The two highest mountains in the world sit opposite each other, separated by a saddle, here in Hawaii.
And you thought Mount Everest was the winner. Like much in life, it depends. It depends from where you measure.
Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea have bases on the ocean floor. Measured from that position, they are both over 30,000
feet plus. They protrude a little less than 14,000 feet from sea level.
We decided to attempt to reach the summit of Mauna Loa, the world’s largest shield volcano and, mountain by
land mass. It is an active volcano, last erupting in 1984. Time constraints limited the four-day hike. Instead,
we chose the fourteen-mile return trip commencing from an altitude of 11,000 feet, which is steeper and on
rougher surfaces than the longer hike. Our bodies sure attest to that. The elevation gain is some 2,700 feet.
More about that later.
We had time to ponder a few things about hiking and life today as we were on the mountain for eight
hours. In order to undertake the hike, we arrived at the trailhead on Wednesday afternoon at about 6pm.
The idea was to acclimate. Remember, we would be attempting to reach 13,700 feet, an altitude that plays
havoc with many. We are told that nausea, headaches and far more serious ailments develop at these altitudes
besides lacking oxygen to walk at a reasonable pace. Our accommodation was in the “Tracker Inn”, situate below
the Mauna Loa Weather Observatory. The strategy was to acclimate overnight and take in the evening sunset,
not forgetting the amazing star-filled sky including planets, Venus and Jupiter, a mere few degrees apart.
An interesting night before a tough hike loomed.
We got off to a good start by obtaining provisions on the 2.5 hours drive to the 'hotel'.
Jenni had made meals for the evening and breakfast so the need for a kitchen was minimal. We ate a tasty
meal in the dining room, read: front seats of the Chevy Tracker, slept in separate beds and in fact,
separate rooms, for the first time. Jen’s bedroom was the backseat, the other bedroom, the hatchback
trunk. By the way, the views of the sky from back there were amazing. As we were the only guests in
the parking lot, the toilet facilities, although non-existent, turned out to be most private.
We were positioned at 11,000 feet above sea level looking at clouds below and Mauna Kea
across the way. The sights were nothing short of miraculous in the eyes of two little souls.
Simultaneously, we were also busy acclimating, whatever that means. While we were undergoing the
altitude adjustment process, although I think that is the function of the lungs, the wind was putting
on a tremendous performance. It howled the whole night, something like an untrained dog. The temperature
was below freezing by quite a few degrees, bear in mind we are in tropically, mild Hawaii.
Not once but three times during the night, we needed to relieve ourselves. We don’t know how many
people have owned a ‘Tracker’, slept in the rear of a car, climbed over onto the backseat to get out
the door into an arctic wind, seeking relief. We were most surprised that liquids and private parts
did not freeze. Fortunately, we are smart enough to make adjustments for wind direction.
We slept like babies though, teething ones. We were up early, probably because we hadn’t
fallen asleep when it was time to get going. You should realize we do this because......that’s
what we were thinking of on the trail this morning. In fact, it was an adventure to 'cherish'.
We haven’t mentioned the hike itself—probably the toughest we have undertaken. We’ll tell you
more next time.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
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