Little
did we know, but it was going to be another long and interesting day
agian. We continued up the coast that day, hoping to get to the town
of Waimea. Along the way, we stoped in the town of Captian Cook and
had a bite to eat. We continued to Kailua-Kona where we met up with
Monica agian. The trip continued north. At one point, the road was
covered by lava flow. It was old enough that people had made roads
over the flow to connect the small pieces of road that were left.
Finally we hit the main flow. There was somewhat of a road that had
been cleared on this flow also. We were hoping that we would not be
turned around at this point. However, we continued.
We
traveled a number of miles on this particular lava field. In the
distance, you could see steam rising off the ocean where an active
lava continued to flow. The road eventually turned right. It pointed
towards a neiborhood up on the side of a hill. The lava road
eventually turned into a paved road which led into an abandoned
neighborhood. We drove up and down all the roads there hoping to find
a way out. The only thing we found was a hermit up there collecting
Macadamia Nuts. He was rather rude and kept on threatening us. He
claimed that it was his property, but we know he was not supposed to
be up there either.
Eventually
we went back the hill to see if there were any other roads heading
north. I was driving with Mike. At the bottom of the hill, we turned
right on one road. Out of the trees steps this really scuzzy looking
dude, "oh no trouble!" I looked at Mike and suggested we get
the hell out of there, so we turned around. So after looking some
more, we found out that we would have to turn around and go back the
other way. Everyone was quite dissapointed. We got back to the main
road and hauled butt to the other side of the island and picked up
Saddle Road.
Saddle
Road goes from the Hilo side of the island to the Kona side of the
island. About midpoint of Saddle Rd. is Mauna Kea state recreational
area. That is where we crashed for the night. We set up our tents
there in the park. Believe it or not, it gets cold there. The camp is
about six thousand feet above sea level. We had sleeping bags and
blankets, but we still got cold that night. Bear, being a cold weather
dog, was loving life.
The
following morning, we continued to Waimea and had breakfast and warmed
up a little. Parker Ranch borders on Waimea. On the map, we were able
to find a trail that led from Waimea to the top of Mauna Kea Volcano.
We found that the beginning of the trail, a dirt road, started on the
Parker Ranch. No problem, all the gates were unlocked. The trail
looked pretty simple. It went up and would connect with two other
trails that circled the volcano, one being higher elevation that the
other.
We
encountered a few cattle gates on the way up, but they were not
locked. It was quite beautiful. It was more like taking a nice trail
ride up the side of a mountain. It was not really steep, and there
were a lot of trees. You could not tell that you were on the side of a
volcano. The further we got in elevation the thinner the tree line
seemed to get. At one point, I could tell we were really high up. A
cloud rolled over one of the hills and went by. It sarted getting a
little cooler at this point. We eventually hit the lower trai that
circled the volcano. That trail eventually ran into the paved road
that leads to the top of Mauna Kea. We took the paved road to the
upper trail. What a difference. It was now cooler and the vegitation
was really thinning.
The
trail was now a trail instead of a dirt road. The view was
spectacular. We could look down on the clouds now. Eventually we got
high enough so that there were only a few bushes scattered about. some
of the landscape looked like some the photos that came back from mars.
The dirt was red, and there were rocks scattered all about. There was
lardge hill that Mike and Dennis took there Jeeps up. Dennis made it
up no problem. Mike, who had 2.72:1 gears, had problems. He broke one
of his front hubs. This hill was not part of the trail, it just looked
fun to climb. We figured that the rest of the trail should not be too
hard, plus Mike's Jeep was locked in the rear, so we continued on.
Little did we know. A while later, we were going up a hill, and Mike
had to get on the throttle a little bit to get up, and he snapped his
rear u-joint at the rear diff, and two of the trap bolts were broken
off in the yoke. Yeah....Now the adventure really begins .
After
a couple of us looked under Mike's Jeep, we decided that we were going
to be there for a while. Anyone got a SNICKERS? Well, it was getting
dark. We backed mikes jeep down to a level part on the hill. Then, we
made camp, because we were not going anywhere that evening. We would
take care of that the following day. It was really cold that night. We
were between nine and ten thousand feet above sea level. Even the dog
got pissed off that night. It snapped at me and a couple others that
night. I found out later that Akidas dont like to be cooped up for
long periods of time. Well, Bear had been bouncing around in the back
of the Jeep all day. I'd be pissed off too. In the morning, we backed
Mikes Jeep down the rest of the hill and assesed the rest of the
damage.
We
were going to need parts. So, we sent Dennis, Cory and Monica down the
hill to get parts. Monica had to take care of some more stuff, so we
were not going to see her 'til we got back. It was going to be a while
'til they got back. Kalani, Mike and myself set up some tarps for
shelter, otherwise the UV light was going to bake us up there. I
managed to get one of the bolts out of the yoke. We had a drill, and I
worked on the other side for a while hoping to get it fixed before the
others got back. All three of us took turns drilling on the yoke.
There was not much else to do. We finally go a hole in the yoke, but
the screw threads were gone. That was not my original intention.
Dennis
and Cory did not get back til late in the evening. It took them awile,
because its pitch black and they took a few wrong trails, and blew a
front hub too. So, once again, we had to spend the night out there. It
turns out that both yokes that Dennis and Cory brought back were the
wrong size.Then Cory mentions something that he had seen before.
He
had seen or read about some one inserting an allen wrench in one of
the strap holes and bending it to hold the strap down. What an
idea!!!! We installed the unbroken strap first, then the other one. We
put in the one good bolt then we stuck he allen head wrench through
the other. Luckily, Mike brought a propane torch along with him. We
broke one allen wrench, because they are hardened steel, they break,
not bend. We heated up the allen wrench and bent it till it was tight.
If it works dont knock it. It got us out of there. We found Dennis'
hub on the side of the trail on the way out.
Over
all, it was an interesting journey. We saw a lot more of the island
than most tourist do, no one got hurt and I even learned a few things.
The allen head wrench trick came in really handy. I also found out
what happens when you put shackles that are too long on your Jeep. I
found that out the hard way. I was driving Mike's Jeep, and I was
going about 45 when the steering gets really scary, and I am all over
the road. Here comes a semi truck in the opposite direction, and I'm
about to pass someone on a bicycle. After that Mike was the only one
to drive his Jeep on the road.
Little
did we know, but it was going to be another long and interesting day
agian. We continued up the coast that day, hoping to get to the town
of Waimea. Along the way, we stoped in the town of Captian Cook and
had a bite to eat. We continued to Kailua-Kona where we met up with
Monica agian. The trip continued north. At one point, the road was
covered by lava flow. It was old enough that people had made roads
over the flow to connect the small pieces of road that were left.
Finally we hit the main flow. There was somewhat of a road that had
been cleared on this flow also. We were hoping that we would not be
turned around at this point. However, we continued.
We
traveled a number of miles on this particular lava field. In the
distance, you could see steam rising off the ocean where an active
lava continued to flow. The road eventually turned right. It pointed
towards a neiborhood up on the side of a hill. The lava road
eventually turned into a paved road which led into an abandoned
neighborhood. We drove up and down all the roads there hoping to find
a way out. The only thing we found was a hermit up there collecting
Macadamia Nuts. He was rather rude and kept on threatening us. He
claimed that it was his property, but we know he was not supposed to
be up there either. 
The
following morning, we continued to Waimea and had breakfast and warmed
up a little. Parker Ranch borders on Waimea. On the map, we were able
to find a trail that led from Waimea to the top of Mauna Kea Volcano.
We found that the beginning of the trail, a dirt road, started on the
Parker Ranch. No problem, all the gates were unlocked. The trail
looked pretty simple. It went up and would connect with two other
trails that circled the volcano, one being higher elevation that the
other. 
We
encountered a few cattle gates on the way up, but they were not
locked. It was quite beautiful. It was more like taking a nice trail
ride up the side of a mountain. It was not really steep, and there
were a lot of trees. You could not tell that you were on the side of a
volcano. The further we got in elevation the thinner the tree line
seemed to get. At one point, I could tell we were really high up. A
cloud rolled over one of the hills and went by. It sarted getting a
little cooler at this point. We eventually hit the lower trai that
circled the volcano. That trail eventually ran into the paved road
that leads to the top of Mauna Kea. We took the paved road to the
upper trail. What a difference. It was now cooler and the vegitation
was really thinning.
The
trail was now a trail instead of a dirt road. The view was
spectacular. We could look down on the clouds now. Eventually we got
high enough so that there were only a few bushes scattered about. some
of the landscape looked like some the photos that came back from mars.
The dirt was red, and there were rocks scattered all about. There was
lardge hill that Mike and Dennis took there Jeeps up. Dennis made it
up no problem. Mike, who had 2.72:1 gears, had problems. He broke one
of his front hubs. This hill was not part of the trail, it just looked
fun to climb. We figured that the rest of the trail should not be too
hard, plus Mike's Jeep was locked in the rear, so we continued on.
Little did we know. A while later, we were going up a hill, and Mike
had to get on the throttle a little bit to get up, and he snapped his
rear u-joint at the rear diff, and two of the trap bolts were broken
off in the yoke. Yeah....Now the adventure really begins .
After
a couple of us looked under Mike's Jeep, we decided that we were going
to be there for a while. Anyone got a SNICKERS? Well, it was getting
dark. We backed mikes jeep down to a level part on the hill. Then, we
made camp, because we were not going anywhere that evening. We would
take care of that the following day. It was really cold that night. We
were between nine and ten thousand feet above sea level. Even the dog
got pissed off that night. It snapped at me and a couple others that
night. I found out later that Akidas dont like to be cooped up for
long periods of time. Well, Bear had been bouncing around in the back
of the Jeep all day. I'd be pissed off too. In the morning, we backed
Mikes Jeep down the rest of the hill and assesed the rest of the
damage.
Over
all, it was an interesting journey. We saw a lot more of the island
than most tourist do, no one got hurt and I even learned a few things.
The allen head wrench trick came in really handy. I also found out
what happens when you put shackles that are too long on your Jeep. I
found that out the hard way. I was driving Mike's Jeep, and I was
going about 45 when the steering gets really scary, and I am all over
the road. Here comes a semi truck in the opposite direction, and I'm
about to pass someone on a bicycle. After that Mike was the only one
to drive his Jeep on the road. 