Symbolic Lava

The glow emanating from these fiery orange rivers could be seen from miles away, even in the day time. I had never visited a volcano as active as this before. Its ashen grey slopes were scorched, and vegetation only remained in patches that so far, managed to avoid the currents of lava. The air was smokey, stagnant and uncomfortably warm. Being from the high desert outside of San Diego, this was not a completely unfamiliar feeling to me. In a lot of ways, it was reminiscent of how it felt to be near a wildfire. Seeing flora climb from cracks in this newly formed land gave me pause, not unlike the reemergence of plant life to an area recently charred by fire. While these two forces have similar destructive power, their miraculous power to re-create and renew is symbolic to our own human experience. In attempts to renew our own lives, we tend to destroy things that remind us of the past, both symbolically and physically. Being a youth consistently wrapped up in his own existential angst, I have been no exception to this. While making my way through the maze of hardened lava flow, I felt as if I was feeling new, virgin, land beneath my feet. It felt freeing, as If walking on earth not tainted from past experience.

The majority of the day was spent driving from Kona to Volcano. The landscape drastically transformed from the rocky terrain of the Kona coast, into a lush, emerald-green garden, that is the Hilo side of the island. Not having time to explore, we stopped briefly for lunch. If you're in the area, vegan or not, I suggest giving the Conscious Culture Cafe a gander. The atmosphere is friendly and inviting, plus they have Big Island Booch on tap. After leaving Hilo we drove for a while more, it's hard to say how long. I was far too caught up in this new and exciting environment to worry about time or distance. I stared out the window, mouth gaping, taking my attention away only to wipe the fog building up from my mindless breathing.

We arrived at a larger two-story house, 45 minutes or so from our final destination. After looking around for signs of life, an elderly local woman finally caught our attention. I couldn't understand much of what she was saying, but she walked up the stairs and showed us to our room. A couple geckos scurried out of view as we entered. We set our stuff down, grabbed some snackage, and headed back out the door. The base site resembled a refugee camp, there were canopies and cars scattered all along both sides of the road. Clouds of dust hang in the air from gangs of bikes headed out towards the volcano. The first step in the trek is 2.5 mile bike ride on a wide dirt road. It's an otherworldly experience, the terrain is ashen and black with a view of the ocean on the left, and view of the volcano on the right. Once you reach the end of this road, you lock your bikes up, and attempt navigate through the hardened lava field. We used the orange light from the lava flows to guide our path toward the mountain. I suggest starting this venture around sunset, the rivers of molten rock pouring from the volcano catch fire to the night sky. Also be sure you bring headlamps or flashlights, the hike to the lava from the road is technical. You'll be making your way over cracks, hills, brittle, and scalding rock. Stopping frequently on this burnt plain, I couldn't help but feel as if I was in on another planet. The closer you get, you notice an orange glow, and steam spraying from between the cracks in the rocks. 

We arrived at the base of the volcano around nightfall. Streams of lava pour down onto a previously vegetated area, igniting palm trees and other tropical foliage.  A sizable group of tourist are taking pictures of the lava and preceding fire, attempting to keep a safe distance. I took a different approach, hoping to leave a little bit of my shoe on this newly forming land. This was my typical strategy in precarious circumstances. If you were to look back on photos from previous adventures, you would find me in a similar position.. as close to edge as possible. The heat radiating from the lava made my black long sleeve unbearable. I was sweating profusely, but in no mood to acknowledge it. I thought about Pele, and the power the locals believed rested in these blazing cauldrons. I thought about childhood dreams of someday seeing a volcano in "real life." I thought about how I always dreamed of visiting Hawaii, but at the rate my life was progressing, I doubted I'd ever be able to. I thought about how much I needed to thank my girlfriend and her family, for even making this a possibility to me. I thought about how life is continuously starting anew, and if the innate cycles of the universe could do it, I could too. I could set fire to the old forests of my psyche, and allow for new untainted growth.

An emblazoned palm tree collapsed, producing a loud smacking sound. Sparks danced into the night sky, perfectly complementing the under lighting of the lava streams, and interrupting my internal conversation. Haven taken our pictures and sweat enough, we decided it was time to pack it out. I believe that the hike from the road to the volcano is around 3 miles. Traversing the hardened lava flow is extremely fun to me, especially by headlamp. By this point it was after dark, the only way to locate our bikes was by using a dull lamp by the road as a guide. The hike seemed to take twice as long on the way back, but eventually we reached our bikes. I struggled to keep the bike straight and continuously lost myself in the in the ocean of stars above.