Rock on

There are lots of rocks atom Mauna Kea, way up there at 13,796 feet.  There's also a lake very near the summit.  It's called Lake Waiau. (Pronounced wy-ow)  Ancient eruptions from summit cinder cones deposited fine particles that lay like a thin layer of cement in the bottom of a depression, making it leak-proof.  The depression filled first with with glacial ice melt.  Yes, believe it or not, there were glaciers on Mauna Kea 30,000 years ago.  Today, annual snow melt and rainfall keep the lake from going dry.

The only things that live in the lake are algae and bacteria, both of which have evolved to generate their own natural protection against solar radiation in order to survive the intensity of the sun's rays at this elevation.  The air is definitely thin up there.  I could feel it before we got out of our vehicles.  Here, you see the Keck telescopes, the twins as they are called, against the perfect blue sky.  When these and the earlier telescopes were built on Mauna Kea, many were ignorant of Mauna Kea's spiritual and cultural importance to the Hawaiian, including many Hawaiians themselves.   

Mauna Kea has historically been the most sacred  place in all the islands.  Now, with the resurgence of Hawaiian pride and culture, the native people have returned to Mauna Kea and fight to protect the mountain. Certainly, there is some bitterness over the overbuilding of their mountain top.  There are several telescopes owned by various nations and universities around the world dominating the landscape.  Ancient and more recent burial sites can be spotted all over the mountain.  To the Hawaiians, the telescopes on Mauna Kea are akin to building a strip mall atop Arlington National Cemetery.  Many Hawaiians are upset, to say the least.  Still, they come to the mountain, leaving their animosity and anger at the bottom.  They place offerings to Wai'au (yes, similar name to the lake itself), goddess protector of the lake, to Poliahu, the snow goddess, or to Mo'o'i'nanea, the water goddess. 

There is a heightened awareness regarding the spiritual and cultural significance of this place among non-Hawaiians.  The scientists are finally starting to get a clue that it's not cool to erect behemoths here without regard to the natural environment or to the cultural disruption it may cause. It's not a perfect situation and not all hard feelings are gone, but progress has been made, both sides are talking and there is hope for peaceful co-existence on the mountain top. Mauna Kea is, after all, considered the absolute best vantage point from which to study the heavens.  It is the highest peak in the Pacific.

I'm told it was once common practice for Hawaiians to take the piko (placenta or afterbirth) of their children and placing it into the lake. 

I traveled to Lake Waiau with a guide from the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.  There were 12 of us in all, one guide, one intern and 10 hikers.  We walked very slowly the mile and a half round trip to the water's edge.  I felt light headed the entire time.  One woman began to show signs of acute altitude sickness, but she made it.  One out of 12.  That's damn good, considering the elevation.  We did stop on our way up the slope at the Mauna Kea Visitors' Center at 9,000 feet for about half an hour to help us adjust.  Still, we were all definitely feeling it.  It's really, really high. 

The weather could not have been better.  We had a spectacular view all the way to Pu'u O'o, where Kilauea continues to erupt.  If you look closely at the bottom photo, you can see what looks like smoke coming out of the ground toward the center.  That's Pu'u O'o.

 The worst part of the trip for me was not the altitude, but the twisty portion of Saddle road on the way back to Hilo.  I was in the back seat of a Chevy Tahoe.  I do hate riding in back seats.

Today, we ate nachos at Legends Bar and Grill in Kea'au.  They were good, though olives and jalapenos would make them excellent.  The hefeweizen I drank was the best part of this snack.

The rest of the day was spent right here, in front of this very screen, writing, editing, writing, editing.....

Ron picked our first home grown pineapple today. It's small and I have no idea how it will taste, but it looks pretty.

A hui hou.  Aloha!