Hawaii 2022, 1/4: double-dip (Big Island crossing, featuring 2 little volcanic hills on the way, aka Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa)
Trail photos
Author
Trail stats
- Distance
- 136.56 mi
- Elevation gain
- 18,747 ft
- Technical difficulty
- Very difficult
- Elevation loss
- 18,730 ft
- Max elevation
- 13,786 ft
- TrailRank
- 34
- Min elevation
- 0 ft
- Trail type
- One Way
- Time
- 19 hours 58 minutes
- Coordinates
- 11793
- Uploaded
- October 8, 2022
- Recorded
- May 2022
near Mokaoku, Hawaii (United States)
Viewed 1680 times, downloaded 3 times
Trail photos
Itinerary description
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Ascent of Mauna Kea from Hilo, and Mauna Loa (to the observatory) in stride, before descending on the other side of the Big Island (Waikōloa beach)
Made with Bob's gravel: part of the climb of Mauna Kea is on track, all the rest is asphalt
Preamble : It's not yet daylight, 🌙 but it's the big day: we're at the foot of the beast! The day before, we left a car at the Visitor Center with the spare bikes (for those who will be using a mountain bike on the track section), some supplies of water and food, clothes and other accessories. Get up before dawn, and leave at the foot of the hugebanyan tree in the parking lot of the Reeds Bay Hotel (the gigantic size of this tree seems to suggest that it appreciates the humid climate of Hilo, which is not necessarily the case of cyclists). Let's hope that my Hispano - Californian preparation will prove sufficient to tame the monumental Mauna Kea, the second summit of the globe in terms of " dry prominence " (even if, I grant you, we will not start from the abyssal depths of the Pacific) . A thought for the only volcano that I have climbed so far, the Puy de Dôme , before trying to move to the higher category! Today's peloton is made up of 5 cyclists: John, Clarence, Sam, Luke and myself (Chris and his wife will be waiting for us in the car at different places).
🏁 The idea is first to pedal to the "Mile 0" sign of the Saddle road (Hawaii route 200) along the coast for 3km, before the sun emerges from the horizon, to take some group photos. Note in passing that I exceptionally agree to use these Machiavellian and anachronistic imperial units, on the one hand because of the ease of conversion of zero mileage, and on the other hand out of respect for this symbolic sign. There is also a small beach of volcanic sand, at the foot of the modest Coconut Point lighthouse , which allows us to symbolically dip a wheel in the ocean before really attacking the climb. Luckily, the sun peeks out between the clouds, 🌅 and the timing is perfect!
Let's go! A little nervous, I'm convinced I lost my glasses in the rush to leave... but in fact everything is fine. 😊 Clarence quickly leaves us company, in a hurry to fight the clock, but the rest of the troop prefers to play the card of caution, and stay more or less grouped together. We get back onto the main road after 17km: we will then drive for a good while on its wide emergency lane. Warning: everything is bigger in the USA, and the notches in the horrible rumble strip that separates us from the main roads are no exception, so deep that you will have to take care to avoid driving over them (we'll talk about that again!) . The first part of the ascent will be done in the rain, or rather in the drizzle (a "Hawaiian drizzle" ☔️ which explains the rather luxuriant vegetation), until we emerge above the clouds around 1000m above sea level. altitude (no surprise: John, who has already climbed this mountain several times, had warned us about the abundant rainfall on the windward coast), but the temperature remains pleasant. We will even have to take a break to apply cream, since the sun is climbing quickly in the sky and the altitude will not dampen the heat of its rays, knowing that there will be no shade to protect us 🌞 (despite the jersey, we will all burn a little at the shoulders: certain parts of the pretty jersey that John had made especially for the occasion were probably not sufficiently "UV-proof" for the high altitudes that await us! ). The vegetation gradually becomes more arid. We take our time (it's about saving our strength for the final part) to arrive at the level of Pu'u Huluhulu ("hairy hill" in Hawaiian), a bushy volcanic cone located at the foot of the access roads to the two large volcanoes.
Indeed, after 48km, barely a few hundred meters after ignoring the left fork (Mauna Loa road), we take the right fork, for Mauna Kea. There are still some traces of the recent protests against the construction of the TMT (Thirty Meter Telecope). It's from this intersection of the Saddle road (2005m) that things will get seriously tough: the slope soon becomes steeper, it's sometimes even wickedly steep, but the landscape is worth it: on one side, we are overlooked by the steep peaks of Mauna Kea, and on the other, the imposing silhouette of Mauna Loa dominates the landscape (it seems almost smooth, seen from here, although the reality will be very different! ). A few trees here and there (even a small grove), but the scenery tends to become more mineralized little by little. 10km after leaving the Saddle road, we arrive at the Visitor Center parking lot (2805m) , adjacent to the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy , named in honor of El Onizuka, American astronaut of Japanese ancestry from the Big Island, who unfortunately passed away in the Challenger space shuttle explosion.
Food break, entry form submission (for the upper area of the volcano, in case of emergency) and pit stop for some: I keep the gravel for the entire ascent (a good compromise), but everyone the others change bikes, 🚲 preferring to opt for larger tires offering good grip in the volcanic ash. The part that awaits us will in fact be done on track (~8km): it is rather well packed (not much stone, only a few outcropping rocks), but the ash and the often severe slope do not really make the task easy. After a few hundred meters, I'm already starting to slip a lot. I then remember the advice I was given: deflate the tires a little... and it works! I really feel the difference: I will certainly have to dismount from time to time on a few short passages (too much slope and too much dust to have enough grip with my 38mm tires), but overall, in taking my trouble patiently, I'm not doing too badly! A very steep steep slope (where I find Luke) marks the end of the track (3585m) ... and the return (appreciated!) of the asphalt.
Chris' car is waiting for us at this strategic point: Luke and the others will be able to pick up their road bikes for the last 6km stretch (which I will climb with Luke). If the surface improves, this is not the case for the slope which remains just as steep (sometimes we zigzag a little to reduce it!), not to mention that the air is rarefied: I realize that I I have never been at such a high altitude, whether on foot, by cable car or by bike ( Sierra Nevada ). However, I feel good, and I'm starting to consider trying the Mauna Loa in stride (to tell the truth, I had thought about it a few months before... before revising my ambitions downwards after having had a lot of drooling in the Sierra de los Filabres last month, over significantly lower distances and elevations). Does Luke read my mind? 😮 He tells me that he plans to try this volcanic sequence! And when I ask him if I can accompany him, he doesn't mind the idea of having a little company. But let's not put the cart before the horse: the end is deserved, to say the least! After leaving on our right the small fork leading to the isolated antenna of the Very Long Baseline Array , 📡 we take a last short break at the micro-parking lot which acts as a starting point for the path leading to the improbable Lake Waiau , located at 3970m altitude (variable in size, but about 100m in diameter most of the time), unfortunately invisible from the road. We meet Clarence who is coming back down with a big smile, after having conquered the summit. One more last effort and a few ramps to reach the Astronomy Precinct of MKO ( Mauna Kea Observatories ) and the end of the Mauna Kea road (4205m) , at the level of a first series of telescopes. The reward is worth the effort: what a view! Mauna Loa on one side, the rest of the telescopes on the other, with a micro-firn ❄️ in the foreground and a sea of clouds in the background, from which emerges another Hawaiian titan: 🌋 the Haleakalā, highest point on the neighboring island of Maui (which I hope to climb the following week ). We take the time to savor before starting the descent...
We successively pass John and Sam on the way down, and we encourage them (but we feel that they will succeed!). I'm a little dreading the downhill section of the track: Luke, very comfortable on any type of bike, kindly offers me to do an exchange for this section: he takes my gravel and I take his mountain bike (with a fairly low, even for me). I obviously won't go as empty as him (I even lose sight of him), but reassured by the stability of the mountain bike, I still pick up quite a bit of speed and I won't have the feeling of skidding at any time despite the ashes. . On our return to the Visitor Center, no temperature control of the brakes, which nevertheless served well: the rangers reserve this for cars (during one of his previous visits, John had asked them to see what it was like for the discs of his bike!). 😅🌡️ A good hour of break time to hydrate and eat a little, to warn others of the rest of our adventures, and to take the necessary things in our bags: this additional adventure will be done by two people !
A bit of mist on the descent to the Saddle road: despite the anti-fog lenses, my visibility is reduced and I'm not going very fast. I meet Luke just before the intersection: he tells me that the weather forecast is not great on the Mauna Loa side, and that we will have to make a decision. He seems to have a moment of hesitation, look at my (disappointed?) expression 🥺 before quickly changing his mind: “I had a moment of weakness” , he tells me! 😅 Anyway, here we go! We pass back in front of the Pu'u Huluhulu cone and attack Mauna Loa in a completely different atmosphere: we are directly in an almost purely mineral world, where vegetation is rare (a few rare shrubs manage to grow from time to time 🌱 on the flows, at least at the start of the route). And finally, there is not a fart of wind...
A word about the Mauna bros
These two volcanoes , so close and certainly "magmatic blood brothers" 🌋🌋 at almost identical altitudes, are different in many ways. Big Island, so "big" that its weight causes the oceanic crust to bend up to several hundred km, is made up of several volcanoes , the highest being Mauna Kea (MK: 4207m) and Mauna Loa (ML: 4169m) . Let us mention in passing the dates of their last eruptions at the time of this release: -2500 for the MK, 1984 for the ML (see footnote for a small update!). The ML is more massive (it is the heart of the Big Island) and represents the archetypal shield volcano, crowned by a cyclopean caldera (like its even more colossal Martian cousin, Olympus Mons ). From a distance, its slopes appear regular, moderate and smooth, whereas the MK is steeper and more irregular, bristling with a large number of secondary cones (it would be in a later eruptive phase ). Up close, they are also different: the ML appears to be formed by an accumulation of solidified lava flows, while the MK rather evokes a monumental pile of ejecta of various sizes and colors, ranging from ashes to large volcanic bombs. Even their rocks seem to have quite distinct compositional signatures (linked to a bifid mantle plume ?). 🔥🔥 In short, the origin of these differences seems to give scientists a hard time, but it's not just the mountain that changes: the road too! While the MK's road seems to have been forcibly dug to climb the mountain, which it cuts with a brutal and mercilessly steep route offering not the slightest respite, that of the ML, thinner, resembles a ribbon of asphalt delicately placed on the lava fields that stretch as far as the eye can see, marrying the undulations of the landscape, which gives the impression of evolving on a roller coaster, 🎢 according to the many small descents that intersect the climb! The huge asperities of the lava make us feel very small, as does the majestic and imposing silhouette of the MK, which dominates the landscape (a few hours earlier, the roles were reversed!). We feel even more isolated from the world, in this chaotic landscape which corresponds to the idea we can have of the primitive Earth...
I didn't dare, but I wonder if it's time to bring up my idea of ending this incredible day by dunking on a beach on the other side of the island, and Luke still seems to be reading in my thoughts: he anticipates my request and asks me what I think about it... and how, that really blows my mind!!! 😄 But first we have to finish our additional 28km of ascent, while Mauna Kea catches the last rays of the sun. After ~14km, there is a T-intersection near some antennas: a track accompanied by a power line joins our road, which makes a right angle turn towards the West. These electric poles, very aesthetic in the declining day, will now keep us company until the end. We delay turning on our lights as long as possible, on the one hand to save them, and on the other hand to enjoy the sublime landscape that is offered to us, but we have to end up doing it. 💡 It's long, very long, but we lose track of time in this incredible atmosphere. The stars begin to twinkle one after the other in the pure sky. ✨ Luke receives a message from John: they want to come and see what it looks like in the car! We should therefore have visitors: it remains to be seen who will arrive first at the end of the road (them or us?). During a short break, we temporarily turn off our lights, to better appreciate the spectacle of the celestial vault. At the end, we spot a few handfuls of very sharp volcanic stones on the road: you will have to be careful on the descent. Luke clearly has more juice than me, but he waits for me and we finally arrive at the end of the asphalt, at the level of the Mauna Loa (3370m) observatories ( solar and atmospheric ). We take a small photo (unfortunately of poor quality) in front of the gates. Let us point out that there seems to be a sort of " hardcore track " (dangerous, even for 4x4s) which ends near the caldera (perhaps even several variations?), but access to which has been formally prohibited (I doubt it's really bikeable, even with a heavy-duty mountain bike).
John and Clarence arrive shortly after us: they congratulate us, check that we are not missing anything, and begin the descent with us. I quickly lose sight of Luke, focused (rightly) on my way. It must be said that we pick up speed easily: I understand why the end was hard! Although I pay attention to these damned stones spotted during the climb, these infamous bastards sneakily surprise me and I get a good scare while riding on them... I'm shaken, but the bike holds up well: phew! 😳 Obviously, I slow down even more and start to wonder when I'm going to find Luke, but I don't have much to wait: I see the car's headlights, which illuminate a bike on the ground . New scare: ouch, has Luke fallen?! 😨
Fortunately, he is fine! 😙 However, he rolled over other stones , which literally shredded one of his tires. 😖 Damned... end of course? 😬 It takes more to stop him: no question of letting a common stone end this memorable day, he will try to repair it. At night, at an altitude of more than 3000m, it's not easy to put a new tube in your tubeless tire with slightly frozen fingers. 🥶 There's also plenty of "tubeless juice" dripping on the road (it looks like "droid blood", like in Alien II ). 😋 This unplanned stop will take more than an hour, but he perseveres and achieves his goals: hats off, the bike is good for service! 👍 John and Clarence leave by car, and we see their lights slowly fading in the immensity of the landscape. You can also make out the headlights of a few cars coming down from the opposite neighbor, Mauna Kea. After a while, Luke's lights also distance themselves, but I find my own rhythm. You can feel the undulations of the road: there are small climbs!
Once at the Saddle road, head due West: the road climbs a little bit more (up to ~2060m), but technically, it does not pass the real "inter-Mauna" pass (called Humu'ula after the map), which would be somewhere between the new Saddle road and the old one. This descent is unreal, in a state of high concentration. In all, from the Mauna Loa observatories, it will take us almost 95km almost exclusively downhill 😵 (the climbs will be quite rare). In addition, after the 28km of the Mauna Loa access road, it is necessary to count 38km on route 200, taking care to avoid the filthy rough strip (even less frequentable on the descent than on the ascent, as we can suspect it). We often ride in parallel on the wide hard shoulder (I hear Luke's ragged pants flapping in the wind!) and sometimes one behind the other, or more exactly Erwan behind Luke ... 🙃 occasionally reduced to a distant flashing red dot, almost lost in the night, before it catches up. 😉 To conclude in style, we need our 2nd "dip", but it's not easy to find access to a beach to do it! I let Luke, who already knows Hawaii, guide me after the end of route 200: he has an idea in mind! At the end, we spin a little in Waikoloa beach 🌴 and we sneak through a hotel complex (of course deserted: it's around 2 a.m.) to reach Anaeho'omalu beach, where we can soak the wheels ( double-dip!!! ) 🤟 before Sam comes to pick us up by car! An unforgettable day... 😊
PS: Nothing monstrous, but I think Wikiloc's smoothing removed a bit of elevation, especially for the Mauna Loa road: it really "undulates" on the lava flows and there are quite a few small descents (which 'we feel in our paws on the way back!). Moreover, my route seems to have been so "smoothed" that the positive elevation is greater than the negative... whereas the track begins in the parking lot of our hotel in Hilo and ends "the wheels in the Pacific" (in other words, it should be the other way around!).
*** deactivation of the "maniac GPS tracks" mode *** 🔎 😇
🌋 Attention: some last minute complications for this itinerary! 🌋
As I write this, in late 2022 (a few months after our ascent), Mauna Loa has decided to wake up after a 38-year nap. This eruption produced lava flows to the south and north of the main caldera, which notably cut the access road to the observatory in several places (let's spare a thought for these unfortunate electric poles, engulfed and charred in excruciating suffering) 🥺 and threaten the Saddle road: take fireproof tires just in case... 😋
Hawaiian Bike Adventures :
🚩 Hawaii 2022, 1/4: Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa
🚩 Hawaii 2022, 2/4: Chain of Craters road (Kīlauea)
🚩 Hawaii 2022, 3/4: Mauna Haleakalā
🚩 Hawaii 2022, 4/4: Waimea canyon
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