Venting

This is probably the closest I'll ever get to the source of Kilauea's lava flow. Jim and I hiked 4.2 miles each way through a lush fern forest in Glenwood. We gazed at the rainforest's canopy above, noticed wild orchids and vines growing up ohia trees, and tossed rocks into a seemingly endless volcanic crack in the earth. But the trek's greatest reward was the view of steam rising from Pu`u O`o vent only one mile away. Temption beckoned me to get closer, but common sense and threatening words on a warning sign prevailed: "Attention: please stay near the forest edge. New lavas can be unstable and dangerous and you are a long way from help. Access prohibited."

Lava has been flowing from the Pu`u O`o vent since 1983. Sometimes you can see lava streaming down the hillside from Chain of Craters Road, othertimes there is a good view of it dumping into the ocean, and occasionally you can walk right up to a surface flow and poke it with a stick. Right now, lava is flowing mostly through underground lava tubes, and you can't get close to the flow into the ocean because the new land being created is unstable and it is expected to collapse into the ocean. But that can change at any time. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park updates their lava hotline daily: (808) 985-6000.