Ha, what an adventure today was. I woke up with Kat and Dane early and went to shoot some surfers as the sun was coming up. Had a really interesting interview with a native named Bobby who was netting reef fish for his 8 kids. Went back and interviewed Dane and sadly had to leave. Took a very fun scenic drive through the Saddle ridge and back into Hilo. Hilo is a blast from the past, 50s style buildings and warehouses and super friendly. Ate at a lovely diner and interviewed a lady named Amy who definitely gave me tears with her stories and thoughts. After shooting some pics I decided to drive to the Volcano National park and do a hike to see the sunset and see the lava flow. That is when the adventure began, let me tell you a couple things I learned today about hiking and being unprepared. 1. Always have a map, the most detailed one, and know your conditions 2. Water and flashlight are also very important 3. Dont over estimate how dark it gets at night 4. Have an iPhone. I walked down into the a very beautiful crater like sulphur hole below the volcano. Between taking really trippy pictures and getting off the path more and more the light was kinda fading and everything was looking the same and not on the map. I started to freak for about 5 minutes as I was desperately thinking how bad of a situation I was in but then totally cool calm collected myself and just prayed I wasnt atop a sulphur crater or that any animal lived in the ground. (felt like tremors could pop up any moment). Thanks to friend George and good connection I was able to get Ranger Cody to find me in the dark of the crater. In the total darkness i could see the lava summit in the distance and nothing around me, it was quite a interesting, scary, humbling, nature experience. Glad it happened even though I got pretty banged up on my leg and I have vowed to be more prepared next time. I made it around 10pm to a lovely Bed and Breakfast in the Volcanos rim. Happy to be alive and cant wait to show they pictures! it was worth it. josh
