TURAS GIRLS

Hawaii has always been a special place to me. My parents met on Oahu in 1976, while my dad was stationed there in the Navy and my mom, on a whim, moved there and worked as a nurse while going to school. You can surmise the rest of the story.

In college I also spent a summer on Oahu going to summer school and working as a tutor, or glorified babysitter, to 2 young boys. Everyday I walked to school for class and then straight to the beach after class to “study”. It was a glorious summer minus the part where I broke my leg on a moped, had to call a taxi to drive me home from the ER, and hobbled around with a brace for the next 6 weeks.

Fast forward to 2010 when I convinced Stef to go on a long weekend trip to the big island, Hawaii, to climb Mauna Loa. I had just read about climbing Mauna Loa and it seemed like an adventure worth trying.

In early December 2010 we took a nonstop flight from Seattle to Hawaii and found ourselves in Kona. We spent one day preparing for our hike and exploring the town of Kona.

The next morning we got up before sunrise and drove to the trailhead of Mauna Loa. As we pulled into the trailhead parking area there was another couple there getting ready to hike. We grabbed all of our gear which included a Jet Boil stove with propane, matches, food to cook, snacks, and enough water to last us a while. I knew from reading that there was a hut close to the summit that we could seek shelter in should the weather turn sour. The couple commented on our gear and seemed worried they were ill prepared in their rain jackets and shorts for the hike. So much so that the lady asked if we would mind if her boyfriend (John) tagged along and she would just wait in the car. We ignorantly said yes and took off for the trail with this stranger.

The summit of Mauna Loa is at 13,678 feet and the trail is marked with ahu, or stacked rocks, the entire route. It was a bit cloudy and cool to start but the trail was clear and visible and we moved along on the jagged lava rock for several miles before it began to sprinkle on us. We continually checked on John to make sure he was ok to continue and he would give us an enthusiastic 2 thumbs up indicating he was ok to proceed.

The sprinkling quickly turned to snow as we climbed higher and turned into blizzard conditions. The visibility was so poor we could no longer find the ahu. We sought shelter in a small cave we found to warm up and decide whether to continue or not. We were so close to the hut and summit and Stef and I had all we needed to continue, however, our friend was turning blue and shivering at this point so we turned around and descended.

There was snow at the bottom of the trail once we got back to our car. John’s girlfriend frantically ran to meet us and had been so worried she called search and rescue to come looking for us. With the crisis averted, she called them off and they got in their car and drove away.

We peeled our wet layers off, ate some food, chuckled at our predicament, and drove down from the mountain to Hilo for the afternoon to explore the green side of the island.

We got to explore more of the island in the next two days we were there. We went kayaking south of Kona (where Stef almost broke my arm dropping a kayak on it), we went north to Waipio Black Sand Beach, we went zip-lining in the trees in Waimea, and we hit up just about every bar in Kona.

Our short adventure in Hawaii came to an end but it was indeed a memorable one. I don’t take lightly the dangers of the situation we found ourselves in on Mauna Loa. We were prepared and had what we needed to weather the storm. John was far from prepared and when we realized he was in over his head, we made the decision to turn around and not summit. This trip cemented the lessons of preparedness and understanding limitations based on the circumstances.

There are trips and adventures I would not likely do twice but this isn’t one of them. I would do it again in a heartbeat. The island, the volcanoes, and the beach are not to be missed so if ever you have the chance, take it! Maybe check the weather before hiking Mauna Loa though.