Mauna Kea view from Mauna Loa Observatory

Mauna Kea has many dimensions: for the native Hawaiian is a sacred place filled with tradition and spirituality, for the geologist is a volcano in a post-shield stage, for the astronomer is the window to the Universe, for the biologist is a biotic ecosystem with the greatest diversity anywhere in the Hawaiian archipelago, for the tourist is a car ride or a long hike away from the highest peak in the state of Hawai’i, for the Guinness Book of World Record’s enthusiast is the tallest mountain on the planet (when measured from the sea-floor).  What does it take to understand, to know, to get to the essence of such a place?  For me it is to grasp the deep meaning and interconnection of all of these dimensions, and in the process of doing so, to grasp other dimensions that are not immediately apparent.

I wanted to hike Mauna Kea ever since I spotted its snowy peak on a sunny morning in December, while running up Kaiwiki road in Hilo.  It was not from the desire to have the hike as part of my “record” (in fact I don’t even have a “record”), it was not because I wanted to “conquer” the highest peak in the state.  As I was standing in the middle of the winding road, literally out of breath because of running uphill, but also figuratively breathless because of the view, I felt a deeper yearning to experience that beauty and mystery by foot, up close and personal, to attempt to understand its many dimensions, to get closer to its essence.

I did the hike in mid-July after some homework and research regarding the logistics.  It was a solo hike and must admit I was a little apprehensive about it because did not know how I would react to that much altitude gain. I have never been above 3,100m of elevation ever in my life, and the summit is 4,205m high.  From the Onizuka Visitor Center to the summit there are almost 1,400 meters of elevation gain.  In normal life I live at sea-level, so it is obvious why I was a little worried.  But knowledge and experience take courage, the courage to often embark alone on a journey, to be fully present, to see where the journey takes you and how it feels.  I departed from the Onizuka Visitor Center (elevation 2,804m) on the Humu’ula trail at 8:30 in the morning, and about half an hour into the hike I left all the vegetation behind – it felt like being on the Moon, and the views were extraordinary.

View from the Humu’ula Trail towards Mauna Loa. No vegetation, basalt and the cinder cones everywhere. The trail is visible in the lower left corner.

Information and/or a collection of facts are not knowledge, although both are often mistaken as being such.  Both information and facts prepare one for understanding, but the path to true knowledge is an arduous one, and goes beyond processing information and way beyond mere intellectual experience.  I am a geologist, and in a place like Mauna Kea I can’t help not to think about volcanoes, different types of basalts, hot spots, wether glaciers existed or not there in the recent past, etc. But the vastness of that place soon makes one realize that the essence of Mauna Kea lies beyond what one can grasp by thinking only from one point of view (geology in my case), or from just using the intellect, or just from putting the facts together.  True knowledge and understanding makes use of our inner consciousness and intuition, and requires experience (“tasting” life) with a humble attitude.  And is not hard at all to be humble in the middle of that landscape.

The hike to the Mauna Kea summit from the Onizuka Visitor Center is approximately six miles, and it took me about five hours.  The six miles back took “a mere” three hours, but the last hour was somewhat taxing on the knees – slopes are steep and I was tired after all the hiking.  There is cell phone coverage only for the first couple of miles from the Visitor Center, after that you are on your own.  Not too far from the summit, at 3,970 m, is Lake Waiau.  For ancient Hawaiians this was a bottomless lake, which went deep into the heart of the mountain and was the portal for spirits to travel to and from the spirit world.  The name comes from Wainau, who in the Hawaiian mythology was one of the four snow-maidens of Mauna Kea.

The four snow-maidens were all queens of beauty, full of wit and wisdom, lovers of adventure, and enemies of Pele. They were the goddesses of the snow-covered mountains. They embodied the mythical ideas of spirits carrying on eternal warfare between heat and cold, fire and frost, burning lava and stony ice. – from Sacred Texts

Lake Waiau, a sacred place for the Hawaiians.

Not far from the lake, the Humu’ula trail ends as it merges with the road leading to the astronomic observatories.  The trail emerges from between two cinder cones and the views open up suddenly.  The expanse of the mountain, the immensity of the  blue sky and the thirteen telescopes perched on the ridge make for a surreal experience.

End of Humu’ula trail and the first view of the telescopes from the Mauna Kea Astronomic Observatory.

Lake Wainau represents for the Hawaiians the portal to the spirit world.  For today’s scientists the Observatory is the portal to the Universe.  For a detached observer like me, not involved in the controversy of erecting a research center on sacred grounds, the proximity of the Lake to the Observatory is almost magical.  With a temporary suspension of disbelief I can imagine myself at the end of my hike as traveling, using the two portals, from the spirit world to the edge of the Universe :).  An allegory I can use for the path to knowledge and the true essence?  The link between my humanity and the extra dimension of understanding.

Other links on Mauna Kea

Morgan Brown’s site – description of the hike and cool photos

Rows of tea and the beautiful view across the Onomea Bay, the Big Island of Hawai’i. ©EarthRelated

A cup of tea has a fragment of the world in it – I learned this while picking tea with friends at the Onomea Tea Plantation, on a sunny morning in July.

A perfect cup of tea draws its essence from the soil, the light, the climate, the passion of the people who grow the crop, and the joy of those who gather around it to experience the aroma, the flavors and to share stories. The goodness in a cup of Onomea Black Tea comes from the Hawaii’s unique micro-climates and the fertile soil that allow the Camellia sinensis to thrive. Both the climate and the soil are in essence linked with deeper energies inside the Earth, which define these islands in such a profound way.

Big Island of Hawai’i. Credit: NASA GSFC Landsat/LDCM EPO Team

It all started about two million years ago, when the Big Island came into existence from a temptation of the deep Earth to give birth to new land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  We geologists call this “temptation” a hot spot, a plume of hot magma from the Earth’s mantle, that pierces a lithospheric plate and forms a volcano.  The Big Island of Hawai’i is made of five such volcanoes that in time coalesced to give the beauty we enjoy today.  Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa are the two most important volcanoes on the island today.

There is immense beauty and a mystery beyond words in the delicate balance between the Earth’s inner forces, the climate and the life on the Big Island.  The tall volcanoes trap the moisture from the trade winds, so that barren basalt is quickly turned into fertile soil to nourish a lush tropical vegetation. There are nurturing tropical rains, small annual variations in the altitude of the sun above the horizon, small annual variations in the length of the daylight period, small variations in air temperature because of relatively constant flow of fresh ocean air across the Island.  All of this permeates every living being, human, animal or plant, with the unique spirit of Aloha:  the joyful sharing of life energy in the present.

Tea at the Onomea Tea Plantation. ©EarthRelated

All of this, and surely much more, inspired Mike and Rob, the owners of the Onomea Tea Company, to put their passion and time into growing tea on the Hamakua Coast.  I knew very little about tea before my visit and the picking on that July morning, but talking with Rob and Mike, and the entire experience of being there gave me a new appreciation for growing, processing, preparing and enjoying the tea. It showed me that tea has a culture built around it, which blends seamlessly with the geography and the geology of the place where it is grown.

Tea picking is a very social experience.  As you share row after row of plants with a partner, all you do is pick tea and talk.  I met my tea picking partner for the first time that day, but by the time we finished picking we talked about more things that I usually talk with some people who I know for ages, and it all came so naturally.  Drinking the tea, of course, is very much a social experience.  As we enjoyed a delicious meal on Rob and Mike’s lanai that afternoon, we tasted various kinds of teas, all prepared to perfection, we shared stories, watched the waves reaching the shore and enjoyed a perfect Hawaiian afternoon.

Onomea Black Tea. ©EarthRelated

Wherever I am, as I enjoy a cup of Black Tea from Hawai’i, the flavors, the color and the aroma always bring back that world to me: the tall volcanic mountains, the energy from deep inside the Earth that creates land in the middle of the ocean, the gentle rain, the trade winds, the fresh ocean air, the sunny and crisp days, the people and their spirit of Aloha.  The whole world in a teacup…

To learn more about subjects related to this post, click on the links below:

Hawai’i Tea Society – a platform for tea-enthusiasts and tea-growers in the state of Hawai’i
Zakti – a website where you can discover information about the history and culture of tea,growing regions around the world, steeping techniques and much more.
U.S. Geological Survey – Hawaiian Volcano Observatory – everything you want to know about volcanoes and volcanic activity on the Big Island.
Volcanoes in action -impressive spattering at the western margin of the lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu, Big Island of Hawai’i.
More volcanoes in action – lava lake at Halemaʻumaʻu, Big Island of Hawai’i (with sound too).