So You've Come To The End of the Road at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park...

The end of the Chain of Craters Road is currently around Mile Marker 19, just at the Holei Sea Arch and about ½ mile from the National Park eruption viewing station.

The End of the Road is the second busiest area in the Park when the lava is flowing. Rangers try to be available here to talk to visitors through most of the day and into the evening. The Rangers will have the most up-to-date information about hiking to, and viewing, the eruption. Due to the popularity of this area, it is not uncommon to have to park as much as ¾ of a mile or more from the end of the road.

You should bring at least 2 quarts of water, a flashlight for hiking out in the dark, camera, food, first aid kit, sun screen and a rain jacket; wear a sun hat, sturdy hiking shoes, long pants and a long-sleeved shirt--those rocks are sharp! Over the years, we have found a stout hiking stick and an umbrella to be of good use as well. Since photos and video are most spectacular at night, it is wise to bring a camera tripod.

Hiking all the way out to the active flows is one of the most spiritually rewarding, awe-inspiring, curiosity quenching and amazing things one can do anywhere in the world—but it is neither for the physically unfit nor the meek of spirit. It is a long, hot hike over broken ground and glass-sharp rocks; the heat from the volcano is savage; the weather, if clear, is sweltering; frequent squalls blow in off the ocean and the rain and wind can get pretty wild out on the lava plain where there is absolutely no cover or shelter to protect you. No water or shade are available anywhere along the hike. The molten lava itself is mortally dangerous, although slow-moving and easy to outpace. However, the incautious and inattentive can find themselves surrounded and cut off as flows advance whilst they are looking elsewhere. It is a good idea to use a sturdy walking stick or ski pole to probe the flows in front of you, as you approach the active flows. Although it may appear dark and solid—especially in the bright daylight—much of what you will be walking on is still extremely hot and may not be completely hardened—best to probe it first before walking out on it. Don't be tempted to touch, spit on, sprinkle water on, poke, kick, throw rocks into or interrupt or molest the molten lava flow in anyway—the results will be blindingly fast, inexplicably unpredictable and agonizingly painful.

Remember that you are hiking on a highly active volcano, if flowing streams of lava strand you, no rescue is practical or possible; plan, take care and pay strict attention accordingly. The section on Lava Viewing has a great deal of important information regarding hiking on this active volcano; be sure to review it so that you may approach the home of the goddess with respect, knowledge and awe, and return unscathed.

Going to see the lava flow and the eruption of a living volcano may well be the adventure of your lifetime; please be careful and pay attention to these warnings to make sure this is not the FINAL adventure of your lifetime.

Video produced by Donald B. MacGowan; videography by Frank Burgess and Donald MacGowan; Narrated by Frank Burgess, Original music written and performed by Donnie MacGowan. For more information about traveling the Big Island in general and Island Activities in particular, visit www.tourguidehawaii.com, www.tourguidehawaii.blogspot.com and www.lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com.