Lazarow World-Hike-About

Coastal Cliffs, north island Down and then up again on the other side Our landlord made us an offer that we did not refuse. It means we are moving back to the west for the remainder of the trip—he has, as he termed it, an upscale cottage in the City of Refuge. He, being a spiritual man, the biblical reference is quite apt. The sun made a guest appearance this morning after two solid days of rain as we prepare to travel. It worked well for us, the weather; on the first rainy day, we were above the clouds on Mauna Kea and for the second, we needed a rest after four days of hiking. Peering over the edge We spent a couple of hours talking with Len, our landlord, who is what we would term a free spirit with a little free enterprise thrown into the mix. He appears on a television show twice weekly as a minister. He is a Buddhist, so one thing led to another and he shared some of his experiences and philosophy with us over tea, while his six small dogs waited impatiently in the...

When our editor asked whether we were ‘psyched up’ for the full Mauna Kea hike, we jumped in the car and shouted, “Let’s go”. We think that probably counts as ready and willing. The fact that it was late afternoon meant that she had to haul us from the car saying, ‘I mean next week, not now.’ Sunday: We left our new residence, south of Kailua, and drove two hours to reach the Mauna Kea Visitors Center, 9,200 feet above sea level. In order to reach the peak on this fine day, it would mean climbing 4,600 feet over 7-miles through rain, mist, snow flurries, freezing cold at times and powerful winds at the summit. The wind was so strong at the peak that we crouched as we made our way up the last 100 yards or so. We are not ready for free-flight just yet. We averaged better than 1,000 feet per hour over 4.25 hours. What else is there to amuse oneself on a slow Sunday. Scene from the moon, taken from the Mauna Kea Peak Staggering colors, without any organic growth Perhaps a...

Click to enlarge There is a Pacific Ocean here as well. You'd think they could come up with an original name for their ocean Looking for Pebble Beach—we think the golf course was washed away Unlike Blacks nude beach in San Diego, this black pebble beach has more class Sunscapes-R-Us You have no idea how steep—no different from Mauna Kea A rather large pool

We have no idea what Heaven is like. However, like many people, we have a little imagination and use it to conjure images in our mind. Sometimes we share these ideas; other times we avoid making a fool of ‘ourself’. Standing across from the largest mountain mass in the world, at an altitude of 12,500 feet, 1,200 below the peak, with thick white clouds straddling the saddle between the two Maunas, Loa and Kea, it felt like Heaven. On one side, volcano cones stood proud, the sand and stones swept smooth by the winds, devoid of any flora. Beyond the red and dark brown sand interspersed with cinder stones, the low clouds provided an ideal backdrop in virgin white. As we turned again, Mauna Loa’s peak, a place we sat last week, peered above the clouds, the rest of her great body dressed in shrouds. At one stage, its massive size felt so intimidating and overpowering that we almost raised arms and exclaimed, ‘We surrender’. The dynamics of the weather moved mist and clouds back and...