8.10 Mauna Loa, the Long Mountain—Part 1—Preparation
Contrasting black, harsh lava in foreground with the beauty of soft clouds below (at 11,000 feet) Clouds preparing for nightfall as sun begins a quick setting 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 ...