getting ready for Kaua'i

Here are a few more photos I want to dump here as prep for our Kaua'i.  It is hard to make posts about things that have happened a while ago, so I want to get a couple of things up here before we head out for this vacation.  Just re'lar ol life in Hawaii stuff:  exotic reptiles and surfing.  No biggie.  Wish you were here.

Fox Gecko? on the floor.  A little guy. (1")

Martin and Scott finish a sesh.

Pre-sesh.

Gecko o'clock. Gold dust day gecko.

Youth Kayak Trips

I finished my last two-day, two-night kayak trip last week.  I did four of these this summer, for groups of teens visiting Hawaii with their summer camp programs.  I was a little nervous for the first trip, since I had not yet led a trip where we were going, but it turned out great.  The kids were almost universally helpful and well-behaved, excited and interested in what we were doing.  We had a lot of fun, and I was grateful for the chance to hang out with them and soak up a bit of their youthful energy and playfulness.  Their counselors did a great job of managing group dynamics, getting the kids out of their comfort zones and fired-up for new experiences, new challenges, and new friends.  The main group I worked with was Bold Earth-- their energy and management style reminded me of Widjiwagan trips (except my picture isn't on the front page of the bold earth site).  It was great to look in from the outside and interact with these groups.  The program was impressive from this perspective, and it made me happy to think that this is what our Widji trips must have looked like to an outsider back in the day. 
They were really fun trips, though they required a lot of schedule-juggling from my end, and from Bike Work's end.  Thanks to Janet for the accommodations!

Here are some photos I took on the last trip, with my new cheapy waterproof camera.  It might not last too long, and can't go more than 10' deep, but I'm stoked about the photo quality so far.

Lobe coral, cauliflower coral, red pencil urchins, goldring, wana. 

Deep blue sea and a school of black durgon and sargent fish.

Playing on flipped-over kayaks.  Really fun.  Anything to get in the water is great.

The armada, ready for anything.

The view from my tent platform: over the dining area, past the coffee fields, and down to Kealakekua Bay.

Check my picassa page for more photos from this tip.  Got to go to the bike shop!

Halape Hike

Beth and I journeyed to Halape Beach in Volcanoes National Park these last three days.  It was a great hike.  It really felt good to get away from work and Kona for a while-- Nothing like a wilderness trip to warsh away petty worries! 

 Here is a map I borrowed from another blogger...


Probably the biggest surprise of the trip was how incredibly hot and windy it was down at Halape.  Only after we returned did we hear from a local friend that most people head down in December... 

This was our "early start" the first day.  By the time we got packed up, got our permit, and made it to the trailhead, we got off at what we thought was a respectable 8:30.  Notice the ominous bright sunshine lurking on our faces in this photo...









 

The hike starts at 3800' on pahoehoe from the 70's.
We had about 9 miles to descend to the coast.

Tried to piece a panorama together... from the lava flow we started on to the coast!

 We descended into dry grassland... overhead sun... and heat.  Though I'm sporting a big smile at this point!
The big cliffs to the right of me are the "Pali Kapukapu" or the twice forbidden cliffs or don't go here!  Hmm. daunting.  Halape is to the left of me, just inland of the island with the waves breaking on it.

/

Halape!

Shade at the beach!

Halape!  One of the more interesting things we learned about Halape is that here in this land of active volcanoes and earthquakes, the beach looked much different 40 years ago, and was about 3m higher than it is today.  Check out this article.  I'm guessing similar mechanisms were responsible for all the pali/cliffs we hiked down and around to get there.










 Coffee or coconut water for the first taste of breakfast?

 We got a much earlier start on the way out.  The camera tilt gives you an idea of the limited levels of caffeination achievable at this hour.
Them are the Pali Kapukapu in the background.










The sun stayed lower on the way out, and we made it safely above the cliffs before it got too hot. 

Success! Add to that refreshing post-wilderness trip feeling the happiness of making it out of an active fault zone in one piece.  I'm being facetious when I say that it was a real adrenaline rush!  Check out my picassa page for more photos. 

Pu'u Wa'awa'a et al.

Here is a post I've had laying around for months!

but first, a colletion of the latest creepy crawlies. I've got a lot of pictures of bugs.  I think because they stand still for so long, and they easily get an emotional response.

Anyway, here is a small brown scorpion that Beth thinks she maimed, but didn't kill,

and here it, or maybe its friend, is about a week later, hung up in the web of this slight spider.  I would like to know what happened here. 

 

 The parrots have returned to the lot next door!  I haven't seen them for months!  Though loud, they are fun to look at.  They are sensitive to the presence of people, and will leave as soon as they notice you.  Their return corresponds with the neighbors moving out of the front house... there is a joke in here somewhere, though it seems kind of harsh... something about only enough space for one flock of squawking half wits.

I feel compelled to write edgier things in my blog, after reading the bike snob yesterday-- pretty funny and cynical view of cycling.  Highly recommended.  I'm still learning about the corners of the internet that many of you probably discovered years ago.

This morning, I drove to Waimea to help with a "bike rodeo:" a fun event to get kids on their bikes and teach them some riding skills.  This is with PATH, and this event was for preschoolers.  Super fun.  I didn't get a chance to take any pictures, but imagine 20 little kids zooming around on an array of bikes, some with training wheels, some without, some tricycles, a scooter.  We taught them about helmets, then had them do things like ride in a figure eight, or weave between cones.  Fun.  Some of them were pretty good on their bikes.  Some of them could already skid their tires with their coaster brakes, which seems to be a fun skill for any age kid.  A bit of a problem with the middle schoolers-- they really want to skid their bikes, and we want them to have fun,  but we'd rather not have to buy new tires...

It was also a gorgeous morning in Kohala. I could clearly see Haleakala on Maui in front of me the whole drive, Kohala was pretty, green, and lush, Mauna Kea was brown and pock marked, Hualalai had a lazy bit of haze hanging around the summit, and Mauna Loa's gentle slope was looming behind me in the south. Pu'u Wa'awa'a was a bright green mole on the back of Hualalai.  This reminded me that I have pictures from a trip up Pu'u Wa'awa'a a few months ago.  Here's the story:

This was in early March, and our friend Kara was visiting from Volcano. The hike took us three or four hours, and was up gravel roads for most of the way.  Pu'u Wa'awa'a means "many-furrowed hill," and although I don't have a good picture to prove it, I can attest, this hill is furrowed.  It is pretty to view from the highway, especially Mamalahoa, the "upper road."  I'll get a photo for you sometime.  It sits on the flanks of Hualalai, and is about 100,000 years old, erupted at the end of the main phase of volcanism on Hualalai.  It is a cinder and pumice cone resulting from a trachyite eruption; all this means that the lava that flowed here was thicker and more explosive than most Hawaiian lava.  The viscosity made the cinder cone and related flows unusually steep and produced some interesting rocks not often seen in Hawaii. (since moving here, I am always on the lookout for rocks that are not basalt or coral.  Just wait 'till I tell you about the sedimentary rocks I found last week!! Oh boy, there's one to wait for! very funny.  you'll be impressed).
In sum, we had to climb it.

Beth with obsidian: volcanic glass (my precious!)

readin maps at the quarry

a large native mamane tree, near the top.  most get munched by livestock or feral ungulates.

fun to explore a pumice quarry in the pyroclastic beds.

The blustery solitude of the North Summit: oft dreamed of, only visited by the swarthiest of mountaineers.

I posted more pictures from this trip on my picassa page, including some of the mountains I was talking about.

Honomilino Beach Tsunami!

Real quick-like here, before I have to go to what has become the cursed smoothie-jerk job.
I went with Beth, my boss Betsy, and her friend Sterling to Milolii and Honomilino Beach last Friday.  A great little one mile kayak from Milolii beach park to Honomilino Beach. I don't think the clarity of the water here, especially over nearshore reefs, will get old.  It is so cool to paddle over reefs in calm seas and be able to see the yellow coral heads, the white sandy bottom, and every once and a while, a fish.  On a sunny day, all illuminated by dancing light refracted through the waves, and tinted shades of aqua.
Honmilino got pretty torn up by the recent tsunami.  I guess I didn't think it even warranted a photo!   We were checking it out for an upcoming kayak trip.  fun day anyways, though.  Had a fire on the beach and ate some sausages!  just like back home!

needs no description! excellent!

Beth on the open sea!

looking across the bay at Honomilino Beach

exploring Honomilino Bay

good spot for a house

headed back in the afternoon sunshine

found a neat arch.  look at the contrast from jagged aa to ocean rounded boulders

headed back towards Miloli'i

I'm trying all of these at a lower resolution, hopefully to make it faster for me and for you.  thoughts?

Mauna Kea Death March!

By Beth

Jump back a couple weeks in Martin’s blog entries and you’ll find something about the Daniels brothers coming to visit.  While they were here in Kona town, I was mostly working (Boo).  But… we did also have a sweet road trip adventure to Volcano and beyond.  Martin, unfortunately had to work, and couldn’t join us on the trip, and has asked me to put up a post about our ascent of Mauna Kea in particular.

 SO…here it is!  Introducing the main characters: 

Pete!

 Will? 

Beth.

These photo gems, along with others in this post, have shamelessly been stolen from Will’s Picasa album entitled “Hawaii Road Trip 2011!! Woot Woot,”  and Pete’s Picasa album called “Volcano National Park and South Point.” Check them out here: https://picasaweb.google.com/william.c.daniels and here https://picasaweb.google.com/pdaniels99

We started our morning at ~25 feet above sea level in Hilo with three oatmeal packets apiece for breakfast (barf).  It rained ominously during the 45 minute drive to the Mauna Kea access road, but as we neared the visitor center at 9,000 something feet, the clouds started to clear out.  We were so stoked we started juggling rambutans and doing the Will dance!  If you don’t know what rambutans or the Will dance are you can look the former up on the internet.  To view the latter however, you’ll have to stalk Will on facebook.

The trail from the visitor center is 7 miles long and gains a little over 4000’ in elevation.  Sadly, not long after we began our hike/trek/slog (or whatever you want to call it), the clouds closed back in and, instead of a potentially spectacular view of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, we mostly saw rain, mist, sleet(!), and even snow(!!) during the rest of the climb.

View Du Jour

Snow seemed appropriate?

It was cold and breathtakingly uphill with the elevation, but we did make it to the adze quarry, the permafrost-fed lake that Hawaiians throw babies’ umbilical cords into to give them Mountain Power, the observatories, and, last but not least, the summit!  Ta-da!

Umbilical Cords Live Here

Keck Observatory

Summit in site!

Here we are, grinning through the altitude headaches and wooziness.  Fortunately we had pop tarts, snicker bars and a gigantic block of cheese to get us back down the mountain.  Not much of a view from the top that day.  I guess Will and Pete will just have to come on back for a second summit on a sunnier day!

P.S. If you’re not tired of perusing photos yet, I also have a Picasa album featuring Will and Pete's adventures in Hawaii.  You can find it here: https://picasaweb.google.com/beth.bernhardt

gray in kona again/economic stimulus

how bout that weather?
it seems I'm most inclined to sit down and write something when it is gray outside...
contemplative weather? 
good weather for staying cool and comfortable at the computer?
I don't know.  I have been up to fun stuff, and I promise I will get some reports up here.  I just need to take more photos, so you have something better to look at than these words...

Here's a bit of good news:  if you're sick of hearing all the rhetoric about budgets and borrowing and deficits, I can testify, with certainty, that there is a cruise ship in Kailua Bay this morning. 
Rare for a Sunday.  Usually, as you may have read here before, the cruise ship is a wednesday phenomenon.  Whatever we have to say about them, tourists mean money for this town.  Don't call it a comeback, but I welcome a little more cash in kona after all this apocalyptic budgetary posturing.

Well, there's my stalker photo of the day.

I've got to get ready to go be a smoothie jerk.  But I will promise you news on such thrilling topics as:
Lifeguard Certification!
Bodysurf at Kua Bay!
if you're lucky:
Shark at Kua Bay!
if you're really good:
The Story of Dropping a Bed On My Toe, and My Falling Off Toenail!! stay tuned.

One month ago....

...was my last post!  Yikes, I've been negligent.

It has been a busy month. Our northland friends, the Norwegian Bachelor Brothers Will and Pete brought us a breath of fresh Minnesota air this month, which was certainly the highlight. We had a lot of fun; I'll put some pictures up soon.

Beth and I have been reeling in the quiet since they left, but perhaps I need to find a better way to fill the space than fret about gainful employment...
I've certainly kept myself busy, with some additional work teaching middle schoolers how to work on their bicycles.  It is a little stressful to come up with lesson plans for them, as everything about the program is new and undefined.  I'm trying to take things one little step at a time and not get lost in the big picture: use my time productively.  This work is for PATH.  I'm becoming less intimidated by the chaos, and looking at this as interesting experience in teaching and curriculum development, and a chance to make a little extra money.
I still have trips with Pack and Paddle, which is good.  They are that much more fun and relaxing contrasted with the middle schoolers.
Also checked off the stressor column is our house hunt-- not because we found anything new, but because we decided to stay where we are.  A potentially very unsatisfactory choice, as anyone who has tried to sleep through the night next to our obnoxious and immature partygirrlz neighbors knows.  But we have it on inside information that their lease will not be renewed.  So, we hope things don't get bad this month and that the new neighbors share a schedule similar to ours.  Looking for apartments sucks.  We'll tone it down for a while, but keep our eyes open for that perfect spot.
Ultimate frisbee is in the much improved column this month.  After some effort expended to organize a legitimate pickup game here in Kona, our fledgling game is looking all right, and we've made some new friends through it, too.  I think it will grow and hopefully stick around for a while.

OK, if you made it this far, my unsolicited self-disclosure has allowed you to achieve an intimate understanding of my life this month.  Use this knowledge responsibly, (stalker).  I'll start posting pictures and words about hawaii now, which is what I'd rather do on this blog. 

Soundtrack to this post: Bob Dylan, New Morning.  Getting ready to eat some fresh banana bread and play cribbage.  Life ain't so bad. 

Ka'au Crater

On Oahu, we hung out with my college housemate Laura and her man Nick.  On Thursday, before Kaimana started, we got a chance to do a strenuous and exciting hike from the edge of Honolulu up to the ridge of the Ko'olau Mountains, the "spine" of the island.  It was cool to see the extinct Ko'olau volcano, with all it's erosional stream valleys.  At 2.7 to 1.8 million years old, it is a vision of what the Big Island will look like after it is battered by time, rain, and waves.

We started heading up a hot and muggy stream valley....

full of critters that liked it hot and muggy.  This slimy worm with a semicircle hammerhead was about 18" long.  For all my creepy crawler lovers out there.

We climbed up/around about 5 waterfalls.

Here are Nick and I on the final ascent to the peak.  In in the background, notice Diamond head to the left, downtown on the right.  This trail was really steep, following a ridgeline once we climbed out of the valley.  The flat floor of Ka'au Crater is below us. 

We made it to the top about 5 minuted before clouds socked in the east side of the island.  Somewhere down there, we could see where we would play frisbee in two days.