curiousaur, 2 years ago

I hiked out to the lava flows in Hawaii when you were still allowed to. It’s pretty cool, but also super scary.

You have to hike for miles over fresh lava flow which creates one of the most difficult terrains imaginable. Imagine rippling hills made of cheese graters and razorblades. And the lava heats the air, so it’s like 130°f. And you have to touch the ground constantly, if it’s too hot to touch or your shoes are melting, or if you hear any cracking, it means you’re likely in top of a lava tube that can crumble away from your weight dropping you into lava.

You have to sit through a 45 minute long safety video before they let you out there, which also explains that due to the heat and the drafts, helicopters can’t get out there, so if you get into trouble, even just succumbing to heat stroke it twist an ankle bad enough that you can’t walk, no one can help you. You need to bring a lot of water.