February 17, 2019 | Brian & Vanessa
I hike about a handful of times a year, Brian can probably say he has hiked about a handful of times in his lifetime. So to say we are hikers? Not at all. However, this was on the top of our bucket list! It is by far the gnarliest, toughest, and most perseverance challenging hike we have ever done, nonetheless together. But, we nailed it!
This hike starts off on a high elevation — we hike down to the craters, and then back up and out. Brian received some guidance from his experienced coworker, and he told us exactly where the hitchhike area is, so we parked the car at the end of the trail to hitchhike. After all, it is better to have a ride up, instead of hoping for a ride back to the car after an exhausting hike.
Brian did all of the work for the hitchhike. I was so proud of him since this is usually out of his comfort zone, and he was so confident! We only waited for about 15 minutes before a kind local offered us a ride in the back of his pick-up truck.
On the way to the top we saw snow, and when we got there we couldn’t believe the amount of snow we saw! It made me second guess whether we were still in Hawaii for a hot second. The views were amazing and so beautiful! Rangers did warn us that there may be ice on the hike back up later, but we decided to take a chance.
The hike down was a bit challenging because it was downhill with snow, but as soon as we cleared the snow, it was an easy and mellow hike down and across the craters.
When we hit the 4 mile mark, it started to drizzle and the clouds didn’t look too promising for sun. If anything, it will probably rain harder. So we had to decide if we want to keep going or trek back? The two of us are quite ambitious people, and we were very determined to finish the hike. To us, walking back 4 miles means we hiked a total of 8 miles, but another 3 miles would’ve meant we completed the hike – and so, we pushed through!
Although hiking in the rain was tough, we still think it was worth it. We came across so many different terrains — snow, rocks, sand, and water. It felt like we were walking through moon, mars, and then back on earth again!
The experience we had, words cannot describe. It was exciting and frightening because there really wasn’t that many people that actually did the hike.
Finally, the hike up!
The hike up was not only tough because we were going up, but because we were going up as rain was pouring by now. The trails were also very narrow with no protection, but then again, we did prefer the rain over any expected ice.
We were fully aware that this portion of the hike was roughly 2 miles. The trickiest (and obviously rhetorical) question to ask ourselves was still: to get our boots, socks, and feet wet for 2 miles or stepping to the side to avoid it, but risk falling over?
I must take a moment to applaud Brian here. For someone who is not really outdoorsy (but I claim to be), he was my comfort. We were both soaked head to toe and super cold from being in the rain for the last 4-5 hours. The finish line seemed to be moving further and further away as we made our way up. Instead of complaining, Brian stayed positive and gave me the very strength I needed to continue climbing and finish the hike. I am so proud of him!
This was one of the highlights for us. We are both terrified of heights, and this narrow path (definitely felt more narrow in person), was a scary bridge between the two mountains. And because the finish line was just on the other side, we didn’t even give it a second thought and went straight for it!
Distance
11.4 miles
Elevation Gain
2,448 feet
Route Type
Point to Point
Brian at the beginning of the hike said, “I would do this again”, but the first thing he said when we reached the car was, “I’m never doing this hike again.” As much as we both thought this hike was totally worth it, it was brutal in the rain. But who knows, maybe it would’ve been worse in the blazing sun. Would it have been different if we were 100% prepared? Probably. If we each had a set of hiking sticks, if it wasn’t raining, if we had waterproof gears — then maybe, maybe it would’ve been a slightly better experience. But everything can’t always be perfect. We just need to enjoy ourselves, have fun while we are in it, and never say never because there is always a chance to do the hike again! *insert evil grin here*
