Footprints in Lava - Big Island Day 5

Pele's power or mana can be seen all over the Big Island even hidden under the cinder of Ka'u district. A short distance from Kilauea summit is an interesting archeological site. Evidence in the form of footprints of the Hawaiian whom wondered close to Pele's home during a period of volcanic activity. Keanakakoi refers to the volcanic ash and sand that sits in the area surrounding Kilauea caldera. It looks much like a desert, however, this area gets too much rain to be technically called a desert.

Presence of Pele - Pele's Hair are fine fibers or thin strands of volcanic glass. They form from the most active lava flows and can be found throughout the area. We were also looking for Pele's tears - black shinny rocks in the shape of a raindrop, but had no luck.

Much of the geological formation of the Kilauea caldera is over 500 years old. So how did footprints end up in this area know as "the falling sands". After a battle between two ruling parties in Hilo, one party headed back to Ka'u. Pele was very active at this time so offerings were made to her to appease her. However, offerings were not enough. As one part of the army started to head out, Pele lashed out exploding gas and rocks came flying out of the Caldera. A huge cloud of ash, rock, sand, rained down for miles. Most of the army was engulfed by Pele's rain of ash and sand. The ash fossilized the footprints.

Red lava rock on the trail to foot prints in the desert. The footprints can be found on the Ka'u Desert trail located along Highway 11. The trail head down about a mile with lots of interesting rock formation and lots of Pele's hair. Stay on the trail and respect Pele.

Check out more from our trip on some of these other post.

Bike ride to A lava Flow
Hiking Kilauea Iki Trail
Green Sand Beach Journey
Volcano meets Rainforest

Aloha from Hawaii.