Has anyone gone to the new b.s. beach at Pohoiki?

[EightFingers]

Just wondered who’d be first to set foot on it. My first guess is Magno, but who knows?
So anyone gone to look at it?

[PaulW]

It's a trap!

[MarkD]

Yes. Endorsing illegal law viewing. DLNR operatives are probably hiding in the bush there in full camo to make some busts.

[randomq]

Illegal law viewing indeed.

[alohanaia]

Probably not actually illegal IMO. State constitution guarantees coastal access. Emergency declaration no longer holds water because no one will be impeding authority facing an impending disaster.

There's been way too much enforcement under color of authority ie the vacation rental ban was actually enforced as a "voluntary moratorium"; no law was passed nor rescinded. Same with much of the denial and removal of ohana to/from homes and properties they are entitled to access. CD claims it is reluctant to use helicopters to rescue those in need, fire department enthusiastically uses helicopters for ticketing viewers. Are Shane's bribes to get special coastal access law public record?

It is beyond insane that overtime budgets for those providing no useful assistance to community run > 20x budgets to help those affected by the actual disaster, and that most official "assistance" is referring the affected to unfunded community resources. Counties efforts have largely been focused on increasing the hardship on those affected for their own self serving graft.

And in answer to 8F's question, way too late to be the first to set foot on Pele's lovely new beaches. The menehune are all over it.

[ElysianWort]

I imagine if you have a boat you could swim from the boat to the sandbar in front of the Pohoiki ramp.

Besides that way of access I heard rumor the roadblocks might lift in 2 weeks time if everything stays chill.

Other then that, till then you might risk arrest with a walk 4x4 or dirtbike.

[kimo wires]

How wide is the lava covering the road from Opihikao? and How rough is it? It may be worth the hike to pohoiki to get some uncrowded waves.

[alohanaia]

@kimo: Tho I share your dream I doubt it's doable. Lava traverse there would be a mile, the pile is quite high, and the lava is super roughest A'a there. Also, the historic flows there have left lava tubes under everything in that area, it remains to be seen if that pattern was repeated recently. But as a cautionary note, I have seen many tubes collapse near by, tubes that were regularly traversed from above and within, and also know a fellow that spent a day in a puka. He was one of the lucky ones as he was retrieved hardly worse for wear.

The usual menehuna will doubtless survey and wear a trail across there sooner than later, but I expect it will be no walk in the park for a while.

[ironyak]

The lava is 3 fingers of approximate 0.25 miles each, with some small stretches of kipuka, for a total of ~0.9 miles, though the roadblock is a mile before the lava. Total distance from roadblock to Pohoiki is ~2.75 mi.

Can't say personally how rough it is, but you wouldn't be the first to find a path across.

[MarkD]

alohanaia: "lava tubes...know a fellow that spent a day in a puka. He was one of the lucky ones as he was retrieved hardly worse for wear."

Interesting story. That is longstanding danger in East Hawaii; back 25 years ago there was more publicity about this danger after several hunters fell into a lava tube. Haven't heard about any incidents in quite a while, though someone in Leilani apparently fell into a deep crack not to long ago.

If the lava tubes are deep, people often get seriously injured in the fall, and there is usually no way to get out of them by yourself. Was the event you cite in the news, or discussed anywhere on the web?