Author: akelsey

Even as I’m writing this, my time in Hawaii is drawing to a close. Later today, I’ll be back on a plane, en route to the mainland U.S. The two weeks I’ve spent here have been an amazing experience, and instead of focusing on any one particular day or event, I wanted to use my fifth and final blog post to reflect on some of the highlights:

The Geology. I knew very little about the science of geology before taking this class, and being able to see plate tectonics, erosion, and volcanism in action has definitely increased my knowledge of this field. One of my favorite parts about geology is the combination of chaos and order that applies to any geologic formation. Take Chain of Craters Road, for instance. Each individual pit crater—such as Puhimau and Devil’s Throat—formed seemingly at random, with an abrupt drainage of lava that opened a sudden hole in the ground. At the same time, however, the craters are also part of a larger pattern, as shown by the fact that so many formed along a single path: Kilauea’s East Rift Zone. Because of this, geology serves as an important reminder that nothing happens without a reason.

The Culture. The Big Island has a unique culture that dates back centuries, to when Polynesians first colonized the island roughly a thousand years ago. I’ve had the chance to experience only a very small part of Hawaiian lifestyles and legends while I’ve been here, but everything I have seen has intrigued me. Especially interesting are stories about King Kamehameha, the king who united the Hawaiian islands under one leader. Kamehameha is treated with almost religious reverence by many, and the stories of his wise leadership and fierce battle skills are thrilling. In fact, he’s so important to native Hawaiians that there is an entire hotel in Kona named after him; I visited it today and got to see a large exhibit of forty paintings commemorating the king’s legacy.

The Ocean. Obviously, a big part of any island is the ocean, which surrounds the island of Hawaii and even influences its volcanic activity. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean before coming here, and I hadn’t been to any ocean at all since elementary school. Every single day, I found myself staring off into the vast expanse of water; it’s still hard for me to comprehend just how far the empty horizon goes, considering that I’m used to being constantly surrounded by mountains. From watching the sun rise and set over the waters to body-surfing waves at the beach, I’ve loved able to connect with the primal force that is the ocean. It’s no wonder that native Hawaiians personified the sea as a deity—Kanaloa.

The People. As corny as it sounds, what really made this experience worthwhile were the friends I made along the way. For one thing, I loved getting to meet local Hawaiians; I definitely better understand the spirit of aloha after seeing how friendly and welcoming the island’s residents were to our class. This was especially true of Clegg and Nicole, the amazing older couple from Leilani Estates who welcomed us into their home and made us pizza. Equally important, however, was building relationships with my fellow classmates. Kaden, Caroline, Grace, Margot, HG, Jake, Lucy, Mac, Becca, Abby, and Van are all great people. Whether we were snorkeling in the ocean at Hilo, soaking in the hot tub in Kona, or watching movies in the Cheeky Tiki, it was all a blast. And Professor Knapp and Katie were all excellent teachers who taught me a ton about a field I knew very little about.

In closing, mahalo and aloha.

-Aiden

Today, I walked in the shadow of royalty.

Not literally, but Pololu Valley is one of the seven Valleys of the Kings, meaning it is where the legendary Hawaiian King Kamehameha spent much of his childhood. According to the valley’s caretakers, a prophecy foretold that Kamehameha would become king over all of Hawaii and unite the island under one chief. As a result, many of Hawaii’s chiefs, or ali’i, set out to kill all of the male children at the time of Kamehameha’s birth. However, supporters of the prophecy hid Kamehameha away in the area near Pololu; he sheltered there for the first five years of his life, until the local chiefs accepted the prophecy and allowed him to emerge from hiding. A tall, skinny pine tree marks the exact location of where the future king spent his early days. In addition, the floor of the valley contains Pu’u Ali’i, or the “Hill of the Chiefs” where many old Hawaiian leaders are buried.

In addition to its deep cultural significance, Pololu Valley contains stunning natural beauty. As I made my way down the technically difficult trail to the valley floor, I got numerous glimpses of the Hawaiian coastline, including the other six valleys, whose greens and browns contrasted strikingly with the clear, blue ocean. Given the lush terrain, it should come as no surprise that Pololu and its neighbors are good agricultural locations. Centuries of native Hawaiians have practiced taro farming in the fertile, well-watered soil. Further adding to the scenic beauty were the sea stacks, which are like mini-mountains just off the Hawaiian coast. Sea stacks are created when waves begin to erode an outcropping of land, then wrap around the back of the little peninsula to completely cut it off from the main island. Erosive forces also influenced the sand of the valley, which is very fine because of heavy wind exposure at the bottom of Pololu.

For me, however, the most enjoyable part of the experience was the thrill of racing down (and then up) the steep terrain of the valley. The guides at the beginning of the trail warned us of the dangers of falling or twisting an ankle, but I’m no stranger to technical, rocky climbs, and I loved the thrill of hopping from rock to rock, interrupted only by an occasional pause to talk to friends or snap a photo of the spectacular views.

Unfortunately, the beautiful sights of Pololu Valley were slightly harder to focus on because of the atrocious smell. Our class had the misfortune to visit the location during a dry period in which what must have been thousands of tilapia were trapped in dwindling, brackish pools on the valley floor. Many of these poor fish had already met their demise, leaving the nasty stench of rotting fish as a parting gift. We saw their carcasses washed up on the rocks of the valley, as well as their surviving brethren crammed into the remaining patches of water. Hopefully a major rainstorm will bring some relief to the drying valley floor in the near future.

The hike was also a hot one. By the time I had made it back to the top of the valley, my arms were soaked in a solid layer of sweat, and our class’s water supply had swiftly run out. That made it all the more satisfying when we travelled into a nearby town—called Hawi, I believe—where I ate some delicious, handcrafted strawberry ice cream.

The adventure to Pololu Valley was only one part of an amazing day, but it was certainly the day’s most memorable experience. To see history, geology, and physical activity come together in such a beautiful way was truly remarkable.

– Aiden

I woke up this morning to a pleasant surprise: the sky was clearer than usual, making for a pretty beautiful sunrise. After spending some time on the beach and grabbing breakfast, I set out to get some pictures of Mauna Kea, whose summit was completely visible without any clouds to block it. Walking down the shoreline, I got to see the volcano from a few different angles; I ended up wandering through some weeds, but I ultimately made my way back to the beach house.

For the rest of the morning, we ventured into downtown Hilo for the city’s huge Saturday farmers’ market. The farmers’ market was a vibrant place, with local musicians playing in the streets and rows upon rows of vendors. The oceanside market had everything, from fruits and vegetables to arts and crafts. I tried passionfruit juice—or lilikoi juice, in Hawaiian—and also bought some souvenirs for friends back home. After checking out the vendors, I grabbed lunch at L&L Hawaiian Barbecue, a restaurant suggested by a very wise local (Kaden Buss), and ate with the rest of the class at Liliuokalani Park. A Japanese garden in the middle of Hilo, Liluokalani had some cool Asian architecture and an abundance of endangered Nene geese.

After lunch, we spent the afternoon driving up the Saddle Road, which runs between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. At first, it looked like the experience was going to be a dreary one, and heavy rain plagued most of our drive. However, the foul weather cleared away just as we reached our destination: Pu’u Huluhulu, or the “hairy hill.” The hairy hill is a kipuka, or a hill completely surrounded by lava flows. As a result, kipukas like Pu’u Huluhulu are essentially ecological “islands” that protect native species from foreign hazards. We had to be sure to wipe our shoes before entering the site in order to prevent the spread of invasive plants and diseases. The hairy hill is also a sacred location to native Hawaiians; it is seen as a place where the earth meets the sky, and we saw a statue of a Hawaiian sky god at the hill’s summit. The views from Pu’u Huluhulu were spectacular, and I could see three volcanoes (Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Hualalai) from a single point.

Then, on a whim, we decided to try driving up the Mauna Loa Observatory Road, parts of which were covered by a 2022 lava flow. Professor Knapp thought that the road would be completely closed, but we were actually able to make it all the way up to where the lava had covered the road. This allowed us the chance to walk over relatively fresh (two years old) a’a’ lava. It was sharp! When I took a wrong step, I fell and earned some big scratches on my leg. We also got an even better view of the Mauna Kea summit. Since the region where we were is often rainy, I felt very blessed to be able to see such spectacular sights without much interference from the weather.

-Aiden

After another early morning start, I began the day with a delicious Mac Malambri pancake for breakfast. With that fuel in my stomach, we set off for Hawaii Volcanoes National Park—our second day in a row visiting. Today, however, we went further from Kilauea’s summit to check out Chain of Craters Road, which runs along the volcano’s Southeast Rift Zone and—as the name would suggest—passes by quite a few craters. Though there were far too many for us to see them all, we did take time to observe a couple craters.

First was Puhimau, a large pit crater whose name literally means “forever smoking.” That proved to be true today, and a clear cloud of steam was visible on the far edge. Puhimau’s age is estimated between 200 and 600 years, and it is unique in that unlike many other craters, it has not been filled back in by new lava flows. Instead, a layer of talus, or debris that has fallen from the sides of Puhimau, litters the bottom. Like other pit craters, Puhimau formed very abruptly, giving it extremely steep sides. Unfortunately, this also means that such craters are at a constant risk of collapsing, so we were not allowed to actually go to the crater’s edge. It was still an impressive view, though.

We also got to see Devil’s Throat, a “secret” crater that wasn’t formally marked. However, Devil’s Throat was clearly no longer as secret as it used to be, and we did see another group of tourists while we were there. This particular formation is sometimes considered the quintessential pit crater, and it offers a very clear view of both pahoehoe (smooth) and a’a’ (rough) lava flows in cross-section. Seen from the side, the pahoehoe flows were large, gray, and blocky, whereas the hardened a’a’ lava looked fine, red, and bumpy. We also learned that this particular crater was discovered by Thomas Jagger, the namesake of a now-closed geoscience museum at the Kilauea summit.

After our crater expeditions, we left the national park and made our way down the slope of Kilauea, towards the ocean. Along the way, we stopped for lunch and got a look at another impressive volcanic feature: Maunaulu. Maunaulu is a smaller mountain on the slopes of Kilauea that erupted between 1969 and 1974. Now, the downhill lava flows make a perfect spot for eating sandwiches and watching the Pacific.

Next, we finished our descent to sea level and completed another short hike to see the Pu’uloa Petroglyphs. Situated within an old pahoehoe lava flow, the site at Pu’uloa is a sacred place within Hawaiian culture. Here, generations of Hawaiians have left carved symbols in the flow; many of them were created by inserting the umbilical cords of newborns into the rock. In total, the site includes at least 23,000 petroglyph carvings. I was only able to see a tiny percentage of this amount, but they were certainly interesting. Many of the petroglyphs were circles and spirals, and some were even humanoid shapes. Along the way, I also found a cool new plant: the Showy Rattlebox, which has cylindrical seed pods that make a rattling noise when they dry out.

Our final stop for the day was the Holei Sea Arch, an arch of rock created by the erosive force of the Pacific Ocean. This location was a particularly special visit because of the fact that it won’t be around forever; the sea arch is unstable and could collapse at any moment. Thus, we had to stay far away from the arch itself and could only view Holei from a distance. After taking a few photos there, we headed back to the beach house for some kayaking and snorkeling before dinner.

-Aiden