Above the Clouds at Mauna Kea! (The Milky Way!)

27 September.

Mauna Kea is one of the only places in the world where you can drive from sea level to 14,000 feet in about 2 hours. From where we were staying in Kona, it was about an hour and ten minutes to 9,200 feet. It turned out to be a surprisingly adventurous drive going through the center of the island.

The Big Island has so many microclimates you could see it change as you drive. I was thrilled and fascinated with the change in scenery and how the driving just got a bit more interesting with the quickly changing weather elements. At one point, it rained, and Chef told me to slow down. Later, the fog was so thick you could barely see, and Chef told me to slow down again. But there was no one else on the road! And it’s the roads were windy and fun! Chef seemed glad that as the driver, I was enjoying a seemingly treacherous drive. I had forgotten to check the weather but that seemed to change quickly with the scenery so I was so curious to see what would be next!

As we turned onto the access road to proceed up the volcano, it got quite steep. The speed limit became 30 mph which sounded slow, but then I realized that was a comfortable capacity for common engines. The first destination was the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station. Woohoo! It’s advised that you hang out there for half an hour to adjust for altitude sickness before proceeding to the summit.

As we neared the Visitor Information Station, there were signs. Turn to park, go straight to proceed to summit. I had to decide whether I wanted to go offroading to the summit in the Renegade Trailhawk, which I had selected specifically because it was most equipped for adventure. The visiting hours to the summit area are from 1/2 hour before sunrise until 1/2 hour after sunset. We didn’t have much time to decide.

The Mauna Kea’s observatory website warns: “Visitors are advised that only TRUE 4-wheel drive vehicles with LOW range travel above the VIS.  About 200 yards beyond the station, the pavement ends and the next five miles are a steep graded-gravel road. Before proceeding visitors should consult their rental vehicle company or review their contract concerning visiting the summit of Mauna Kea.  Many rental companies do not allow their vehicles on the summit even if they are 4-wheel drive, and if anything were to happen to your vehicle you would potentially be responsible for all towing charges and repairs, which can be thousands of dollars ($$$$).”

At the Visitor Information Station, there were example photos of failures. I was pretty sure that both the Renegade Trailhawk and I were qualified to summit, but not quite confident enough to take the risk. Slightly disappointing!

The second option was hitchhiking. Seriously. There is only one road up and down! I considered but then decided against it as well. If I was solo, maybe, but I was the driver for 3 others. The ascent and descent would make them wait longer, assuming whichever driver I caught a ride with didn’t make their own mistake along the way. :P Melinda later told me she had considered hitchhiking as well.

There was a hill nearby that many people seemed to be climbing up. Lisa and Chef stayed at the Visitor Information Station, where telescopes were being set up for the stargazing program later that evening. Ana, Melinda and I made our way up the hill to watch the sunset.

We’re on top of the world!

It was much prettier in person!

As the sun set, the stars began to appear. Yay for minimal light pollution!

As it darkened, a faint Milky Way appeared amongst the stars. Back at the Visitor Information Station, we queued up for the 4 or so telescopes set up, and saw with our own eyes closeups of Jupiter(‘s moon?), our own moon, a nebula or two. It was pretty amazing to see all the stars! The rangers said we were lucky to have come when we did, closer to the new-moon phase.

We didn’t stay for the full stargazing program because Chef was having problems with the altitude. He told everyone back at the house I/we tried to kill him haha. ADVENTURE!

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RESOURCES:

• Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station: http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/visiting-mauna-kea/visitor-information-station.html
• NYT article about Mauna Kea observatory that I borrowed the Milky Way photo from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/04/science/hawaii-thirty-meter-telescope-mauna-kea.html?_r=0