Mauna Kea Climber's Log

Viewing: 1-20 of 187
forjan

forjan - Nov 29, 2006 4:13 pm Date Climbed: Nov 26, 2006

Humu`ula Trail from Onizuka Visitor Center  Sucess!

Left my hotel in Kona just past 6am. Arrive at the Onizuka Visitor Center (9,200') by 7:45am. Started hiking from there at 8:15am on the Humu`ula Trail (Mauna Kea Trail). Took a quick side trip to visit Lake Wai`au then traveled clockwise to check out all the telescopes (from the CalTech submillimeter telescope to the UK infrared telescope). Made the summit by 12:05pm. Stayed there for about half an hour. Started going down at 12:35pm. I tried hitch-hiking but no one gave me a ride, so I had to walk back down the trail. Got to my rental car by 2:15pm (6 hrs car-to-car). Fun, easy day on top of Hawaii.

Joerg Marretsch

Joerg Marretsch - Oct 28, 2006 2:38 pm Date Climbed: Oct 16, 2006

Sorry for driving!  Sucess!

Start hiking Humu'ula Trail from Onizuka Visitor Center early in the morning. Due to more badly becoming weather (strong winds, clouds and falling temperatures) I gave up after one hour. Hike down to the rental-car (4WD) and drove up to the summit. Visibility at summit below 50 ft.

Matt Worster

Matt Worster - Oct 8, 2006 6:00 am Date Climbed: Oct 5, 2006

Honeymoon and a high point  Sucess!

Done during our honeymoon on the Big Island. Ain't my wife grand? :-) I check the "successful" box with a wry grin. Heehee!

Dan the Jones

Dan the Jones - Sep 19, 2006 3:42 am Date Climbed: Jan 23, 2005

Snow

Snow on Hawai'i - how crazy is that.

regolithe

regolithe - Sep 15, 2006 10:19 pm Date Climbed: Jun 21, 2006

Longest Day!  Sucess!

This was an interesting day, We saw volcanoes, and were at sea level, and on top of a near 14,000 footer in the same day. Amazing.

osatrik

osatrik - Aug 14, 2006 8:07 pm Date Climbed: Apr 2, 1986

No snow!  Sucess!

My daughter and I reserved a potential ski adventure in Hawaii in 1986, alas a year of little to no snow in the islands. We hiked from Hale Pohaku. This was Vanessa's first 10,000 ft peak, but we hitch-hiked down to get back to the beach! I remember a fuel truck passing us on the way up -- he was going about 5 miles an hour. This was number 9 of my 49 state high points and Vanessa's 39.

JohnMcPike

JohnMcPike - Jul 28, 2006 3:42 am Date Climbed: Jun 4, 2006

Made it  Sucess!

It was an awesome terrain like no place else on earth. We did one of those tours at dusk because we didn't want to cope with driving. It was great we didn't have to drive to the top but we didn't think it was worth the price they charged. Anyhoo--still glad we did it.

blmcclain

blmcclain - Jun 20, 2006 10:21 pm Date Climbed: May 12, 2006

Route Climbed: Road end to true summit  Sucess!

Drove to the top, slipped on some pants and a jacket (board shorts and a tee isn't what the natives had in mind up here!) stumbled over the cable and hike (or jogged rather) to the top of the summit (maybe a 1/4 mi away). Great views, spectacular sunset, and more stars than I've ever seen in my entire life. Got a good look at my next Hawaian peak to conquer....Manua Loa.

SkydiveKen

SkydiveKen - Jun 18, 2006 4:30 am Date Climbed: Dec 12, 2005

Quick Trip  Sucess!

My third highpoint. Met my friend Wayne at the airport, drove to the observatory and walked over to the summit. Not very strenuous but this is Hawaii and I was on vacation with the family... quick and dirty.

NavySeabee

NavySeabee - May 3, 2006 7:31 pm Date Climbed: Mar 8, 2005

My First Highpoint!  Sucess!

Took the easy route to the summit via the road. Ran into the author of one of the best tour books written for Hawaii called "Big Island Revealed". Look for my wife and I posing at the summit in the 4th edition when released. Weather was pretty mild. Absolutely amazing place!!

nayrb

nayrb - Apr 9, 2006 11:57 pm Date Climbed: May 31, 2002

Highest Mountain in the World ... from the Sea Floor  Sucess!

Made it to the summit w/ my lovely bride. Since I probably will never get the chance to summit Everest ... I thought I would try to climb the highest mountain in the world ... if you consider it from the sea floor of the Pacific Ocean.

NanitaD

NanitaD - Apr 1, 2006 1:40 pm Date Climbed: Feb 23, 1998

Hiked up the road  Sucess!

When we started in the dark and missed the trailhead so just hiked up the road about 3/4 of the way. After several people stopped to offer rides we finally accepted one from someone who worked at one of the observatories. Once on top we hiked out to the true summit then ended up getting a ride back to the visitor's center.

Larry V

Larry V - Mar 28, 2006 4:34 am Date Climbed: Mar 25, 2006

Humu'ula Trail, March 2006  Sucess!

Good trail when you could see it. Lots of snow above 12,500'. Two feet of rime ice on summit. Lots of threatening clouds, visibility below 50' at times. I was relieved when the trail route joined the road. Cold, high winds on summit. I got down just before a rare hailstorm ensued. 7 hours round trip from visitor center trailhead. 13 miles round trip.

Mountain Jim

Mountain Jim - Mar 11, 2006 4:19 am Date Climbed: Feb 23, 1998

Interesting summit  Sucess!

Climbed via the road.

Herb

Herb - Jan 11, 2006 10:46 am

Route Climbed: Road end to true summit Date Climbed: May 11, 2004  Sucess!

Nice experience to travel from 0 m to 4.205 m in a very short time with my girlfriend Irene. Big Island has so many beautiful and partly unique experiences to offer - from lava to snow and from giant-bamboo to waterfalls - densley packed on this exceptional island. Note: We met a pink VW Beetle on the Saddle road... :)

dyscti

dyscti - Jan 3, 2006 4:03 pm

Date Climbed: December 23rd  Sucess!

No snow, but no other people either which made up for it. :)

climberben

climberben - Dec 26, 2005 5:31 am

Route Climbed: Drove Date Climbed: 2 May 2005  Sucess!

We walked out that short little bit with high winds. I feel stupid signing this since we drove up.

Joseph Bullough

Joseph Bullough - Nov 14, 2005 8:38 am Date Climbed: Nov 6, 2005

Route Climbed: Humu'ula Trail from Onizuka Visitor Center  Sucess!

A clear and excellent day, surprisingly warm (45-ish?) at the summit. Saw a number of cars driving up the summit road, but no other hikers on the trail that day. Saddle Road from Kona was no where near as bad as I expected.

edl - Sep 23, 2005 4:19 pm

Route Climbed: Mauna Kea Trail Date Climbed: April, 2000  Sucess!

Most surrealistic hike I've ever done. Topping out among those huge telescope domes is a unique experience. The crux of the climb is driving the Saddle Road.

Ed F

Ed F - Aug 28, 2005 5:45 pm

Route Climbed: Trail from Visitor's Center Date Climbed: August 25, 2005  Sucess!

This is an otherworldly experience. We started the day at our hotel on the ocean, and climbed to almost 14000 feet. The landscape here is truly amazing. The clouds hung at about 6000 feet the entire day, so looking out over the clouds was stunning.



15 miles round trip to the summit, and a start at 9000 feet makes it a long day. Well worth it, though. The altitude didn't really affect me much - I guess I climbed it while I was still acclimated from Colorado.



The only downside is that the final 1.5 miles forces you to hike on the road, which is kind of a bummer after having perfect solitude for 6 miles.



Trip Report: Sea to Sky

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