[Trail Log]

Stuff - GPS files; pictures; gear tips. Read about it here.

Day 0 - Traveling to Hilo; getting hiking passes; getting supplies; being bored. Read about it here.

Day 1 - Driving to the trail head; hiking to Red Hill cabin. Read about it here.

Day 2 - From Red Hill cabin to the summit cabin. Read about it here.

Day 3 - From the summit cabin to the actual summit; back down to Red Hill cabin. Read about it here.

Day 4 - From Red Hill cabin back to trail head. Read about it here.

   [Day 4 - October 04, 2006]

Day four involved a relatively quick descent from Red Hill back to the trail head, where hopefully the Jeep would still be there waiting for us. Check out the map for more details.

   [Taping of the Toes]

Melissa and I didn't leave Red Hill until 08.00. With only an eight mile hike to do, and what with it being all down-hill, there was just no motivation to be out-the-door right at sunrise. After eating a little bit of food and fighting with my sleeping back to get it back into its stuff-sack (for the last time!), we started taping up our feet. Melissa's feet were definitely worse off than mine. Most of my trouble was on the outside edge of each outside toe. I used some tape to hold some gauze-like stuff over each blister. The blisters still hurt where they pressed against the boot, but they seemed sufficiently protected from much further damage.

   [To the Trail Head]

We hauled it down the volcano. Racing through my mind were various luxuries like sitting down, eating non-health food, taking off my boots forever, taking a shower and sleeping on a mattress. These dreams kept me alive. We left Red Hill cabin around 08.00 and arrived at the trail head at 12.30. This time included at least forty-five minutes of needless breaks (it wasn't my idea; my dreams were sufficient to keep me going). Four and a half hours wasn't too terrible. We heaved the packs into the back of the Jeep and sat down. That was wonderful. The drive down that stupid little road took forever.

   [Checking Out]

After we were back out on the highway, and only a few minutes later, we turned into the park headquarters. When we got the hiking pass, the ranger asked us to stop in and "check out" when we returned from the hike. The "Friends of the Volcano" people weren't there, and the lady wanted to charge me $10. It turns out that the entrance fee is good for a week, so all we needed to do was find that silly yellow piece of paper they gave us on the first day. But, I couldn't find it. I asked if she could just give me a phone number and I could call the ranger and let him know that we were done. She looked annoyed and just waved us in.

We both hobbled into the building. I went to the ranger and handed him our hiking pass. Another ranger asked about the condition of the various facilities. I had a lot to say, and even though I couldn't perceive my own stench in the least, I knew that I must have wreaked, so I only said that I thought their use of the word "trail" was a bit of a stretch. Then I found the bathroom and washed my face which didn't really do anything at all. It was fun to remember being clean, though.

   [Taco Bell]

Since we finished up the hike at 12.30, and it was only a little past 13.00 at this point, we needed to burn time before we could check into the hotel. Once arriving in Hilo I spotted the Taco Bell and pulled in. I don't eat at Taco Bell very often, but I swear that was the best Grilled Stuffed Burito I have ever had. Really - quite amazing. We headed for the hotel even though it wasn't quite check-in time. They let us check in early on the first day, and this was the low-point in tourist season, so there shouldn't be any reason that they wouldn't let us check in a little early, again.

   [Back at the Hotel]

And sure enough, they let us check in early. I made Melissa do all of the interaction with the hotel people while I sat in the Jeep. She had put considerably more effort into improving her appearance while we were at the park headquarters, and I didn't want to frighten to the hotel staff. We each took the one necessary suitcase for showering/clothing/etc up to the hotel room. Melissa took the first shower and I sat out on the balcony and started to uncover my feet. First the boots, then the socks, then the ace bandages, then the tape-and-gauze. I was pleased to see that the blisters were no worse. And shortly thereafter it was my turn for a shower. And then a nap.

   [The Stench]

After waking up, I decided to pull the rest of my stuff up from the Jeep ... and that's when the smell hit me. In our post-hiking state we rode in the Jeep for only a little over an hour, and it seriously wreaked. The remainder of our time with the Jeep was always and only with the windows down. Seriously nasty.

   [Hindsight]