Continued...
We returned to the west side of Hawaii for the second day in a row in order to
escape the nearly continuous rain that was pummeling the Hilo side of the
island where we were staying. We found overcast but dry conditions, excellent
for hiking and giving our boots a chance to dry out. All of the day's
summits were short excursions, the longest taking but an hour. Still, with
seven summits in total, we kept ourselves busy for much of the day.
Pu'u Hinai
This cinder cone is located near the town of Waikoloa, south of Waikoloa Rd. An
was locked at the pavement, so we walked the dirt road
south from there, about a mile to . A spur road leads to the
west side of the cone where a quarry is found, currently dormant. We walked by
some to climb from the northwest side, up an
no longer used. The summit featured an
from the 1930's, one of many that were
erected on the islands at that time. from the summit.
Pu'u Mau
The next four summits are all found in or around a pair of golf courses that
were built in Mauna Loa's lava fields on the south side of Hwy19. Paved
Kaupulehu Rd runs south from the highway to the Nanea Golf Club, the more
isolated of the two courses. is found well outside the golf
course on the south side of the access road. We parked off the pavement and
hiked through moderately high grasses to reach the base of the cinder cone. The
lava fields are have numerous ,
some of which are very deep and a
little unsettling when you realize they are partially hidden by the grass.
Ingrid was particularly nervous about this area and gave the open lava tubes a
wide berth. The slopes of the cone itself had less grass and were
. It took about 20min each way.
Pu'u Kolekole
This lava cone is found on the edge of the Nanea Golf Course. A rough utility
road branches off the paved access road to follow power lines heading east. We
parked when we were at its closest point.
Unable to find a place to park off the road, we managed to turn the vehicle
around and left it in the middle of the road, figuring the odds of someone
coming by in the next 30min were extremely low. The summit overlooks the tees
for the 9th hole and amusingly has a small green patch of artificial turf at the
very for those looking for an extra challenge. A gravel
winds its way to the top from the usual tees located below. A
party of golfers were when we reached the summit and
they seemed about as amused to see us as we were to see them.
Muheenui
This summit lies within the second of the two golf courses, the exclusive
members-only Kuki'o Golf Course designed by Tom Fazio. So exclusive, you don't
need a tee time, just an expensive membership.
A decent gravel/dirt service road run along the eastern edge
of the course just outside the property boundary. It can be accessed from
several points along paved Kaupulehu Rd that we'd used for the previous two
summits. A maintenance road runs along the south side of the course that can be
used to get closer to Muheenui. We parked outside the course property and then
walked on the south side. Ingrid got nervous about
this part of the adventure and decided to wait for us back in the jeep. Not a
bad idea since we might need someone to bail us out of jail. A very long fairway
lies between the maintenance road and our summit. We first tried to go around
the east side of this fairway but found a deep, rough crater in our way unless
we chose to walk on the edge of the fairway. The latter seemed too open to
observation. Instead we walked to the southwest corner of the course and around
the left side of the fairway where the green is located. Once inside
(latched, but not locked), we were able to follow
up to . We could easily have been
spotted on the grassy ridgeline, but nobody
would have been able to keep us from the summit at that point. We walked up
to the highpoint where we found a few golf caps left on a pile of lava rocks,
perhaps as a memorial to lost friends. We snapped
and returned the
same way, nicely finding we didn't cross paths with any of the few golf parties
on the course nor the course marshall (if they even have one - I suspect the
course is so exclusive that they don't even bother to police it). Ingrid was
glad to see us return, saving her the trouble of explaining to her husband why
she needed money to bail out her brother and his friend.
Poopoomino
This was the easiest summit of the day, found on the eastern edge of the same
course as the previous peak. The summit is just outside the property boundary
and easily reached in a few minutes from to the east.
It's really just a small rounded mound of overlooking
the undeveloped lava fields on one side and on the
other.
Kuili
This moderately-sized cinder cone is located in Kona Coast State Park. Popular
trails lead to the summit from the south and northwest. Knowing nothing about
these when we drove in, we simply parked off the pavement on
and went steeply up the grassy, somewhat loose slope to . Only
upon reaching it did we note the easier ways. The of
the HTS survey monument is all that remains, the pole with fins attached now
missing. There is a nice view of the Kona coast to . We
descended
to the northwest and walked a short distance back along the roadway.
Pu'u Oo
This small cinder cone is located across the highway from Kuili, inside the
West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery. The cemetery was closed, but we found a woman
with the gate code entering while we were parked across the highway. Ingrid ran
across the highway to talk with her, gaining her trust to allow us to enter
as well. We drove to and respectfully found our way to
the east side of the cemetery where leads one around the summit
and eventually to . The hill has been irrigated and a huge
assortment of native plants reintroduced. Ingrid knew the names of many of these
and would point them out as we walked by. The summit has a modest view
, built among the otherwise stark lava fields. We
returned to the jeep and left before the other woman had finished with her
visit.
Pu'u Kohala Heiau National Historic Site HP
We drove about 45min north along the coast highway, intending to visit a few
more Pu'us before returning to Hilo. We had little success, finding those we
were interested in on private property with no easy access. We then visited
this historic site but found that it was closed. We noted that the highpoint
of the park as described on the peakbagger site is found along the highway
near the entrance. We visited
to check off another box, then headed back to Hilo.
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