Volcano acting up

[morganlady]

Is Chain of Craters Rd. still closed? After seeing the Park's exhibit in Volcano, that drive down to the ocean and former lava flow is very dramatic! That would be the best intro to the power of Pele, I think. Plus, you're not alone, the rangers and other folks are there (in case you fall, or have an emergency).

[Robin C]

Chain of Craters road is open to the bottom. Pele closed it beyond that.
The only closure in the park is Napau Crater trail after the campground.

Robin

[Rob L]

Chain of Craters road is open as far as the coast, but since the new flow started in July, lava has stopped flowing into the sea. So, I doubt that there is much you can see from Chain of Craters road.

Aloha,
Rob L

[Carey]

Telusm: Puna Rd. is not paved...do not know what type of vehicle you are going to use, but it is a very rough road. Earlier this fall there were patrols asking that non-residents refrain from entry. Most likely they still do not want anyone entering.
You may want to befriend Darl on the "Blue Hawaii' thread, since you will probably will be needing his service.
What navigation system are you bringing? Do you have the datum coordinates for your route? You may only get 8-15 M accuracy there, depending on the overstory plants.
If you have not been here before, you may want to get familiar with what unpaved roads are like here...the farther away from a main road, the less likely the road is anything but a very rough trail, usually not maintained & sometimes not used in enough years to be lost to the rainforest...

[telusm]

Carey, thanks for that information. I am new to big Island and I am bringing my GPS enabled laptop but I don't think it's anything better than Google earth.

If I can't see lava flowing that better be it. I am okay with seeing just Wailuku although it would be nice to be able to see volcanoes.

I am renting Full size not the wrangler or anything. I thought about booking helicopter/cessna trip but after reading those posts in other threads, I decided not to do that in order to respect residents there on big island.

I would still welcome any tips and advice from experts. Thank you for all your help in advance.

Edited by - telusm on 11/17/2007 22:48:50

Edited by - telusm on 11/17/2007 23:01:46

[DanielP]

telusm,

The trip you are proposing can be fatal. The area that you are considering traversing is rougher than you can image. If you are not an extreme athelete, please change your plans. Next year the flows will probably be more accessable.

The areas of the current flows are officially closed, but besides that the journey is treacherous, seriously.

If you must see the flows, we will survive your overflight, but we do not want to read your obituary. There are many, many other wonderful things to see.

Have a nice visit,

Dan

[oink]

A non-active lava alternative, if you're in fairly good shape, would be the hike to the top of Mauna Loa from the weather observatory. It's a wonderful experience, but you must leave very early and leave properly prepared. It is considered high altitude, if that is an issue.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

Edited by - oink on 11/18/2007 12:15:19

[Kelena]

Just go stand on Highway 130, near the Malama Market in about two months.

[telusm]

Thanks for that tip oink. I am in a good shape but my parents probably won't be up for anything like that. We will see how the weather looks. We live at 3000ft elevation in the Rockies.

Glen, I'm curious if lava will become more active at year end. I've been reading daily update. It says it is unlikely to hit anything on the east.

I'm trying to minimize disturbing residents that's why I didn't book an air tour yet.

Edited by - telusm on 11/18/2007 22:09:37

[waynesb]

Glen doesn't have any prophetic powers. He's just obsessing and is absolutely certain the lava's going to take out the house he just bought at the bottom HPP.