Took the boys over at dusk to try out some long exposures with the new camera (Nikon D40). ISO800, F5.6 @10s. Got there a bit late- need to go a little earlier so I can stop down more and still get more detail in the terrain. Quite amazing to see it rolling out of the vent though. That lava is surely getting closer to the surface.
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Apparently things got out of hand. I don’t think this is the kind of exposure that cyclists are looking for.
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The future of our cherished Giant Sequoia National Monument is hanging in the balance — please sign our petition today.
I have good news and I have bad news.
The good news is that thanks to the support of our Sierra Club members and supporters we were able to block a staggering 5,000-acre timber sale in the Giant Sequoia National Monument.
But the bad news is our fight to protect the majestic Giant Sequoias is not over. More than half of the remaining groves — located in Giant Sequoia National Monument — are in jeopardy because, despite being rebuked by the federal courts, the Bush Administration is refusing to back off its plan to log this irreplaceable ancient forest. That’s why we are asking you to act now and sign our petition to Forest Service Chief Abigail Kimbell, asking her to implement the strongest possible protections for Giant Sequoia National Monument.
Without these protections, loggers would be permitted to cut down trees of any species 30” in diameter or larger — a size that normally takes two centuries or more to grow. In addition, timber companies would be entitled to take 7.5 million board feet of lumber from Giant Sequoia National Monument each year — enough trees to fill 2,500 logging trucks — that’s a truck almost every three hours!
Your signed petition to Abigail Kimbell will put the U.S. Forest Service on notice that the American people won’t stand by as commercial logging damages this fragile ecosystem and threatens our remaining Giant Sequoia groves. And with your backing we will work to extend permanent protections to these magnificent and imperiled trees — by transferring management of the Giant Sequoia National Monument to the National Park Service.
The future of our cherished Giant Sequoia National Monument is hanging in the balance — please sign our petition today - and help preserve these awe-inspiring trees for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Greg Haegele
Director of Conservation
Sierra Club
85 Second Street, 2nd Fl.San Francisco, CA 94105
membership.services@sierraclub.org
(415) 977-5653
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USGS HVO News Release ,March 19, 2008
At 2:58 a.m. H.s.t on Wednesday, March 19, 2008, a small explosion occurred at Halema‘uma‘u Crater at the summit of Kilauea Volcano in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. This event was erroneously reported as an earthquake earlier this morning. The explosion scattered debris over an area of about 75 acres (30 hectares), covering a portion of Crater Rim Drive and damaging the Halema‘uma‘u overlook. No lava was erupted as part of the explosion, suggesting that the activity was driven by hydrothermal or gas sources.
Check some of the images here. Fascinating stuff- this place keeps you on your toes.
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Volcanoes National Park refers to these short out-and-back trails off of Mauna Loa Strip Rd. as the ‘Ups and Downs of Mauna Loa’. Kinda lame, but not really worth renaming until they are expanded a little. If the ends of the trails on either side of the Strip Rd.
could be connected, making a large loop, these trails would be really cool. As they are now, they are simply a nice ride with too much back-tracking. The bottom connector is actually on Kapapala Ranch and not officially a trail. If you get my drift.
The terrain varies from grassy Koa forest that makes you feel like you are floating through the shady canopy, to pavement, to barren lava double-track that does it’s best to throw you down and eat you. The two uphill spurs are very short and not really worth riding more than once, until they get connected. I recommend just riding the two lower sections for more substantial ride.
It would take a good solid weekend for an organized group of trail users to build some singletrack connectors that would elevate it from just a nice casual ride, to one of the best loops on the island. I think there is even possibility of connecting it to the Broomsedge Network, though with a lot more work. Volunteers wanted!
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So, on a whim I decide to throw an entry at Swobo’s most recent ‘caption this photo‘ contest, and while I didn’t come off with the winner, I did get an uncredited display of the entry. Too bad- I’m in bad need of a new t-shirt. Check out the winner and a few other entries here if you like- bearing in mind that the language can be a bit on the colorful side. Even if mine doesn’t give you a chuckle, any other part of “How to Avold the Bummer Life” probably will.
3/15/08 Update: Stevil at HTATBL sent in a comment apologizing for and rectifying the lack of credit (wasn’t THAT big of a deal, really, but super kind of him) Unfortunately, comments and trackbacks are not working right now, and I can’t fix it due the fact that my domain is hosted by lame-asses with the worst support ever. I’m in the process of switching to a new sustainably powered host that already looks much, much better. And with my own domain: driftingson.com coming soon!
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…if you believe in that kind of thing. Gods and devils and such. Or you might think of it as anti-nature. Or, as The Goat calls it- the “new Hummer H2.” Just stop buying it. The bottles of water, I mean. What else you buy into is more your own choice.
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Hawaii State Parks website: Kalopa
I had originally hoped to do both days of the event, but at the last minute decided to just do a day trip on Saturday with son Dante. After doing some hacking and chopping for an hour or so, Dante and I went for a ride and found some of the nicest singletrack I’ve ridden yet on the Big Island. While the literature and web site of the state park system doesn’t actively promote it as a bike trail, the local riders have had their blessing for years to ride and maintain it. We met some great folks, including Grant and Janet from HP Bikeworks in Kona, who has been organizing this event for a few years now. He said the turnout of about 6 of us was a little disappointing compared to other years of 30+, but I think a lot more showed up on Sunday for the ‘fun ride’. We surmised that two 
days may be a bit much for most folks. They’ll need to get their priorities sorted out by next year. The cabins are sweet, the grounds are immaculate, and there is room for a LOT of people in a really beautiful place- I’ll be bringing the whole family next year for sure.
Dante and I only had time to ride half of the main loop- went straight up the center (Old Road), turned right at the top where the park borders a pasture and then down the Perimeter Horse Trail. When we got back to Old Road, we continued straight across and finished with a short but very cool section called Keiki Run, and then back into the campground on Robusta Lane.
Map of our ride at, MotionBased.
I have to say that I’m super-proud of my boy- he’s turning out to be an enthusiastic rider at a mere 8 years and quickly developing the skills necessary for technical riding like handling log piles and steep switchbacks. He only has to see me do something once to have the confidence to try it himself. The climb up was long, with some pretty steep sections, and he was hurting at times. I tried to get him to stop plenty of times and just sit or walk- I pushed his bike for him at the worst part of it, but he would be back on the bike within seconds and just cranking away. He’s beginning to understand that the pain is a necessary part of mountain biking- to get to that long flowing downhill, you have to earn it. At the end of the day, he said to me “I just really loved all of it. The whole ride, even the hard uphill part.” I had the biggest smile ever on my face. His brother Kiel is a fine rider too, but chose to stay in Volcano with mom for this trip. He said he’ll be out there next time…
The forest here is really nice- 100 acres of native rainforest which make up the actual state park section, and 515 acres of introduced tree species in the bordering Kalopa Forest Reserve (where the ridable trails are), according to the brochures available in the park.
From the brochure, printed by the Hamakua District Development Council:
“GETTING TO KNOW THE STATE FOREST RESERVE
Kalopa Gulch Trail System. Kalopa Gulch borders the Hilo side of the forest and is joined by Hanaipoe Gulch in the upper quarter. These gulches are as deep as 150-200 feet and originate near the summit of Mauna Kea. Geological history shows that the gulches were formed largely by meltwater from the Pleistocene glacial icecap of Mauna Kea. Flash floods presently scour the bedrock channels. Visitors are advised of this flood hazard and should exercise care on any trails which cross gulches. The gulches support and imprtant native vegetation preserved in past times from grazing animals by the steep slopes.”
I hope to spend another day out there very soon to map out the rest of the trails- it seems that a good trail map of the area is badly needed.
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I’ve never ridden there but another rider has posted the trail on MotionBased and it looks like a nice ride. Would love to make it out there, but between the Drifting Childrens’ track meet on Saturday, the return of my soccer league on Sunday, and an out of season south swell headed for Kawa Bay in between…it may be hard to squeeze in. You should go though…
UPDATE: …oops- I should have read the flyer a little closer, it’s not THIS weekend, but NEXT weekend. I’m there!
You can download the above MotionBased trail map to your own GPS…
Contact details are in the flyer.
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Finally got out on a bike again- tried over the weekend but pulled the Karate Monkey out of the garage and found that the rear wheel wouldn’t turn. I felt that would make the ride too difficult, so I started tearing things apart and found two bad bearings AND a frozen cog. Luckily found the bearings in stock at Hilo BIke Hub yesterday so everything is smooth now. Went from the highway pedestrian gate up to Thurston Lava Tube and down Escape Rd to the second pig-proof gate. Turned down along the fence- a maintenance trail that hugs the fence a little too closely in many spots, including some places where you have to stop and turn your handlebars sideways to get between trees. This comes out on Chain of Craters Road, which you then cruise uphill a short ways to get on the Crater Rim Spur Trail which takes you back up to Escape Road (the top segment of which is missing on my map from accidentally turning off my GPS)
UPDATE: Finally figured out how to get the GPS tracks loaded into the MotionBased site- very nice way to view the time, speed, and elevation stats with the ride mapped out on Google maps… check it here
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