Weight=184.8 pounds, Steps=12,380
Kilauea Iki CraterTrail Hike
The 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki Crater was a relatively short-lived event, but it produced some of Kilauea's most spectacular lava fountains of the 20th century and yielded a wealth of valuable data about the volcano's magma reservoir system. At the time of the eruption, it spewed out 400 million gallons of lava per second (that's a lot of lava).The lava fountain that formed the cinder pile above reached 1900ft, the highest ever recorded in Hawaii.
The five-week eruption started on Nov. 14, 1959, with a fissure that broke through the south wall of Kilauea Iki Crater at about 8 p.m. Within 24 hours, the eruption focused on a single vent, from which a fountain-fed lava into Kilauea Iki Crater until Nov. 21. After a few days, the eruption resumed, with 16 additional episodes of high fountaining, separated by shorter pauses. Lava from these fountains built the Puu Puai cone and filled Kilauea Iki Crater to a depth of about 425 feet. One of the fountains was the tallest ever observed at Kilauea’s summit, reaching 1,900 feet. The eruption ended on Dec. 20.
Located inside Volcanoes National Park is the mysterious 500-foot deep Kilauea Iki Crater. As depicted in the video above, this was full of lava 57 years ago and since has settled making this amazing crater. There are two options, a 4.5 mile loop trail which circles the crater or the shortcut 1.2 mile hike.
We opted for the longer trek which circles the crater and takes about two hours to complete The trail is moderate difficulty with switch backs through rainforest terrain with staggered log and stone steps (steep slopes going both up an down). Once reaching the bottom and stepping on the crater, we followed the rock formations out to the middle where vents and cracks in the lava are still emitting steam. It's amazing to be at the lookout and then find yourself on the floor looking up. Really puts its size into perspective. Hikers should wear good shoes, bring water and be prepared for rain. Sometimes the air is thick with vog, depending on the wind direction.
We opted for the longer trek which circles the crater and takes about two hours to complete The trail is moderate difficulty with switch backs through rainforest terrain with staggered log and stone steps (steep slopes going both up an down). Once reaching the bottom and stepping on the crater, we followed the rock formations out to the middle where vents and cracks in the lava are still emitting steam. It's amazing to be at the lookout and then find yourself on the floor looking up. Really puts its size into perspective. Hikers should wear good shoes, bring water and be prepared for rain. Sometimes the air is thick with vog, depending on the wind direction.
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