Mauna Kea Summit

Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in Hawaii, and astonishingly, is accessible to cars (though 4wd-only) nearly the whole way to the summit. If you were foolish and so-inclined, you could summit the peak then drive to the beach 13,800’ below to do some scuba diving two hours later. (Don’t do the reverse order, lest the extra nitrogen from the scuba give you a bad case of the bends at high altitude). Paralelling the road, a popular hiking trail runs from the visitor’s center at 9200’ to the summit. This is one of the very few trails on the island where we saw other people. The amount of hiking traffic is what would pass for “moderate” on the mainland, but here felt practically crowded in contrast to the deserted norm.

The trail is officially called “Humu’ula” (not to be confused with the lower Hamakua “trail” of the same name), but I only heard it referred to as the Mauna Kea Summit trail outside of the official signage. The route starts just above the visitor’s information center, where we parked. Visitors are encouraged to hang out at the visitor’s center for a half hour or more to guage how well their body is taking to the thinner air before ascending 4500 more feet to the summit.

The path is pleasant singletrack, rapidly ascending out of the vegetation and into sandy and gravelly volcanic terrain. If it’s clear, there are excellent views of Mauna Loa looming expansively to the south, as well as the verdant saddle area between the two volcanoes. From the top, if it’s an extraordinarily clear day, you might catch some glimpses of Maui or other Hawaiian islands to the northwest.

The summit itself is considered sacred by native Hawaiians; they request that you not hike the final quarter mile of trail to the true summit. Out of respect we opted to stick to the adjacent false summit on which the observatories are built, which is only a few vertical feet lower. The observatories themselves are astonishingly large and shiny, sticking out like alien spaceships protruding from the moonscape.

Charlie’s notes: This was a pleasant and beautiful run. The tourist traffic and presence of other hikers took me briefly out of the sense of remote isolation that I had on most of the runs I did in Hawaii – it felt downright cosmopolitan and connected. Between the road, traffic, and observatories, it definitely lacks a wilderness feeling; but is definitely worth the time.

Laura’s notes: I enjoyed this trail immensely. Wonderful views across “lunar” landscapes. When we were there, the light was excellent for taking artsy photographs, if you’re into that sort of thing. It’s a little strange (compared to other routes on the island) that those who do not want to hike or run can drive up to the top where the observatories are, but the summit area is broad enough for all to take in the vistas.