Mauna Loa Hike & Sea-to-Stars Mauna Kea Bike Climb

Haven't posted anything in a while. Doesn't mean I haven't been up to much, just tired of writing.

2 adventures happened since last post. Both were up mountains.


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I've never been up Mauna Loa, so I signed up for a backpack trip with the Sierra Club July 25-26. We hiked from 6,000ft elevation for 6mi to 10,000ft where we stayed at the Red Hill Cabin. It took us over half a day to get up there with breaks every hour. I pounded my PB&J sammiches every hour, which gave me tons of energy. I felt lightheaded around 9k ft, but no headaches. The sun was intense, and I burned easily. When we got to the cabin, my legs were good, but I felt dizzy. We ate dinner and I lay down on one of the top bunks to relieve some neck and upper-back strain. 15 minutes later I felt nauseous. I sat up for a while until it had to come out... twice. So I decided to sleep outside. Sherryl and Cheryl were nice enough to lend me an extra sleeping bag and jacket to keep warm. The fresh air was a huge help though. Took an aspirin and slept good after that. Turns out, as Diane pointed out, elevation decreases the body's ability to digest food. So I shouldn't have ate enough for 3. Next morning, I felt like a champ! After at least 8 hours of rest, I was ready to go. I signed out early and ran down. I made it until 8,500ft where the path was only navigable at a slow pace. Plus I owed Sherryl a sammich. So I lay down and waited for the group. That was a good 1 hour nap :) We all joined up at Lava Cafe for burgers and monster taco salads. Made great friends on this trip (Cheryl & Dave, Alina, Sherryl, Rodney, John and Diane) and hope to see them again on the next hike.

Yeah, I don't feel very descriptive today.


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This past weekend, I went up the other mountain. This time on 2 wheels. We started from the singing bridge in downtown Hilo and rode up 9,000ft for 34mi to Hale Pohaku on Mauna Kea. It was 5 hours and 45 minutes of hell. My legs were burning for the first and last 2k ft. They managed to go numb in between. My taint is still sore. I took 5min breaks every hour to gain back feeling in my crotch, so Jr should still be good to go. I gave my bike a break and walked her up a mile or so on the Mauna Kea Access Road, which isn't hilly... there's no level areas. I'm just glad I finished. Not bad for managing to stay off my bike since Honu (2.5 months ago). I'm breaking 4hrs next year. Bree Wee congratulated me on my finish and took a pic with me too! She's got such a great personality and am glad I met her.