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quote:
Originally posted by Carey
Taro... we have biked the whole Chain of Craters emergency route (end of HWY 130 to the National Park side visitors info booth/snack stand/portoilettes
it is open from either end, but the National Park side is over 5 miles west of the flow at the eastern boundary of the park & the HWY 130 route is almost 3 miles east of the flow at the National Park boundary, on a much better packed road (as of Monday)... with a lot more public to join you on your trek!
The reason why vehicles are being limited is that federal funds went into that construction & the county is not willing to do anything that may damage the federally funded emergency evacuation road... if madam Pele decides to, well, that is a totally different matter!
Today the lava flow is well under a mile to the ocean, & which means less than 3/4th mile to the limit of the public approved access (going off road to the flow is being done, but. when I last checked NO LANDOWNERS HAVE GIVEN PERMISSION TO GO ONTO THEIR PROPERTY TO VIEW THE LAVA... which means you are trespassing if you d (and many have....have no idea how the liability issues that could arise will be handles...
That said, stay on the road if you wish to stay fully legal & esp. if you have any doubts on your "its dark out & I'm traipsing over sharp, uneven black lava" skills.
I am not sure what PTed expected of the Chain of Craters emergency route, but it WAS completed, leveled & graded as a gravel road from the paved area of HWY 130 to the paved area of CoC in the National Park.
Are they allowing bicycles on CoC road now?
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
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I have answered my own question.
On another local forum it has been mentioned that a few bikes are currently being ridden down the roadway to the vicinity of the flow.
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Was a Democrat until gun control became a knee jerk, then a Republican until the crazies took over, back to being a nonpartisan again.
This time, I can no longer participate in the primary.
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About 80 cars in the parking area tonight, and saw a dozen or so bicycles. We walked about a mile and a half in from the parking area, although the view does not get appreciably better after the first half mile. We saw the ribbon of lava edging downhill in the distance. A nice walk, but I think we'll take our bikes next time.
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July 7 hike up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejDTyudjXb4
You can ride bikes. The only way to go, really. We went July 3rd on a Sunday and there were about 3,000 people. The 7th had a much better flow and a lot less people. I understand the lava has stagnated on the plains but we haven't been back out to see. It's different every day.
Here's a good overview of how it changes everyday
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/multimedia/index.php?newSearch=true&display=custom&volcano=1&resultsPerPage=20
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I know people are getting busted for illegal lava tours, but are there any legit tours that are operating right now? From the maps, it looks like some of the active flow is on some private property just east of the National Park. Potentially, the owners of that private property could lead tours. Also, they could be granting rights for others to come onto their property. I just don't know if they are.
Leilani Estates, 2011 to Present
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are there any legit tours that are operating right now?
Poke A Stick Lava tours (they say they're insured):
http://www.pokeastick.com/#a
At Poke-A-Stick Guided Lava Tours, our goal is to walk right up to the red-hot lava and actually Poke A Stick into it!
We tour on private land by the largest Volcano on earth.
“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”
-Joseph Brodsky
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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The map isn't updated yet, but there's quite a bit of activity inside the park including molten lava.
http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/maps/
There are tours setup all along the parking lot, including bike rentals. There are also no signs posted for the private property and no one seemed to care (almost everyone was on the private land). But all you have to do is head down the road to the park boundary sign and turn right. Most people don't want to walk that far down the road and want to head straight to the lava they see on the mountain. They always tell you as you pass by the rangers that you're entering at your own risk. They've also added a sign with a list of what you can't do, which includes no hiking in slippahs. They were turning a few people away too.
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We biked/walked to the flow again on Friday (7-8) and the flow was staying along the NP/Royal Gardens border & flowing south on the coastal plain, which was putting the flow almost a mile west of the NP border on the CoC emergency route (yes they do allow bicycles, I did check with CD before we went out at the first of the month 0 was actually handed over to Ed T. - Darryls replacement, who wanted to know the equipment we had been using when biking CoC...sounded like he wanted to!)
On Sat. night we went down the HVNP side of CoC & you can begin to see the glow at the Petroglyphs parking...and see the pali flow through Royal Gardens on the coastal drive in to the end of CoC on HVNP side.... but not the coastal plain flow...
This weekend, the flow front was almost 3/4 mile hike over lava flows, from the CoC emergency gravel route, which was about 4 miles from the parking on either side, the County viewing Kalpana side or HVNP end of the road parking...
Went snorkeling on Sunday & busy the last 2 days...so... as with all lava flows, things probably have changed by today.
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quote:
Originally posted by Eric1600
But all you have to do is head down the road to the park boundary sign and turn right. Most people don't want to walk that far down the road and want to head straight to the lava they see on the mountain. They always tell you as you pass by the rangers that you're entering at your own risk. They've also added a sign with a list of what you can't do, which includes no hiking in slippahs. They were turning a few people away too.
Oh, there are rangers at the gate on CoC? Are they taking money? If not, why not? I certainly wouldn't mind it being free, but shouldn't the National Park get its fee?
Leilani Estates, 2011 to Present
