Hawai'i Big Island Trip Day6-8

From day6-8, we did 2 nights-3 day backpacking in Volcanoes National Park. At first we planned to go backpacking in Waipio and Waimanu valleys where in the rainy side of island. However, it was raining very hard and the ranger at the trailhead said that the river was impassible. So we went to national park and asked the ranger if there were available backpacking permits. Luckily there were. In fact the ranger said that nobody was camping at Halape, which was our destination. The day we would be hiking out was the day when the government might shut down. At that point we (and even the ranger) didn’t think that the shutdown would happen. However, it did happen (and still going on when I am writing this in Jan 16th 2019!), so it was great we changed the plan: Halape is one of highlights of the trip.

From the trailhead to the campsite, mostly the trail is on lava along the ocean. I had never seen such combination. Both lava and ocean is the source of nature. I felt happy that I was able to hike in such a dramatic view.

On the way to Halape, we saw two rangers checking the trail.

Mr.N asked, “Do you want to see permits?”

The ranger answered, “No. Enjoy the hike!”

Wow. Hawaii’s rangers are so friendly and relaxed. If it was in California, probably rangers check permits. I was checked JMT permits twice during the backpacking.

The beach at Halape is really beautiful. Because nobody was on the beach, it was very quiet and peaceful. We camped on the beach under coconut trees. We saw beautiful sunset in the evening, full moon at night, bright sunshine in the day. Every moment was pretty.

Lava and Ocean

Near the beach there was a pool. It was connected to the ocean, but no waves and calm. It was shallow. The ranger told it was okay to go swimming there if you go to ocean first and clean up your body. The reason is there are many unique creature there and sunscreen should not be exposed in the pool. I went to ocean and then swam in the pool. The fish there was amazing. I saw many interesting sea creature I didn’t see any other snorkeling points on Big Island. Mr.N didn’t bring snorkeling set or goggle, and he didn’t like to open eyes in the water. I brought goggle, so I swam many times in the pool. I was so excited. It was a wonderful swim there.