Hawaii Vacation- Day 3- Volcanoes

Today was the drive to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. The drive was 96 miles each way and I didn't think I would ever get there!

The park was really impressive. The steam was issuing from Kilauea Caldera, so part of the rim road was closed. Still could see a lot of the Caldera.

I went through the Thurston Lava Tube. It was a bit of a disappointment since the floor was smoothed and lights installed. Not at all like the Ape Caves in Washington State. And it was filled with tourists! The buses bring in sixty at a time.

I drove on the Chain of Craters Road to the shoreline. This road winds through many smaller craters and some of the newer lava flows from the seventies. The road ends where it was covered by a lava flow in 1987.

I returned to Kilauea Iki Crater. I decided to hike a four mile loop that would take me down 400feet to the floor of the crater, across the floor of the crater, back up to the rim and to the car. It was a great hike. After getting through the rough "aa" lava along the edge of the crater, the floor was smooth and hard. There was some steam still issue from small vents in the floor.

Many more pictures on my Facebook page.

Tomorrow I plan to return to Mauna Kea for a guided tour of the observatories. I also am planning on driving up Mauna Loa also.

Breakfast with fresh air and a view.

The southern coast of Hawaii.

Steam vent in Kilauea Caldera.

Kilauea Iki Crater. I hiked the route across the bottom.

The end of the road!

I guess the road is closed!

Holei Sea Arch.

Hiking across the floor of Kilauea Iki Crater.

Hawaii Vacation-Days 1 and 2

I successfully made my journey to the Island of Hawaii in the county of Hawaii in the state of Hawaii.

I caught the 0720 ferry to Seattle and rode the new light rail to Seatac airport. The train worked really well. I had pre-checked in for the flight from home and it took me two minutes to get through security, so I had plenty of time for breakfast. The flights were good and on time. I checked in to the hotel and had a good night sleep.

This morning I was underway early and drove to the rainy, windward side. I noticed the big difference from the dry leeward side to the rainy, wet windward side. The vegetation on the leeward side is dry and desert like and the windward side is like lush jungle.

I drove to the Waipio Valley lookout, but did not drive down into the valley. Four wheel drive is required(which I have), but I wasn't sure what there was to see. I may go back. I then drove south toward Hilo, stopping at Akaka Falls and driving the "four mile scenic route". I stopped in Hilo and wandered through the farmers market and the shops along the waterfront.

I continued toward Kona over the Saddle Road. This road goes between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It was being worked on and several miles were torn up. Since it was early, I decided to drive up Mauna Kea today. What an experience! The summit is 13796 ft above sea level and was above the rainy clouds. The Keck I viewing gallery was open, so I went inside for a look at the telescope. The gravel road was nowhere as severe as I was led to believe it would be. I will probably go for the guided tour on Saturday.

I got back to the hotel at about 1900. The good thing about where I am staying is that it is right on Alii Drive in the midst of the shops and restaurants.

Tomorrow will be the visit to the Kilauea volcano.

From the lookout above Waipio Valley.
Akaka Falls

Shoreline north of Hilo

The dusty drive up the gravel section.

Observatories on the summit of Mauna Kea.

13680 feet above sea level.

Inside the dome of Keck I looking up at the bottom of the 33ft mirror.

Off to Hawaii

In the morning I am heading off to Hawaii. Early morning ferry to Seattle, train to SeaTac, flight to San Francisco and then a final flight to Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. I am all packed and ready to go. I cashed in some of my frequent flier miles for the flight, have reservations at a cheap hotel in Kona and have reserved a Jeep to get around.

So what are my plans? No.1 plan is to drive to the summit of Mauna Kea, the highest mountain on the island. If the roads are open, and I can plan it right on Saturday, there should be a caravan from the visitors center that will drive to the summit. They will also could allow access to one of the observatories on the summit.

My No.2 plan is to visit the national park at Kilauea. I have always wanted to see the lava fields and caldera. I have researched several short hikes to take.

The rest of my time I want to drive around the island, hike into some waterfalls, visit the historical parks, visit Hilo and just play tourist.

Just flying again will be fun and going through San Francisco airport is usually enjoyable. I have not flown for about 1-1/2 years. I don't mind flying long distances and this is nowhere near as long as I used to fly!

I intend to take a lot of pictures to prove I was there and will post some here and more on my Facebook page. I should return the night of March 8, but will probably post while I am gone.

Chilly Hilly Bike Ride 2-28-10

Sunday the Annual Chilly Hilly bicycle ride was held on Bainbridge Island. This is a ride sponsored by Cascade Bicycle Club of Seattle. In it's early days in the late 70's, it was started by some diehard cyclists that thought a ride in the winter(the "Chilly" part) on a challenging (the "Hilly" part) course would be fun. The ride is now advertised as the opening day for the bicycling season. I don't understand that part as some of us ride all year. But it is the first of the NW rides to be held. It is a social event that starts and finishes in downtown Winslow. Most of the riders come from Seattle with the ferry fare paid out of their registration fee. This year, the traditional Seattle ferry filled up with 1800 riders and the remaining riders had to catch the next ferry. It attracts cyclists of all ages, genders, abilities, sizes and shapes. Total registered participants this year was 6,028, a new record. The actual course is 32.7 miles with about 3000ft of climbing.

Since I live on the same side of Puget Sound as Bainbridge Island, I drove to Bainbridge Island in the truck and found parking in the Town and Country Store parking lot with a bunch of other local cyclists. I paid my late fee of $30, received my ride packet and started the course at 0845. My start time corresponded with the arrival of the ferry and the roads were clogged with cyclists. Even though the ride is considered a social event, some of us riders treat it like a race and can't help passing slower riders. After about 10miles the traffic thinned out.

The route headed out of town and circled the island on mostly back roads. And the hills are constantly showing up every couple of miles and most of them are steep but not too long. Rest stops are set up at a couple of locations. My favorite one is at the American Legion Hall about 2/3 of the way around the island. The Girl Scouts set up tables of treats that are included in the registration fee, but donations are appreciated.

After the long climb over Baker Hill, the southern half of the island is the best part as the road runs along the shoreline with views of the Olympic Mountains on the western side and Seattle on the eastern side. The sun was out most of the day and the temps got into the mid 50's making for a very pleasant ride.

I found this year to be relatively easy for me. It has been several years since the last time I rode the Chilly Hilly. I felt so good afterward, that the next day I went for another very fast ride of 22miles.

My crumpled and sweaty number bib.

The route of Chilly Hilly 2010. 32.7 miles with about 3000 ft of climbing. We went counterclockwise.




Baker Hill


Short, steep hill.

American Legion Hall with the table of treats.

Jim DePue Memorial Race 2-27-10, WSSA #1

Saturday we raced in the Jim De Pue Memorial sailboat race at Port Madison. This is the first race of the year for the West Sound Sailing Association(WSSA) Series. This race runs from Pt Monroe to the red nun buoy off Eagle Harbor, around the West Point buoy, the Port Madison Yacht Club buoy off Pt Jefferson and finish at Pt Monroe. Total distance is 16.5 nautical miles.

We got underway at 0800 from Brownsville and motored to Pt Monroe in Port Madison where the race was started at 1000. The wind was around 7 knots from the SW when we started and rain was predicted. We got a mediocre start near the pin end of the line, but shortly after the start, we were able to out point smaller boats ahead and clear our air. We took a couple of short tacks back toward Bainbridge Island to get around what appeared to be a hole ahead of the fleet. After getting around the hole, we went toward the middle of Puget Sound looking for better current. The small fast boats "Uno" and "Dos"(twin Sierra 26's) stayed close to us in the very smooth waters. The wind lifted some and the boats closer to the Bainbridge shore made some gains, but we still stayed ahead of the fleet. The wind increased to 12knots and more in the gusts near the windward mark.

At the mark, we first overstood a little and then we had a strong gust and before I could depower the main, we rounded up and grazed the buoy. So, we had to go around it again! After rounding the mark, we set the 3/4 oz spinnaker and ran toward the west point buoy. We jibed around West Point and the course became a beam reach to the next mark. The wind increased to around 15 knots and "Uno" and "Dos" planed by us going at least 1-1/2 times our speed. We rounded the mark and started closing up on the two Sierra 26's finishing within a couple of minutes of them when we finished at 1303.

We owe time to one of the Sierra's and the other is modified and may owe us time, so he may or may not have corrected on us. "Carmanah"(a well sailed C&C43) had a great race in the steady winds and may have corrected on us even though they finished behind us as we owe them a lot of time. Other boats similar to us("Tantalus"(Express 37), "Tantrum II"(Shock 35) and "Dulcinea"(J105)) all finished far enough behind us for us to save our time on them. Our final placing should be between 3rd and 5th. Results when they are posted can be found at: http://www.wscyc.net/new%20site/WSSA/thisyear/raceresults.pdf

It was a great day for a race in Puget Sound. It misted some, but I never felt like I needed to put on a jacket. The winds were steady and strong enough to complete the race rapidly. The big heavy boats like "Carmanah" did well as well as the little, light boats. Drat those Sierra 26's! I should refuse to race in the same class as them.....! Wait! Now I sound just like some of my competitors! The Sierra's are sailed by some of the best sailors in Puget Sound and I respect their abilities for making those boats go as fast as they do. That is the way of any handicap racing system, every boat has it's perfect conditions, but skill and determination still plays a big part in making the boat perform. Now if the seas would have been a little rougher on the first beat........

Thanks to my crew of : Walter, Jim, Ron and Cindy for a great day of racing.

And for Matthew, here is how far we traveled for the day: 35.2 nm.

Our track for the day. The track looks strange around the nun buoy at Eagle Harbor where we had to reround.

So how close have you been to the America's Cup?

San Diego, 1992. I was right next to the America's Cup and was able to get my picture taken with it. The America's Cup was on display in the America's Cup Museum set up on the waterfront in downtown San Diego. In addition to the cup were the models of previous cup boats from NYYC and lots of old videos and pictures. Cool stuff!

The CUP and I. The security guards are just out of the picture!

The America's Cup.

Mt Ranier cross country ski trip 2-19-2010

Today I made a return to Paradise on Mt Ranier for some more cross country skiing. This was my first midweek trip and it was interesting to still see a lot of people on the mountain. Don't these people have jobs? I think some schools are out for a mid winter break too as there was a lot of kids around.

Today was spectacular. The temp was around freezing when I arrived and quite windy, but warmed up some through the day. The snow was very icy when I started toward Reflection Lakes. I don't think that I have glided so far down Paradise Valley before. Actually was too fast for me at times. Because of the lack of new snow and the warming and refreezing, the ski tracks more resembled truck ruts.

I skied past Reflection Lakes to the top of Stevens Canyon and returned. The total distance was 7.27 miles(measured by GPS). The return up Paradise Valley was helped by the heat, the snow was a lot softer. If it had not warmed up, the ice would have been difficult to ascend.

If any of you remember a few weeks ago, I posted how the boots hurt my toes. This time I was a lot more comfortable. I found that I had to cinch the laces on the inner liner and the buckles on the outer shell really tight to keep my feet pushed back in the boot and the heel in the pocket at the back of the boot.

Maybe before the snow is gone, the road to Hurricane Ridge will be repaired and I can go skiing there at least once this year.

Mt Ranier from paradise Valley.
The ski tracks that resembled truck tire ruts. Really, no vehicles come out here! Skis and snowshoes made these ruts.

Looking across Stevens Canyon toward eastern Washington.

Mt Ranier from Reflection Lake.

Strange snow pattern in Paradise Valley.

Lower Christine Falls on the drive home.

Upper Christine Falls on the drive home.