This morning, at about 10:30, I was cooling off in a pool, one
of a series created as the Iao Stream flows down the volcanic crater valley.
The water was clear and cool. It felt
particularly refreshing because we had just climbed up to and then back down
from the trail summit.
We chose the Iao Valley to complete our series of Iao Crater
hikes. Looking from miles away, the ridges and valleys where the lava flowed
out of the crater and down into the sea, are visually obvious. On the wet side
of the Crater, Mother Nature has worked her magic over the millenniums vegetating
the landscape. The valley sides are vegetation rich, the ridges are less lush,
and a stream runs in the bottom heading toward the ocean.
There were warning about flash floods in the stream. The wet
side of the crater is apparently one of the wettest places on earth. The saying
goes "when it's clear at the
mountain top, it's going to rain. If it's cloudy at the top, it's raining
already."
We had arrived at the base Park about 7:45 AM. The skies
were clear, even over the crater. We scooted through their limited series of official
park trails to those beyond. From an earlier internet search, we found unclear directions
from two sources. The information was part of the informal but informative adventure-tourist
underworld. The trail had Marlene's and my name written all over it.
The trail was single track, sometimes well worn but in other
places almost undefined. At times, the undergrowth was so thick we couldn't see
the sky. There were other challenges too when the trail was more rugged than
we'd like.
About when we thought we'd had enough, we'd break through
into a clearing and be rewarded with breathtaking views. So, we journeyed on.
While in the upper part of the Valley, we met only one other
couple of adventure tourists, heard only one helicopter, and were welcomed by
song birds.
This valley adventure was for us. The Ioa Valley, another
find for the treasure trove.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2014/09/beaches-beaches-everywhere.html
