Kristin Chiboucas

Big Island Hiking

1. Pololu Valley and beyond (long) (short)

Highlights: Views, jungle, valleys, beaches, crab spiders

Terrain: valley ridges and jungle

I would consider this a very strenuous trail, due in great part to the fact that you must carry a large stick and hold it out in front of you throughout the hike. The crab spiders here are implausibly numerous. Their strong, thick webs completely cover the trail, and are rarely more than a couple feet apart. The first mile or so you will be fine though, since this is heavily traversed and hopefully someone has gone before you. The trail starts at the end of the Kohala coast road at the Pololu Valley trailhead. You didn't hear it from me, but Pololu is a great place to camp! The trail drops very steeply down to the beach below. From behind the hills just back of the beach (where there's some great camping spots) there's a trail that leads into the meadow behind. From there you can walk up dry riverbeds as far as you want into the valley. You'll come across evidence, in the form of fruit trees, of past communities that once lived here. If you instead hike to the end of the pololu valley staying on trail, you will come to a trail that takes you up and over a large ridge to the next valley, Honokane Nui Valley where you'll find some old Hawaiian ruins. The trail continues up and over the next ridge to Honokane Iki valley, small but pretty. The trail leading to this valley is where you'll start to encounter the evil crab spider. At this valley, there seemed to be a choice - you can hike up the ridge inland, or continue along the coast. We went up, thinking we could make a big loop out of this, but big would have been the operative word. Fighting the crab spiders takes time and slows you down, as does the oppressive heat and humidity as you head inland into thick jungle. Overall this long version of the Pololu hike is easily the 2nd worst hike I've been on on the Big Island.

2. Waipio Waterfall adventure - Hi'ilawe

Highlights: adventure, scrambling, swimming, waterfall, scenery

Terrain: jungle and river wading

This is a fantastic little adventure trail to the highest waterfall in HI, requiring a some wading/swimming, rock hoping, trail searching and throughout has wonderful scenery. This might be my favorite Big Island trail. You'll want sturdy river walking shoes for this one though. The trail starts, obviously, in Waipio Valley. At the bottom of the valley head inland and just where the road crosses under the river the first time, you will find the trail running alongside the lefthand side of the river (it'll be on the bank before you have to wade across the river. Follow the trail until it ends in a small pool (left picture above). You'll have to go for a little swim (or big wade if you are tall). Hug the left bank. Clamber up onto rocks and back down the other side to a smaller pool you'll need to wade. Hug the left bank. It's only a couple feet deep here. Once on the far side of that, climb straight up the boulder strewn cliff above you. Yes, this is the trail! It is an easy climb and the trail will be obvious once you've reached the top. Staying on the trail is a challenge. It is often easy to lose and there are several other trails which head back down to the river before it is necessary to do so. Good luck. If you lose the trail, no biggie, just follow the river. There are other trails of use that make their way, sometimes with difficulty, up the river. This just adds to the excitement and adventure. At some point you will have to cross the river. I found that when it is not possible to go any further on the left bank, it is easiest to cross the river a bit further back downstream. On the other side, you'll pick up a trail again which you should not have any trouble with. The falls will come into view shortly. Once at the falls, if the flow is not too heavy, you'll be able to swim in the pool at the bottom. Great views looking straight up!

3. Waimanu Valley

4a. Pu'u O'o trail

Highlights: big views, native birds, 2 distinct types of terrain

Terrain: lava field and kipuka jungle

This is NOT the currently erupting cone trail, but instead a trail winding around Mauna Loa from Saddle Rd. It is a pleasant trail, especially when it is too hot and humid elsewhere to hike. This starts near the 22 mile marker on Saddle Rd up at almost 6000 feet. The trail is mostly level and traverses intermittently through kipukas (islands of forest) and lava field. Overall I thought it quite pretty and relaxing. The kipukas are filled with native singing birds. I ran into a herd of feral goats. From the lava fields you have good views of the Maunas and of the numerous kipukas. I went about 3-4 miles in, to near the powerline road and hiked back the same way. About halfway there was a small lava tube.

4b. Pu'u O'o loop

Highlights: big views, native birds, 2 distinct types of terrain, a great lava tube to explore

Terrain: lava field, lava tube, kipuka forest

With a car shuttle you can make a great loop that includes a fantastic ~mile long lava tube. Make sure to pack flashlights and extra batteries. A sign near the lava tube entrance warns that permits are needed to enter so you might want to obtain one first (div of land and natural resources or some such agency). You can take the Pu'u O'o trail about 4.5-5 miles to the powerline road. Hike back via the power line road and after half mile you come to this lava tube. The blue book claims it runs for a full mile. I'd guess 1/2 mile, but still quite far. Where most of the ceiling had fallen down and made climbing/crawling necessary, we headed back. There were a number of places where piles of rocks fallen from the ceiling had fallen, but these were easy to get around. Continue hiking back via the powerline road to where you've parked your 2nd car (or just walk a mile up Saddle Rd back to the Pu'u O'o trailhead).

5. Ala Kahakai coastal trail

Highlights: access to great and remote beaches

terrain: varies - beach, lava, forest

Ok, so I've only hiked a couple small sections of this trail that will supposedly stretch down the western coast all the way from Hawi to Volcanos NP. The bits I walked connecting beaches were very pleasant, but in places heavily used by beach goers. As a backpacking trail, I would find it annoying to be stuck behind a family carrying all their beach gear in for the day. The nicest section that I've walked is between Spencer and "Secret" aka Mau'umae Beach. This is only a 15 minute jaunt through beautiful forest right along the water's edge. One really nice segment to hike, especially with car shuttle, is between Spencer beach park and Beach "69" (just south of Hapuna beach park). Start at Spencer and enjoy that beach if desired, then head out on the nice trail to Secret beach (at the south end of Spencer) and enjoy a beautiful swim there. Continue on to Mauna Kea beach (resort) and enjoy one of the nicest white sand beaches on the island. Have a drink or lunch at the cabana on the beach. There's good snorkeling at the very far end (away from the resort with its turquoise beach umbrellas and bright orange towels). We saw some nice coral, fish and several sea turtles when we went. The trail continues just behind this beach to Hapuna, the other nicest white sand beach on the island. Enjoy a swim or body surfing here. When ready to tear yourself away from Hapuna, try to find the trail continuing south. We did not see the trail, so instead simply took the dirt roads above the cliff behind the beach (easy to climb up) as they meandered along the shore through grasslands with fantastic views of all 4 Big Island mountains in one sweeping view (Mauna Kea/Loa, Kohala, Hualalai). Eventually, just before beach 69, we reconnected with the trail and enjoyed a fantastic sunset from 69 before hopping in the car we'd left there. More of beach hopping than a hike, but a great way to spend a day! Overall this section is perhaps 3-4 miles. At a leisurely pace, enjoying each beach, this can be done in an afternoon.

6. Kalapana Kipuka

Highlights: adventure, route finding, discovering what's around the bend, ocean cliffside walking

Terrain: Lava field, kipuka forest, and grassland on high cliffs hovering over the ocean

To get to this "trail", go to the end of the Puna Coastal Red Road. This is where lava rolled over the town of Kalapana in 1986, supposedly one of the nicest Hawaiian towns stretching back to antiquity. From the end of the road, walk across lava straight towards the ocean. You'll see the recently replanted coconut groves before reaching the new black sand beach. Enjoy this area and then wander down the coast to the west for 1/2 mile or more to a kipuka. You'll have to climb up onto this kipuka (it's a couple meters above the lava base here, but there's several points of easy access). Wade through thick undergrowth to the cliff edge bordering the ocean and you'll find a very nice trail of use. Follow it as far as you want to explore. I didn't have too much time and probably only went a mile or so along this, but it seemed to just get prettier as I went along. I'm looking forward to getting back and exploring further at some point. One word of warning - I have no idea if the trail crosses any private property.

7. Waipio rim

Highlights: beautiful jungle, views, bamboo forest

Terrain: Thick jungle, potentially muddy trail

This was a really nice trail starting at the end of the White Rd just east of Waimea. However, it involved crossing a short stretch of private property which I've heard is now off limits. Boo. Once across the property it entered a beautiful lush forest preserve and after a mile or 2 came to outstanding views of Waipio Valley from the rim. The trail continued on to the back of the valley for a sweeping view of the whole at, conveniently, a grassy opening in the jungle perfect for a picnic lunch. From here it is possible (if you know what you are doing) to continue on into Waimea. However, the trail becomes considerably overgrown and we lost it many times even having someone with us who knew the trail.

8a. Mauna Loa from National Park

Highlights: Summiting the tallest and largest mountain on earth, relatively easily, lots of fascinating and varying lava formations and terrain.

Terrain: All lava, all the time. But it does vary between a'a, pahoehoe, cinder, and olivine sand

I thought this was a fantastic 3 day backpack. We spent 2 days hiking up and one down the backside (Saddle Rd). Going up parkside, you spend the first night at Red Cabin at 10,000 feet. I found this to help with acclimatization considerably! On the first day there was a scattering of greenery during the first few miles which petered out and left us with barren lavascape for the entire rest of the hike. You get to really appreciate the size of this volcano when you spend the first day hiking up and at the cabin find that the peak is way, way off in the distance as if you'd been hiking in the wrong direction all day. Great star gazing from 10,000 feet as well. I discovered that you can see the southern cross from Hawaii that night. I found day 2 from Red cabin to the caldera rim cabin to be the most interesting with a surprising variety of lavascape. Lots of formations, spatter cones, sulfer colored cones, green sand beds, a'a lava, smooth pahoehoe. Around every bend there seemed to be something different. The final 2000 feet are a real slog, and upon attaining the summit you may find you've got some oxygen depravation troubles (I couldn't lie down for a couple hours because I felt I couldn't breathe when I did so). However, I seemed to get used to the altitude pretty quickly and had a wonderful sleep that night. The final hike to the summit on the far side of the caldera on day 3 is a bit of a let down, but as you've gone that far, you might as well climb that last couple 100 feet. The route down the Saddle side has some interesting terrain as well.

8b. Mauna Loa from Saddle Rd.

Highlights: summiting the tallest mountain on earth on a daytrip, a whopper of a headache

Terrain: All lava - mostly a'a and cinder

It is possible to do a hike from the Saddle Rd to the peak and back in a day, but not recommended unless you'd like to experience the headache of a lifetime. It's about a 2500 feet climb in only 3.8 miles but you climb to 13600 feet and when you drive back to sea level that day you are guaranteed to experience reverse altitude effects. Drink lots of water on the hike!

9. Lake Waiau

Highlights: Hiking at 14,000 feet, lunar landscape, lake on top of the world, difficulty breathing

Terrain: lava lunarscape

This hike begins near the summit of Mauna Kea, and is a very short jaunt down, around a cone, to a little lake, a vestige from the last ice age. Melting permafrost help feeds the lake. This is also, somewhat surprisingly, the Big Island's only natural lake! While the trail is short, it is arduous, mainly because breathing at 14,000 feet is a pretty tricky proposition. The lake itself is not all that scenic, but it is an interesting geological and religious cultural site (I won't talk about what native hawaiians put in this lake, but you probably don't want to go for a swim).

9b. Humu'ula Trail

Highlights: Hiking up Mauna Kea to 14,000 feet, lunar landscape, long views, volcanoscapes

Terrain: lava, lunarscape

This hike begins just after Hale Pohaku, the dorms for astronomers. You can park down at the visitor center and walk up to the trailhead. Just where the road becomes dirt, take the dirt road trail to the left and follow signs to the single track trail. I did not have time to hike the full trail, but the first hour or so was spectacular with fantastic views of Mauna Loa, Hualalai, and numerous cinder cones. The views and terrain seemed to change around every bend, making this trail far more interesting than I'd previously assumed. I was bummed when I had to turn around. Although the trail can be quite steep in places, and runs from about 10,000-14,000 feet, I actually did not find it to be as difficult as expected. There were plenty of opportunities to catch your breath while gawking at the majestic volcano landscape.

10. To Pu'u O'o from Glenwood

11. Hike in to Kiholo Bay

Highlights: stunning bay at the end of the trail with lots of sea turtles, swimming in a lava tube

Terrain: slightly forested dirt trail to beach

This trail is basically just an access to the bay. It is an easy and pleasant 15-20 minute walk. The bay itself is magnificent, pure tropical splendor. On a sunny day the water is brilliant turquoise. There are seemingly hundreds of sea turtles in the lagoon an on the nearby island. The lagoon is actually a historical fish pond (the history is pretty fascinating). The beach is not great (mostly pebbles), except for a tiny segment on the far side of the lagoon where you'll want to go anyways to see the turtles or to go snorkeling. The snorkeling is ok (can be pretty murky but worth the attempt). If you walk down the beach in the other direction you'll come across some incredible houses (ie the Bali house) and a queen's bath that is a lava tube you can swim in. Bring a waterproof light and snorkel it. Quite the experience!

12. Hikes in Volcanos National Park

a. Bird Park

Highlights: birds I guess, nice forest, easy walking

Terrain: forest, dirt trail

This is a short loop through forest starting from the base of the national park's Mauna Loa Rd.

Lots of Kalij pheasants when I went, but didn't see too many other birds.

b. Kau Desert footprints to Jagger museum

Highlights: solitude, lots of open desert

Terrain: mostly old worn lava, some sand and gravel

The trailhead is on Hwy 11 several miles west of the main park entrance

6.9 miles one way up to the Crater Rim trail at Jagger museum. From there it is possible to take a short trail back to the campground/hwy and hitch or bike back to the trailhead.

An old lava trail, easy walking through desert scenery, very remote feeling, vast, empty, quiet.

c. Crater Rim + Halemaumau + Byron Ledge

Highlights: All the sights of the Crater Rim area in the park, wide variety of landscape

Terrain: forest, frozen lava lake, cinder

There are many variations possible. The most straighforward, ~11 mile full crater rim trail is not really worth the effort in my opinion. The western half of the trail runs right next to the crater rim drive, so you might as well just drive it. It does provide great views of the Kilauea and Halemaumau craters, and covers some interesting lava and cinder terrain. However, it is pretty shadeless and the views don't change all that quickly. It does work well for trail running though since most of that portion of the trail is over fairly smooth terrain.

My favorite version, probably 10-11 miles, is to start at Thurston lava tube. From there travel counter clockwise, starting on the Crater Rim trail through fern forest filled with bird song (look out for the red Apapane and yellow Amakihi). Great views of the Kilauea Iki crater as well. This portion of the trail is shared by Kilauea Iki, but eventually you will veer off to the right continuing on the Crater Rim trail. This next portion runs along old abandoned previous versions of the Crater Rim Drive. As the crater rim weathers and crumbles, the road ends up too close to the edge and the park paves another road just outside the danger zone. You can find at least 3 of these concentric old roads on one section of trail.

Just past the Volcano House, follow signs for the Halemaumau Trail. This will take you across the large Kilauea Crater floor and to the rim of Halemaumau. You'll see steam seeping out of the crater floor, cross some brittle rough terrain, and pass some sulfur deposits. You may also encounter some outgassing of fairly noxious fumes. You'll notice if you do - the burning sensation in the back of your throat and choking is hard to miss. Just keep moving and get away from the fumes.

You'll cross the Crater Rim drive and keep going until you reach the junction with the Crater Rim Trail. Hop back on this and head back towards Thurston. This will take you along the edge of the Kau desert on cinder trail until you eventually cross back in to forest for the last couple miles.

Make sure to check out the lava tube after your long hike. If you bring a flashlight, you can check out the more interesting unlit and less crowded section of the tube.

For another, shorter option, you can start out as above on the Crater Rim Trail, head down the Halemaumau trail, but then, just before reaching Halemaumau, branch back via the Byron Ledge trail. This will let you spend more time wondering around on the frozen lava lake of the Kilauea Crater (without shade) before climbing back up into the forest on the Byron Ledge which separates Kilauea Iki and Kilauea. From here you can drop into Kilauea Iki and cross that to Thurston, or continue on back to the rim trail where you will simply backtrack a couple miles to Thurston.

d. Kilauea Iki

Highlights: Fern forest, views, native birds, and still steaming caldera

Terrain: forest, lava field (frozen lava lake)

If you want a really nice short trail with great scenery, this is the one. It is 3 miles long and the most popular trail in the park. Expect to see other hikers. Start at Thurston Lava tube and take the Crater Rim/Kilauea Iki trail from the north end of the parking lot, counter clockwise. You'll start out in a beautiful fern forest filled with birdsong. Look out for the red apapane and yellow amakihi. There are lots of breaks in the trees to view the crater below. Eventually you will start heading down and into the crater. On the crater floor you can take a short side trip to the location of the lava fount that erupted here several decades ago. As you hike along the crater floor you'll see steam rising up from cracks. Don't worry, an eruption is not imminent. The insulated lava far below you is simply still cooling down from the last eruption. The water seeps down, heats up, and reemerges as steam. The climb back up involves some switchbacks which can be tiring, but is really not too bad. Check out the lava tube upon your return.

e. Mauna Iki to pit craters

Highlights: solitude, wide open spaces, brightly colored pits

Terrain: lava, cinder

The trail head can be reached from around the midway point on the Halina Pali Rd. This road is not always open, but tends to be open at least to this point. (The closure is due to nene nesting in this part of the park). The pit craters are about 3 miles oneway and you'll have to hike back on the same trail. This is a rarely visited part of the park so you may have the trail to yourself. There are long views across the Kau desert along this trail, and as you make your way following cairns across barren lava desert, you may feel you are the last person left on the Earth. The goal of this trail, a pair of pit craters and a little cone don't sound like much, but are actually worth the walk. The colors in the craters are shocking and a climb up to the cone rim is worth it for the view down into the cone depths... don't fall! For that matter, you don't want to get too close to the pit crater rims either. White tailed tropic birds often nest in these craters, so expect to see these birds here. Also, be on the lookout for Pele's Hair. There was a quite a lot of it along the trail.

f. Escape Rd

Highlights: beautiful forest

Terrain: forest, dirt road, some lava rock at the end

This actually is a road, but an unused dirt road, there only in the event that lava blocks escape from the park on the main roads. It is several miles long extending from Thurston Lava tube to Mauna Ulu, through surprisingly pretty, lush, green, open and airy forest. It makes for a pleasant walk, run, or bike ride.

g. Napau Crater (Pu'u O'o)

Highlights: Long views, experiencing an active volcano

Terrain: lava for the first half, muddy jungle for the 2nd part. From Napau Crater the trail to the end of the trail nearer Pu'u O'o is more cinder/gravel.

The trail head is at Mauna Ulu and requires a permit. This is one part of the park where you might actually encounter a ranger in the backcountry, so best to get the permit from the visitor center before starting out. The trail is 9 miles, one way, but ends at a campground with views of Pu'u O'o, the active and continually erupting cone. If you spend the night (rather than hiking 18 miles in a day) you can actually take a trail from the campground to a closer view of the erupting cone (bring a strong flashlight, backup flashlights, and spare batteries so you can find your way back to the campground when you've had enough of admiring the volcano). It is a pretty surreal experience. If there are clouds above, they will be glowing brilliant and evil looking red while everywhere else will be black. If you are lucky, there will be some breakouts of lava flowing down the side of Pu'u O'o visible from where you are. You will also hear/feel the deep bass sounds of the powerful and 'living' earth.

h. Naulu trail

Highlights: a road in the middle of a lava field, easier access to Napau?

Terrain: mostly lava, though in the middle there is a stretch of uncovered road to walk along and near the end is muddy jungle

Accessible from the Chain of Craters Rd at Kealakomo shelter and viewpoint. The trail is 3.2 miles one way to Makaopuhi Crater and the Napau Trail. It is basically a bit of a shortcut to Napau Crater/Puu Oo, although scenery wise, it is probably less interesting. It is a basic lava & cairns hike. However, it also provides access to the Kalapana Trail. I saw the signs at the intersection of the 2 trails, but could not find the Kalapana Trail. Perhaps it is overgrown from disuse?

i. Hikes to flowing lava

Highlights: Flowing molten lava!

Terrain: Frozen lava, mostly pahoehoe along the coast

Ok, this is just plain cool. The hike itself sucks and is a long slog trying to find the path of least resistance over a frozen lava field for miles and miles and tedious miles, but the reward....!!!!! Do this one late in the afternoon/night. Bring lots of flashlights/batteries. You'll be sore the next day but it's worth it.

If the lava is flowing to the sea within 3 miles of the end of the Chain of Craters Rd, you can walk to the molten lava. This can be a very tough, strenous hike, and is only worthwhile at night, making it that much tougher. The trail ends after .75 miles, after which you find the path of least resistence through the lava fields. There are large fissures you need to avoid falling into, and plenty of mounds you need to go around. There is no straight line to follow, so you will have to use the ocean on one side and Pali (cliffs) on the other to keep your bearings (be mindful that it is a long way to either, especially the pali, so you can still get yourself way off track and hike miles further than you intend to). Bring extra flashlights and extra batteries. Bring lots of water. And a camera + tripod. Once at the lava, enjoy. Toast marshmellows, take pix, burn a stick on it, feel the heat, whatever. Don't worry about 'getting too close and falling in'. Your skin will feel like it is on fire long before you can get 'too close'. It is often hard to get as close as you'd like. And the lava flows very slooooowwwwwly, so it is not like you would ever have to run from a breakout either.

On your return, again keep the ocean to one side, pali to the other, and keep a lookout for blinking lights that the park service sets out, a single one to a mile. They are few and far between, but do help.

If the lava is further than 3 miles but still accessible, you should think about how much you really do want to see flowing lava. I can't stress enough how strenous this is. Each mile will take about 45 min. minimum. Last I checked, the lava was flowing about 5 miles away onto an inaccessible and unstable bench area. You can still see the flow coming down the pali by the red glow at night, and you can see the steam plume from the ocean entry in the day, all from the road.

For safety, bring extra flashlights/batteries and water. Also a light rainjacket, long pants, long shirt, very good shoes, and perhaps a backup pair in case you find yourself walking over recently formed and still hot lava...

For recent updates check out these webpages: National Park Lava Viewing and USGS update

j. Halina Pali Loop

Highlights: Views, solitude, a nasty climb back up!

Terrain: old lava, grasslands

On the park maps, you may wonder why the tiny blip of trail reads 2.2 miles, while a much longer nearby section is only 1.4 miles... Well, I can attest to the fact that all 2.2 miles are there. They are vertical. The trailhead begins at the very end of the Halina Pali Rd, at the top of the Halina Pali (cliffs). If you like torture, you can make a nice ~8 mile loop out of this by hiking down the Pali, taking one of the forks to the ocean, following the coastal trail back to where the other fork intersects with the coastal trail, and then take that back up to the 2.2 mile Pali climb. Have fun. It's a loooong climb with no shade. Bring lots of water. The views were expansive and scenery very pleasing, so I'd probably give this hike more than 2 stars, if it hadn't tried to kill me with some sort of heat exhaustion/reverse altitude effects from coming down from the summit the day before... almost didn't make it up the 2 miles with my head spinning and stomach tumbling! I'm holding a grudge.

k. Keauhou Trail

Highlights: Long views, some changing scenery

Terrain: Lava, thin forest, grasslands

This trail leads down to the coast trail through lava desert scenery. The views are very nice on a clear day, and you will encounter very few people on this pleasant trail. Take it as far as you want and return via the same route. There's a shelter on the coast and a popular Kau desert backcountry beach campground that are accessed by this trail (permits required).

l. Mauna Ulu and Pu'u Huluhulu

Highlights: Views of Pu'u O'o in the distance, adventure, view into the depths of the earth

Terrain: Lava, dirt forest trail, crumbly lava

The trail to Pu'u Huluhulu is less than a mile long. It starts from the Mauna Ulu parking area and is the first part of the Napau crater trail. This first section is the only bit you don't need a permit for. From the base of Pu'u H. it is an easy hike up this forested Pu'u to good views of Pu'u O'o steaming away in the distance. If you are up for adventure, you can climb the large lava cone next to Pu'u H. slightly further along the trail. You'll actually want to continue along the Napau Crater trail for just a bit longer, then head out cross country over the barren lavascape and climb on up to the top. Sounds and looks easy, until you start to punch through the thin crumbly crust. Most disconcerting. I never dropped more than a couple inches, but you can see in places that below the thin crust is 2 feet or more of empty space. So walk slowly and cautiously. From the top, I would not advise getting too close to the rim edge - same unstable lava you've just been breaking through. It is hard from a distance to see all the way to the bottom of this enormously deep caldera, and I'm not sure I ever did get a good look. It is clear that if you somehow survived a fall, you would have no way to climb back out though. If you want even more adventure, try hiking around the rim. I managed to make it, but not without some great difficulty in places.

m. Petroglyphs trail

Highlights: Petroglyphs

Terrain: All lava

Starting near the end of the Chain of Craters road, just at the bottom of the pali. It is an easy 1/2 mile or so jaunt over lava to a surprising array of old hawaiian petroglyphs. I found them much more interesting than expected. As far as hikes go, this one is rather dull, but the petroglyphs make this a worthwhile stop.

Highlights: one stretch covered in spiders, nice isolated beaches, eels by moonlight

Terrain: grasslands, cairned lava fields, beaches, thick underbrush and forest

We started this trail at 6pm, and 20 miles later I finished at 6:30am, after a couple long beach stops, one unintended. Using a car shuttle we started at the Halina Pali and hiked up the coast to the chain of craters road trailhead. The first bit is a long downhill followed by easy walking towards the coast. The next section is a nasty overgrown bit completely overrun with spiders. At night hard to see, and most ended up in my face. These are giant scary looking beasts as well. I was expecting Shelob around every corner and completely freaked out. Apparently this section can get so overgrown as to make the trail nearly impossible to find, however the time I went there was no trouble. The next bit goes through really pleasant grassland, and beautiful for moonlight walking. Along this stretch is the wonderful white sand Halape beach and I'd love to come back to camp here! I discovered here that eels come right up to shore at night. Fascinating! There was another beach (0.6 mile each way side trip) which I was not too impressed by. After this the trail started to go over more lava until becoming an all cairned route over lava. With just a mini-mag light and even with the full moon, it proved exceptionally challenging to follow the cairns and I had to backtrack a number of times. Along here is the 3rd and final beach. I saw the palm trees and as I had just lost the trail yet again, headed straight to them and the beach. I then spent 1.5 hours wandering around the beach looking for a way out! Eventually I just went inland and then cut across the top of a little peninsula to the coast where I picked up the cairns and continued walking many miles. It was long and difficult at times but overall a great adventure.