Hawaii, the Big Island – Part 9

Thursday on the Big Island was a big day: we were heading to the top of Mauna Kea, a whisker below 14,000′ elevation.

First, we apparently needed another vehicle. Almost all of the car rental companies specifically list in their contracts that you may not drive on Saddle Road, which roughly cuts across the center of the island. Apparently this road, built for military use in WWII, was a particularly nasty one, although it was said to be better now than it had been.

Also, shortly after the Mauna Kea visitor’s center at around 9,000′ elevation, the road was unpaved for several miles, and 4-wheel drive was either “needed” or “requested” depending on which source you read. Again, the normal rental companies apparently forbade the offroad use of  their vehicles, even though the current incarnation of the Jeep Wrangler (the JK model) was one of the most common rental vehicles we saw.

So I’d made arrangements with local rental company Harper, the one company who rent vehicles which you are permitted to take just about anywhere. Considering how much they charge – quite a lot! – they seem to be making the most of their opportunity in this peculiar business niche.

Another detail was that Allison would be spending the day with her grandparent, something that she and they were quite happy with. This was necessary as children under the age of 16 are not permitted beyond the visitor center because of the high elevation.

In the morning we got up, had the obligatory breakfast on the lanai, and finally got going late in the morning. We drove down to the rental agency area adjacent to the KOA airport where we picked up our 4×4 pickup, the smallest 4×4 that was still available. I’d hoped for a Wrangler or a Toyota FJ like they show on their website, but no such luck.

I filled out a small pile of forms and we were set. I asked what time they closed and the pleasant guy in the office said 5pm, while making it very clear that they’d be leaving promptly at that time. We then had the vehicle inspection with a surly fellow who even inspected the underside with a large wheeled mirror. We then stashed the regular rental car in the nearby public lot and finally began the drive to Mauna Kea.

Leaving the airport, we quickly cut east to the Mamalahoa Highway, which would lead us north to the infamous Saddle Road. It was an interesting drive as suddenly we were up and into a suburban-looking community. I think it was the town of Kalaoa, and the houses here for the most part looked like any typical modern American homes. Soon we were through it and heading steadily north.

Evil, zombie-laden Saddle Road.

After a half hour drive we arrived at the junction with Saddle Road. There was a road construction sign (expect delays) but nothing especially ominous or foreboding. I’d half expected roosting vultures, jagged peaks lit by occasional lightning, and perhaps the odd blood-covered zombie.

While the road was narrow (one lane) in spots and was a bit rough on the sides, the first part of the drive turned out to be quite pleasant. Instead of some rough-hewn path through lava boulders, it was a very pleasant backroad drive through pastures and other greenery.

Driving on Saddle Road. The truck hasn’t exploded, yet.

We cruised eastward for another half an hour, and just after some very fun roller-coaster hills we reached the realigned roadway. Here was a new, smooth and wide road that was easily as good as the main Queen K. Highway. We passed the military bases and soon exited onto the Mauna Kea park road, starting the climb up to the visitor center.

I’d been looking forward to this location. We stopped and spent some time poking around inside the center, which mostly seemed to contain an impressive collection of goodies for sale. Our impaired budget limited our purchases, but I was able to pick up a few decals which were always one of my most sought-after items.

What a great sign!

As planned, we ate the lunch we’d brought with us – sandwiches, chips, drinks, and a bag of dried mango slices – at one of the picnic tables outside the center. This gave our bodies a little bit of time to come to grips with the dramatic elevation change: in just a couple of hours we’d gone up some 9,000 feet. Carrie was clearly feeling out of sorts, although it didn’t seem like the elevation was causing it.

After lunch we climbed back into the truck, took a deep breath, and pulled out of the center to where the pavement ended.  About 8½ miles and 5,000′ of elevation stood between us an the peak.

Chip bag inflated from pressure change. When I gently opened a small part of the seam at the top, there was a tiny pause before a huge hole blew out next to it and chips exploded into my face.