The Visitor Center
We drove back up Route 11. It was a dreary, misty day. The clouds were low. The air was chilly. This was not the Hawaii of travel brochures. Route 11 climbed steadily in elevation until it traveled through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at around 4000 feet. We dropped off our baggage at the home of an acquaintance who was in Honolulu for the weekend. It was just a few miles from the Kilauea Visitor Center and would provide a convenient place to sleep until we departed for our trek.
We drove back up Route 11. It was a dreary, misty day. The clouds were low. The air was chilly. This was not the Hawaii of travel brochures. Route 11 climbed steadily in elevation until it traveled through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park at around 4000 feet. We dropped off our baggage at the home of an acquaintance who was in Honolulu for the weekend. It was just a few miles from the Kilauea Visitor Center and would provide a convenient place to sleep until we departed for our trek.
"Volcano House in the Steam". NPS photo by S. Geiger. Public domain.
The National Park Service protects and preserves our national parks for education and enjoyment. Park Rangers are committed to protecting the lands entrusted to their care. Thus it was the Park Service’s responsibility to preserve as well as it could Mauna Loa’s ecological purity. At the same time they had to find a balance to allow some hikers to climb Mauna Loa and experience the mountain. They had determined that the Mauna Moa trail to the summit was strenuous and potentially dangerous. To climb Mauna Loa and stay overnight required a backcountry permit. They needed to know who was up there and how many.
A Section of " Eruption of Mauna Loa, November 5, 1889, as seen from Kawaihae" by Charles Furneaux, Bishop Museum. {{PD-1923}} – published before 1923 and public domain.
John had written the Park Service to clarify how many permits would be available and when. The letter he received in response was not clear. These were the days before such information was easily available on the Internet.
Early afternoon we arrived at the Visitor Center to obtain passes. Park Service officials told us passes for people hiking up Mauna Loa for the eclipse would not be issued until Monday morning on a first-come, first-served basis. Only 100 people would be allowed to climb the mountain.
We needed answers to questions:
- What specific time on Monday will the permits begin to be issued?
- How many permits can be in a group?
- Can a travel agency or other organization just form several groups, get all the permits, and deny them to others?
John was optimistic.
“Don’t worry, Richard. Everything will be fine. Be positive.”