Standing at 13,803 feet / 4207 meters, Mauna Kea is the highest mountain in Hawaii, the second highest mountain peak on an island (next to Puncak Jaya in Papua New Guinea), and is considered the tallest sea mountain in the world. The English derivation of the name Mauna Kea means White Mountain, alluding to its snow capped peak. If measured from it's base below sea level, it towers over 33,000 feet, making it taller than Mt. Everest!
In ancient times, Hawaiians would climb to the top of Mauna Kea to gather adze, a type of volcanic basalt rocks, to be fashioned into hand tools. Extensive mining quarries were set up for the mining and collection of such rocks, and at the same time period, indigenous mamane trees were cut for their wood. The true summit, Pu'u Wekiu, was reserved only for the ali'i or royalties as the mountain is considered sacred by the Hawaiians. Wekiu is actually a name for a type of bug that can only be found here.
Nearby to the summit, the water from Lake Waiau provided the workers drinking water. At the lower elevation, the forest provided the Hawaiians food for sustenance and building materials for their homes and canoes. Essentially, the mountain was their life giver. A prominent cinder cone adjacent to Pu'u Wekiu is named after a snow-goddess, Poliahu, the nemesis of Pele, the goddess of fire.
When the Europeans arrived at the doorsteps of the Hawaiian islands, they began to transform the landscape. The introduction of cattle and sheep by Captain Vancouver devastated large swaths of native forests and it's indigenous inhabitants on the slopes of Mauna Kea. Ranchers felled the forests away, replacing it with grassland for their livestock; compounding the problem further. One such ranch is the Parker Ranch on the northern flanks which is still in operation today. It is one of the largest and oldest ranches in the US.
In 1834, a famous Scotsman by the name of David Douglas (who introduced the Douglas-fir into cultivation) fell into a pit trap while exploring the flanks of Mauna Kea. Presumably, he was crushed by a bull that subsequently fell into the pit on top of him. A stand of douglas fir trees was planted and a monument was erected nearby to honor him and his contribution to the field of botany. It is also here that the I`iwi thrives. It is one of the endemic birds in Hawaii that has since been decimated almost to extinction twice in its long history. The first was when its bright red feathers were considered a must for the Hawaiian royalty to make their bright red cloaks and helmets. The second was when fowlpox and avian influenza swept through the island.
Today the I`iwi can be found on Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Hawaii. It no longer exists on Lanai, and is very rare on Oahu. These honey creeper birds are fast and can hover like hummingbirds. They are generally found at higher elevations where mosquitos do not thrive, and this is why it is in abundance in this particular Douglas Pit location.
Situated halfway up the eastern flank - between the dormant volcano’s sweeping cloud-level koa and ohia forests, and wind-whipped alpine summit - of Mauna Kea is 40 miles off the rugged and remote Mana Road on its eastern flank. It is primarily a 4 wheel drive dirt road that connects Mauna Kea's summit access road in the south to the town of Waimea in the north. This road connects the many sheep and cattle stations that were active from the mid-1800s to the early 1900s.
In modern times, a lot of improvements have been added to make the ascent to Mauna Kea easier. A saddle road was built in 1943 in between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. In 1956, the military moved in and established the Pohakuloa Training Area on the flanks of Mauna Kea. Due to its arid condition and its height above the inversion layer, Mauna Kea has been chosen many times for its ideal location for stargazing.
Most of the astronomical facilities atop Mauna Kea consists of sub-millimeter arrays and infrared astronomy.
Today, the Mauna Kea Science Reserve which is run by the University of Hawaii has thirteen observation facilities that are funded by as many as eleven countries; nine of them are working in the visible and infrared spectrum, three in the sub-millimeter spectrum and one in the radio spectrum. The latest construction of the $1.3 billion Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) has been halted as local groups consisting of environmentalists and Hawaiian cultural practitioners want the project scraped as according to them, it impinges on the sacred land of the Hawaiian people. The battle is still on-going. (Note: The Caltech Submillimeter, UH Hilo 0.9m Hoku Kea and UKIRT are in the process of being decommissioned)
There are several trails open to the public, weather permitting. One such trail is the Humu'ula Trail which starts at the visitor center at 9200 feet / 2800 meters, and meanders across the Mauna Kea Ice Age Reserve via lake Waiau, to the top of Wekiu; the true summit. At a total of 5.6 miles one-way to the summit, it has an elevation gain of approximately 4783 feet / 1458 meters. What seems like a short distance is considered a hard traverse for those not use to the high altitude. This trail provides spectacular views and a walk through the ice age history of Mauna Kea.
Most views of this mountain summit would include observatories, vans of tourists, or the highest point - Pu'u Wekiu. In seeking an alternative, look not towards the sunset but instead to the back where Mauna Kea casts its shadow against the clouds. Here you will see a series of cones dotting the landscape against the vast cloud cover that is making its way to obscure the summit. Mauna Kea's shadow reveals the fact that it does not have a very prominent profile. It is instead a giant shield volcano with a huge base that extends from the bottom of the ocean, making it the highest sea mountain standing at over 33,000 feet.
In all, Mauna Kea provides a diverse collection of tropical forests, grass lands, arid volcanic landscapes and an alpine summit. It is the one place where you can ski, hike and experience tropical forests all in a day!
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