Later, marching towards the active lava zone we had to cross the inactive lava zone, it was all black rocks, harder than cement strewn about in the haphazard fashion of a flow. Inconsistent grades, swales and piles of rocks made the hiking treacherous as it was. But no! I just had to start jogging, as if called to the upcoming vista by an unseen force.




Then - SNAP! Ohhhhhh no! My fully-lace hiking boot, the left one, had fallen into a chasm in the dried lava flow. I felt my ankle turn completely over, but thank god I had my hiking boots on, tied tight, for if I had been wearing any other time of shoe - they would have had to carry me out of there.

Several miles. Over jagged lava rock. That would not be fun. I am sure people have been carried out in the past, though, and my postulation is based on what I observed on the one sunset and subsequent evening that I spent there at Volcano National Park.

There had to be dozens of families wandering back across the several mile wide flow, trying to get back to the one lane highway where their rental car is parked. It seems not only easy to lose your way back but also to trip and fall.

And lava rocks have no give to them. This was another lesson I learned all too clearly while mountain biking on the volcano during a past trip to the Big Island. One fall on the hip and it is not like sliding on dirt, I guarantee you that!

So Pele has taken a few slashes out of my skin and tweaked a joint here or there. But you know what? Any wound sustained from her was more than worth it, just to be on that glorious isle and to see the wonders of the natural world that she has to offer the curious traveler.

ER Harris