Hike while the fire is hot

As a boy growing up in Tallahassee in Northern Florida, Dean Gallagher enjoyed hiking, boating, and rescuing and treating injured wildlife — activities that allowed him to immerse himself in nature without harming it.

"My mother taught me early in life that it’s always easier to knock something down or tear it apart rather than build it up," he said. "That especially holds true with our natural resources. My job is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream to be a good caretaker and steward of the earth."

Gallagher is a ranger at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, which sprawls over more than 330,000 acres in southeastern Hawaii island. It was established as a national park on Aug. 1, 1916, and in 1987, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization designated it as a World Heritage Site, underscoring the value of its biological, cultural and geological resources.

The park is best known for its two active volcanoes: Mauna Loa and Kilauea. It’s hard to top the drama and excitement of viewing a fountain of fire or a river of molten lava, but if nature doesn’t oblige, the park offers plenty of other things to do and see, including free talks, film showings and about a dozen guided walks around Kilauea’s summit area.

Rangers present the "Life on the Edge" talk near the Thomas A. Jaggar Museum on the rim of 400-foot-deep Kilauea caldera. It covers geology, Hawaiian mythology and an update on Kilauea’s current eruption, which began on Jan. 3, 1983.

"People photograph themselves with Halemaumau crater as a backdrop," Gallagher said. "Halemaumau is especially spectacular now because of the underground lava lake that was formed after an explosive eruption on March 19, 2008. Recently, the lake has been rising between 72 and 150 feet below the crater floor, and you can see the glow created by the molten lava reflected in the fume cloud above the lake."

During "Exploring the Summit," visitors learn that plants arrived in Hawaii by wind, wing and wave; how the islands’ volcanoes were formed and what causes them to erupt; and legends about Pele, the tempestuous volcano goddess.

"‘Exploring the Summit’ is one of the best introductions to the park," Gallagher said. "We go into a rain forest and enjoy a jaw-dropping view into Kilauea caldera and across to the fume cloud over Halemaumau."

"Above & Below" traverses the rim of Kilauea Iki crater, site of the 1959-1960 eruption during which lava fountains as high as 1,900 feet created Puu Puai cinder cone. The route winds through a rain forest, crosses Crater Rim Drive and descends into a pit crater blanketed with giant hapuu ferns before heading into Nahuku, popularly known as Thurston Lava Tube, which was formed about 550 years ago.

"On this walk, we’re most likely to hear the songs of native birds, including the omao (Hawaiian thrush) and the apapane and amakihi, two species of Hawaiian honeycreepers," Gallagher said. "In Nahuku, rainwater drips from the ceiling, and roots from ohia trees in the forest above sway over our heads."

Participants on the "Sulphur & Steam" hike get close-up looks at rocks sprinkled with delicate yellow sulphur crystals. Deep fractures in the earth extend down to magma, allowing gases to reach the surface. These fumes include sulphur dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, which react chemically to produce sulphur.

Steam is formed when rainwater soaks through cracks in the ground, encounters hot rocks and condenses. The wispy clouds that rise from some of these vents are laced with sulphur.

"During ‘Sulphur & Steam,’ people connect with the land on a very primal level," Gallagher said. "They feel the heat and inhale the acrid smells of an active volcano, but they also experience the vibrant beauty of forest areas, which are teeming with life and rich colors."

In short, according to Gallagher, the park is a treasure trove of spectacular landscapes, significant cultural sites, intriguing geological features, and flora and fauna found nowhere else on Earth. He especially enjoys working the night shift at Jaggar Museum.

"As the sun sets behind Mauna Loa, stars begin to appear and the glow of the lava lake in Halemaumau becomes brighter than during the day," Gallagher said. "People huddle together for warmth, and start laughing and talking with each other. No one cares about race, religion or social status. There in the darkness, witnessing the birth of new land in the middle of the world’s largest ocean, they make a powerful connection with nature and humanity."

Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi is a Honolulu-based freelance writer whose travel features for the Star-Advertiser have won several Society of American Travel Writers awards.