8.17 Mauna Kea, Finishing 'Unfinished business'; the Call of a Mountain
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...