Submit
Hiking Into the Jaws of Goddess Pele in Kilauea, Hawaii
Our Jeep took us to the newest land on earth: Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. On the massive flanks of Kilauea, the Goddess Pele simultaneously displays her devastating beauty while demonstrating her volatile temper. Oceans of molten lava have spilled from her crater to form massive crevasses and rift zones threatening to swallow not only cars but buildings alike. Solidified lava in glassy filaments (Pele's Hair) and small droplets (Pele's Tears) litter the barren ground. It's against the law to pick them up—if that's not enough of a deterrent, Rangers suggest that taking a souvenir will also stir the fiery deity's wrath. All of this geological drama, according to legend, is the fallout from a battle between the goddess of fire and volcanoes and the rain god, Kamapuaʻa. To avoid total Armageddon, they divided up the island, providing a mythological explanation for Big Island's surreal juxtaposition of verdant tropical paradise and scorched-earth desert. Traversing this moonscape requires extreme care as shards of glittering lava gives way to heart-sinking drops under foot, albeit only inches, accompanied by the crackling sound of shattering glass. Recent eruptions have made this primeval environment off-limits, but on this particular day we were lucky this area was accessible.
Add a Comment
- Megan Cytron (Editor) Thanks for the info on Arnott's! Glad to hear they don't let folks go wandering aimlessly...
-
- Sonya Hi Megan. Thanks for the award. To answer your question: you can only go on a guided hike (for safety, of course, and better chances of finding active flow). This all depends on timing and flow activity, though. I used the hiking tour out of Arnott's Lodge in Hilo--they run a variety of tours and on multiple days for pretty reasonable prices. My hike ended up being about 16 km (10 mi) round-trip, mostly on hard lava which really wears down your treads!
-
- Megan Cytron (Editor) Congratulations! You won Honorable Mention in the Weekly Worldwide Contest.
-
- Megan Cytron (Editor) Wow! I so want to do this. Was it on a particular trail? Or a guided hike with rangers?
-
- Sonya We were able to get right up to the lava---the only limiting factor was the incredibly intense heat that I thought would melt my camera and the film inside (skin? what skin?)!!
-
- Jossie McManus How close were you?
-
- Adam Rugel (Editor) Wow incredible
