We had another awesome day on Mauna Kea (White Mountain in Hawaiian) today.  Great visibility.  Fantastic views.  And great weather.  We have decided to climb this Saturday, December 5th starting at 6:30am (11:30am EST).  We estimate the climb will take approximately 8-10 hours.  We will begin at the Visitor’s Center at 9,200 feet and climb using the Humu’ula-Mauna Kea Summit trail and finish on the summit at 13,796 feet (4,205 meters).  Not only is this mountain the highpoint of Hawaii, but it is actually taller than any other mountain in the world, as its base is on the ocean floor and it rises over 33,000 feet (or 10,000 meters), making it significantly greater than the elevation of Mt. Everest!  We plan to stop at a sacred lake on the descent called Lake Waiau (Swirling Water) and KuKa’lau Cave.

I know some of you are not on Facebook, but if you are Tom Murphy is still posting on his Sweethearts and Heroes Website and it appears the local St. Messenger is copying it to their website located at http://www.samessenger.com.  So if you don’t do Facebook, check out their website!

The photos from today’s journey also include a pic of Rainbow Waterfall located in Hilo, Hawaii.  We are anticipating tomorrow’s journey to be quite unique as our acclimatization to high altitude may include a helicopter ride over active volcanoes (weather permitting).

Stay tuned…