Highpoint: Hawaii. Mauna Kea (13796 ft). April 20, 2011

Disclaimer: I write of my family's experience ascending Mauna Kea, but this does NOT mean I suggest or advocate anyone else bringing their children past the Visitor's Center. Your actions are your responsibility. This is a trip report -- NOT an encouragement to follow suit. In other words, don't sue me if you fail to heed the warning posted at Mauna Kea's Visitor's Center and your child suffers from altitude sickness or worse.

Hawaii. Great state to have to visit in order to secure a highpoint. We've spent the last couple of weeks snorkeling, visiting various beaches, and enjoying waterfalls, gardens, and lava flows. Not a bad way to spend early spring.

Mauna Kea was our first highpoint above 10,000 feet. It was both difficult and easy; easy, because it was mostly a drive-up, and difficult, because there was no time to acclimatize.

We drove to Mauna Kea on a typical bright and sunny Hawaiian mid-morning. Here's Mauna Kea from Saddle Road (which was under construction, but still easy to navigate).



The Mauna Kea Access Road is found close to the 28 mile marker (coming from Hilo).



The access road to the Visitor's Center was steep and windy at times, but I never felt like I was in danger of panicking (which I sometimes do on auto roads and gondolas).





We spent the suggested hour at the Visitor's Center before ascending...this hour is supposed to help mitigate the possibility of altitude sickness. It probably does help, but not as much as, say, camping at 10,000 feet for a few days. Mauna Kea is difficult in this regard; one goes from sea level to near 14,000 feet in a few hours, and even experienced mountaineers can feel lightheaded and nauseous from the quick rise in altitude.



View of the road going to the summit from the Visitor's Center...



There's a large sign at the Visitor's Center listing the hazards...note the warning about kids below the age of 16. I point this out as a warning to others (again, I am not liable for other people's actions...parents, don't mistake this blog for an instruction manual).



Another warning, this time about the possible presence of invisible cows...



Now came the most frightening part of the trip (at least, for me). The eight mile drive to the summit from the Visitor's Center is harrowing and nerve-wracking for someone who does not appreciate sharp drop-offs and an unhealthy lack of guard rails. I felt as secure as I possibly could in our Harper's 4WD (the only kind of rental that is allowed on the summit road), but I spent most of my time driving in the center and hoping I wouldn't pass out.

The first five miles are unpaved and constitute the worst part of the ascent.





The latter three miles are paved and there aren't so many drop-offs.



The summit road brought us to the telescopes (Mauna Kea is one of the best sites in the world for astronomical observation)....







...but not to the summit itself. The true summit lies a quarter of a mile or so away; the trail begins a few dozen yards below the parking area.





Mauna Kea's summit...



Sage was not affected by the high altitude; she danced, hopped, skipped, and sang her way to the summit. I had to fuss at her to take it easy, I was worried she'd accidentally overdo it.



Alex, on the other hand, had a slight headache and felt a bit dizzy whenever she moved faster than a casual walk. Hugh stayed by her side and monitored her constantly; we were both prepared to grab the car and head down if we felt the need. Her headache never increased, however, and as long as she didn't skip, hop or jump (as Sage was doing), she was fine. Hugh and I both felt completely normal.







Sage ditched me about thirty feet from the summit and ran ahead. She was the first to reach the highpoint.



I arrived next and busied myself with photography.













Hugh and Alex arrived about five minutes behind me.













Alex felt much better after some rest and a bar of chocolate.



Still, I thought it best she stay behind with me while Hugh took Sage on a brief excursion to a nearby cairn.



The four of us lounged about for half an hour or so, enjoying the scenery and the fact that we had the summit to ourselves. Eventually, we saw a line of people heading our way from the parking lot, so we decided to descend.

Hugh played the celebrity on the way down...



The descent was uneventful, thanks to the magic of 4WD Low.

The girls enjoyed themselves, but Alex worried about getting a headache this fall while climbing peaks out west. I assured her that a) we would spend a lot more time acclimatizing out there before heading up and b) I would turn us around if she or Sage felt any symptoms whatsoever. I'm not comfortable continuing a long hike if there are any symptoms of altitude sickness. Hugh and I were willing to continue on Mauna Kea since we had the car for a fast descent, and Alex's symptoms never progressed past a slight headache (which went away when she slowed her pace). On the long hikes this fall, if there are any symptoms whatsoever, we'll turn around.

Next stops: New York and Maine, summer 2011.

Heading to Hawaii!

Alex, Sage and I will soon ascend Mauna Kea and tag our 35th highpoint. Stay tuned...

Alex's Recovery, Sage's 9th 4K, and Hawaii

Alex fractured her tibia in gymnastics class during late January.; her recovery is going well and she should be back on the 4K trails in late spring. I'm chronicling her recovery here: http://trishandalex.blogspot.com.

Sage ascended Cannon Mountain on February 20. That's 4K #9! See http://sagehikes.blogspot.com for pictures and details.

Hawaii is on the horizon! Next month, we fly to the Big Island and ascend Mauna Kea (highpoint #35). Can't wait!

Present and Not-Too-Distant Future

A couple of weeks ago, Alex fractured her tibia during gymnastics. She's healing nicely, but she won't be back on the trails again until late spring. You can read about her injury on her hiking blog, http://trishandalex.blogspot.com/.

Sage wants to do a few 4Ks in the next couple of months, starting with Cannon on Feb 20th. Her hiking adventures, when without her sister, are chronicled here: http://sagehikes.blogspot.com/.

All three of us have big highpointing plans for this year. If all goes well and Alex's leg heals properly, we should be able to get Hawaii in the spring, New York and Maine in the summer, and Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in the fall. That will bring our total up to 40.

Alex will resume knocking off winter 4K peaks in the winter 2011-2012 season. She wants to finish the list next winter, which is ambitious but possible. We'll see how it goes.

Winter Hiking Has Officially Begun!

Follow Trish and Alex's quest for the winter 4Ks at Trish and Alex Hike the 4000 Foot Whites. www.trishandalex.blogspot.com.

Waumbek Can Wait. November 11, 2010

Once in a while, someone writes me and asks, "How do you get your kids to hike?" My answer? I don't. They hike because they want to. If they don't want to, then we don't go. Or, as was the case today, if they start out wanting to, and then they change their minds halfway up the mountain, we turn back. I don't believe in taking a kid up a mountain unless that kid really and truly wants to get up that mountain.

A few days ago, MadRiver invited the three of us on a 4K hike, and he asked us to choose something I thought Sage could handle. I chose Waumbek, one of the easier 4Ks. Sage was enthusiastic about hiking with MadRiver, and Alex didn't mind repeating the peak.

The morning arrived, and the girls were happy and rarin' to go. We started on the trail an hour ahead of MadRiver and his friend Mynetta, since I figured they would catch up to us in short order.



The trail was moderate and covered in a brown crunchy carpet of dead leaves and frozen mud.



The girls found the large cistern-well-thingy interesting...



...after examining it for a few minutes, we continued on our way.



And then, somewhere around the mile and a half mark, Sage's behavior began to rapidly deteriorate. As her countenance grew more and more sour by the second, my mind raced through all the possibilities. Hypothermia? Hardly, it was fairly warm out. Dehydration? Nope, she'd been chugging water constantly. Hungry? She'd been eating her way up the trail. Too much distance? Normally, no -- she did all of Jefferson, Jackson, and Tom happily and with zero complaint. Waumbek should be well within her capabilities.

I asked her several times what was wrong. She kept telling me she was fine, but she obviously wasn't. I asked if she wanted to turn back, but she said no. So we continued for a while...until she began huffing and sniffling and acting as though she basically hated life.

I quietly called Alex back a bit while Sage stomped dejectedly ahead. I told Alex that I was going to turn us around, and that Sage would probably be angry with me for doing so, but that something was obviously wrong and that it would be a mistake to continue.

We caught up to Sage and I told her to sit. She did so, and I explained that I thought it best if we turned back. Her reaction was, at first, furious. She cried frustrated tears and asked me why. She said that she wanted to keep going, that she didn't want to sit there. After allowing her to vent a while, I told her that I didn't think her body was up to it today. That I wanted her to think quietly for a minute and, after a few minutes of rest, if she really and truly wanted to continue, then we would. However, if she wanted to go back to the car, that was fine. Alex chimed in and told her it didn't matter if we got to the top, we could come back next week, next month, or next year. I told her that everyone turns around sometimes, it's no big deal. I also told her she was a strong kid who's already done so much, and that even the strongest of people sometimes just need to go home and rest. Sage contemplated all this for a minute, then said, in a very small voice, "I think I want to turn back."

I swooped her up and told her I was so proud of her, that she just became a Real Hiker. Real Hikers know when to turn back. Alex gave her a high-five, and the three of us turned and began to head down.

On the way, we crossed paths with MadRiver and Mynetta. Sage was embarrassed about turning back -- until MadRiver told her a story about how, last week, he turned back on the Tripyramids because he just didn't feel like continuing onward. That made Sage feel a lot better (thanks, MadRiver!).

The rest of our descent was cheerful. Sage found her smile again, and the girls made a humongous racket while they chased each other down the trail.






When we got back to the cistern-well-thingy, we had some un-summit chocolate.



I think this was a good day -- it's times like these when the real lessons are learned. Sage learned that there's no shame in turning around, even if everyone around you feels good to go. She learned that the summit is optional, and that a good time can be had even if we never reach the top. Alex once again proved herself to be a supportive and loving big sister. I learned how completely obvious it is when Sage really doesn't want to hike, even if she's loudly proclaiming that she wants to keep going. Had we continued today, she would've sniffled and stomped her way to Starr King (maybe) and I would have ended up carrying her out. Where's the fun in that?

If the hike ain't happy then the hike ain't happenin'.

Thanksgiving travel looms...'til December, folks.

Alex and Sage Both Continue to Hike the Whites...

Hikes with Alex are reported on Trish and Alex Hike the 4000 Foot Whites. http://trishandalex.blogspot.com/

Hikes with Sage are reported on Sage on the Trails of New Hampshire. http://sagehikes.blogspot.com/

Hikes with both Alex and Sage, as well as highpointing trips, are posted here.