the journey to the top of Mauna Kea.
In the past, Professor Knapp replaced the journey up Mauna Kea with a visit to the climate monitoring facility on Mauna Loa. However, Mauna Loa erupted in late 2022. This cut off the observatory road and the observatories were decommissioned. Professor Knapp had the idea that we drive up the old Mauna Loa road to where it was cut off by the lava flows. Everyone assumed it would have been closed, but we tried anyway. Shockingly, it was still open. The lava field along the road is like a gray desert between two towering giants. One that becomes shorter as you drive, while another becomes even more daunting. It looks so desolate that NASA used to study how people would respond to life in isolation on the moon or Mars in the lava field surrounding Mauna Loa. After like 20 minutes of driving, we reached the end of the road. There a lava flow covered the road. Walking over it felt like walking on the moon. Mauna Loa looked like a mere hill from 9,000 ft. Mauna Kea was even more beautiful and immense. Driving back down the road was bittersweet. A part of me wasn’t ready to leave. A part of me just wanted to see the stars rise over the mountains. Yet, the ever approaching wall of fog—that’s not an exaggeration—forced us to retreat.
Driving through the clouds was crazy. In one minute, we went from a perfectly clear view of the blue sky to not being able to see more than 15 ft away. We returned to our house and enjoyed left overs before going to bed. This was one of the most beautiful days of my life.