the trailhead

The trailhead for the rainforest hike to Pu'u O'o is just a wide area at the end of a short extension from Captain Drive off of S. Glenwood Road (the road junctioning off of Hwy 19). March 2007. What is important to note here is the broken glass. When we got there we saw at least three piles of broken window glass on the ground and more bits of glass from previous break-ins strewn over the place. This trailhead is truly a magnet for car burglars SO BEWARE. It's best not to leave anything valuable in the car. Don't even leave the hint of something value being in the car. Also, you might even consider leaving your car doors open (some cars in the picture above did just this) and leaving compartments such as the center console and the glove box open to show you've got nothing for them to steal. Another option (if you're alone when you get there) is to stash any valuables you might have in the forest. It's plenty thick enough. Just don't have trouble finding your own stuff later. For us it was raining when we arrived (the only significant rain we encountered during our whole Hawaii trip). Add this to the possibility that Pu'u O'o may not have even been visible through the low cloud deck and the real threat of car burglary along wih the fact that we were borrowing a friend's Mercedes and we knew this hike was not to be for us. (Who would want to spend a part of their vacation in an auto shop getting a window replaced?) So we went and looked at fresh lava at the seashore instead.