Hawaii - Where the earth is new

On the morning of our second day in Volcanoes National Park we hiked down the Hilina Pali escarpment and across the lava fields of the Kau desert until we reached a black cliff  above the waves of the Pacific Ocean crashing below. We had not seen a soul since we left the trailhead the day before.  There was no sign of civilization as far as we could see in any direction.  It was hard to believe we were in Hawaii during spring break.

The Kau Desert is not barren. What it lacks is soil to hold the rain, mist and morning dew. Grass and trees are colonizing cracks in the lava fields as soon as the rock is broken into the first grains of black sand by wind, rain, and footfalls into the newest soil on Earth.  

Our camp for that night was Ka'aha where the surf had carved tidal pools out from the lava plains along the Kau Desert.  They were brimming with crabs, tropical fish, and lined with shrubs and trees.  One of which housed a barn owl. 

On dawn of our third day we  started our climb up the cliff above Ka'Aha.  

As we climbed the grass got denser and wildflower vines began to snake around the islands of lava that still poked up through the grasses. 

By the time we reached the crest of the ridge 1000 feet over the ocean the grass was above our hips.

We would spend another day exploring the coast of the park, and on our way our we traversed the 1969 Kilauea lava flow.  A fitting end to our backpacking trip to leave from one of the fresher flows open to hiking where the process is starting over again.