Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas Eve Koko Crater Sunrise

IMG_0924

Dragged myself up the Koko Crater railway for a beautiful sunrise this Christmas Eve! With the sun rising at 7:05 am I pushed off from the parking lot at the bottom of Koko Crater at 5:30 am. Last time I hiked up Koko Crater for a sunrise I was all alone on the mountain. Not so this morning. There were a couple brave people already making their way down the tracks while I was heading up...both without flashlights or any other means to light the steep steps below! When I reached the top of Kohelepelepe (Pu`u Mai) there was already a small crowd of early morning gathers waiting for the sunrise. There was also a couple guys smoking cigarettes and welcoming the day with a couple Bud Lights!

I set up shop and started filming the horizon and waited for the sun to rise over Molokai.

IMG_0874

IMG_0887

IMG_1582

The horizon was cloudy, as usual, and a few minutes after the scheduled sunrise, rays of brilliance started piercing the gray.

IMG_0901

IMG_0908

The clouds made for a spectacular sunrise!

IMG_0955

IMG_0915

Another sunrise time-lapse:

Before heading down the tracks I checked out the oft overlooked massive bunker under Pu`u Mai. At the top of the tracks there is a small door and entry way down a long tunnel to a very large and tall two room bunker sitting under the summit.

IMG_1892

It is pitch black in the bunker. If you don't have a flashlight DO NOT attempt to explore. The ground is covered in discarded planks of wood and corrugated metal. You will harm yourself if you attempt to enter the bunker without a source of light.

As I approached the entry to the bunker, some guy asked where I was going. I asked if he'd ever been inside the bunker. He hadn't. I told him lets go. he didn't have a flashlight so we used my headlamp to light the way.

I didn't take any pictures of inside the bunker, it was too dark, but this is what the entrance looks like from the access tunnel.

IMG_1585

IMG_1586

Inside the largest of the bunker rooms there is a ladder that climbs at least 40-50 feet up a narrowing shaft to this structure at the summit.

IMG_0879

The ladder looks original and a fall from the higher levels of the ladder would most likely be fatal. After a few moments inside the bunker we made our way topside and I made my way down the tracks.

It seemed like the misty morning kept many hikers away. The tracks were a lot less crowded than usual for a Saturday morning.

IMG_1591

IMG_1589

Rest of the pictures here:

p.s. - Happy Birthday, Pohai!

No comments:

Post a Comment