Paradise Found » Pu’u Wa’awa’a

Pu’u Wa’awa’a

September 24, 2007 at 7:59 am · Filed under island life

So, up at 5:30 a.m. AND sore beyond belief. We hiked up Pu’u Wa’awa’a with another family this weekend - 6.5 miles round trip and UP hill. This is the largest cinder cone on the Big Island - we made it all the way to the top.

Notice the foggy looking quality of the picture? It’s vog, a volcanic smog that drifts over the island. With the volcano becoming so active, the island has been pretty hazy.

The kids were far ahead of the adults. Here they are at the top of the pu’u. We were able to see (and hear!) them across a small canyon before we actually reached the top.

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debra said,

September 24, 2007 @ 4:22 pm

this is so–o-o-o cool. What an incredibly beautiful and diverse place!

Larramie said,

September 25, 2007 @ 7:16 am

Imagine, standing at the top of a volcano!

Shelly said,

September 25, 2007 @ 10:50 am

Was there a shirt you could buy? “I made it to the top of Pu’u Wa’awa’a!” I was so happy when I could buy the “I made it to the top of Half Dome” and wear it HONESTLY. The top of a volcano, though … adds a whole new dimension to hiking! Not to blatantly show my ignorance … there’s vegetation on a volcano? I guess I thought it would be pure rock. And here I live in the mountains and everything …

paradisefound said,

September 26, 2007 @ 6:12 am

Well, technically I don’t think it’s considered a volcano. It’s kind of a vent on the side of a bigger volcano, Hualalai.

USGS Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory says:

“Geologists hypothesize that Pu`u Wa`awa`a was formed during a fountain eruption of pumice a little over 100,000 years ago.”

And that goes to answer Shelly’s question. The whole island is volcanic, and it has tons of vegetation. But the vegetation grows best on the older flows - the lava has had a chance to break down into soil over many years. HIlo has nice soil; the rains on that side of the island hasten the decomposition process. This side of the island has vegetation and some soil, but the soil isn’t very deep or rich at all.

The newer flows are still very much rock. There’s quite a large stretch of desert-like terrain (minus the sand) near us. I’ll try to snap some pictures next time I go by!

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