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Sierra Club Bulletin 



feet below the level of the Pacific. If there were no water and one 

 could approach the island of Hawaii across the oceanic plain, 

 Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea would be seen to rise from their sub- 

 marine base to a height* of nearly six miles — a relief which exceeds 

 that of Mount Everest. 



In the month of June, 192 1, it was my pleasure to visit the Ha- 

 waiian Islands and to remain there about two and a half months. 

 June is in an unusual degree the blossom-time of the Hawaiian year, 

 and one is tempted to linger over a description of the great Same- 

 colored crowns of the Poinciana regia trees, the Golden Shower 

 (Cassia fistula), with its handsome fragrant masses of yellow flow- 

 ers, the bewildering blossom variety of the omnipresent Hibiscus, or 

 the bewitching beauty of a quarter-mile of cactus hedge composed of 

 the night-blooming Cereus (Cereus triangularis), with thousands 

 of the giant creamy-white blossoms opening simultaneously under 

 the southern moon. It might be interesting also to tell of an excur- 

 sion up the Waialaiiki Canon in search of species of the beautiful 

 tree-dwelling land-snails of the genus Achatinella. This excursion 

 was made under the auspices of my friend Joseph S. Emerson, whose 

 collection of these shells is one of the finest in the islands. 



But my purpose in this article is to recount my climbing experi- 

 ence on only two of the Hawaiian volcanoes — Haleakala and Kila- 

 uea. Therefore, I must content myself with merely mentioning an 

 interesting trip taken on the island of Oahu, July nth, with the 

 members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. Under the 

 guidance of Lawrence D. Daingerfield, sturdy lover of the outdoors, 

 I that day had the pleasure of scrambling to the summits of Olympus 

 and Konahuanui (3015 ft.) , the latter the highest peak of the Koolau 

 Range. These were good preparatory experiences for the ascent of 

 Haleakala on the island of Maui, for which I departed from Hono- 

 lulu on the little interisland steamer "Kilauea" on the evening of 

 July 25th, arriving the next morning in the harbor of Kahului. 



The start for the ascent of Haleakala is usually made from a 

 place called Olinda, which lies at an altitude of a little more than 

 four thousand feet on the northwestern flank of the old fire moun- 



*The average depth of the Pacific around the Hawaiian archipelago is about J7,500 

 feet. In the Renard deep, one hundred and thirty-five miles northeast of Hawaii, the 

 ocean floor descends to a depth of 24,000 feet. Consequently the total relief of Mauna 

 Kea and Mauna Loa above this deep is in the vicinity of 38,000 feet, or more than seven 

 miles. Cf. Jaggar, T. A., "Seismometric Investigation of the Hawaiian Lava Column," 

 Bull, of the Seismological Society of America, vol. X, No. 4, 1920. 



