There was a good chance to go roving today. I had sort of a strange schedule, being on the KVC1 shift (opening at 07:30) and quite busy throughout the morning. Most of the slots for activities were taken during the huddle meeting, which I missed due to being tied to a french party of 4 that wanted to know it all. However, I did not really want to be stuck inside KVC all day long, so I invented the “:15” programs. Usually the Ranger led activities start to the hour or the half hour, but because it was so busy (mostly with new people giving “how” talks) I thought I could just as well do a Summit Hike at 12:15 just after my lunch break.

It was pouring all morning long and I did not think to get many people but had actually about 20 walking out with me from the visitor center, and as we were leaving the flag pole it was clearing up to an extent that we could actually see directly into Halema’uma’u from both overlooks – neat.

In the afternoon, a Kipuka Puaulu program was on, and as I had not ever done that trail before but had sent people out there for the vegetation and the bird watching opportunities, I wanted to make sure and tried to tag along. So out I was again by 2 o’clock, and we both hoped that there would be visitors coming along as this was a remote area outside the main Crater Rim of the park.

A “Kipuka” is an island of life surrouding barren lava, vegetation or a forest that was spared from the flow. In fact, Kipuka, like Pahoehoe and A’a, is one of the Hawaiian terms that has made it into standard geological speech. It is a gentle 1 mile loop that takes about 1 hour to walk, and there’s plenty of native or endemic species out here that you may not see anywhere else in the park. Unfortunately, none of the visitors had heeded our call to the hike, and the car following us – we hoped it would be for the hike – turned off the road just before the trailhead, so I got a private tour from the Ranger, which was just as fine. If you want to do the hike yourself, visit the “Virtual Hike Page” for this particular trail – Enjoy!

Native Hawaiian Morning Glory, Kipuka Puaulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Pukiawe Berries, Kipuka Puaulu, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park