bocastephen

I wouldn't say that, you can always call your own tow truck - at least to get you down to the visitors center or the parking area across 200 from the Mauna Kea Access Rd - then call your rental car company for help and a replacement.

STS-134

The most they'd be able to do is ban you from renting from them again for breach of contract and go after you for actual damages (but if you have your own auto insurance, the damage is covered anyway). And my AAA membership would also pay for towing, so there's that.

seawolf

​​​​​​​Personal policy probably covered (but need to check terms & conditions) but for credit card primary coverage there could be "Any violation of the auto rental agreement or this benefit" exclusion clause (that one is from CSR benefit. And if the damage is serious enough to involve police involvement or accident involving a 3rd party, rental agency will want a copy of the police report.

unicon

Thanks a lot for this update. It's really helpful. We are planning to go up to the summit in a couple of weeks but was surprised to find the restriction for kids below 13. We have 13 and 8 year old boys. Their is no such restriction (other than for infants younger than 6 months I think) on Pike's peak (14K+ feet) in Colorado where our younger one has been without any issues. Of course we were alert for any signs of altitude sickness and carried medication.

Do you know if they strictly not allow kids below 13 years of age past the visitor center or is it more of a 'do it at your own risk' kind of warning. Even their website says kids are "discouraged" to go to the summit but doesn't say they are not allowed.
I have booked a Wrangler just for this purpose and if they are not allowing kids then I might as well cancel it and book a regular car to drive just to the visitor's center and save some money.

STS-134

I am not sure. Would be helpful if you could let us know!

My personal guess is that the issue with younger kids is that they may not be able to tell you if they are experiencing altitude sickness. An 8 year old may or may not be mature enough. If I had a kid under 13 and wanted to maximize the chances of him or her being allowed up, I would tell him or her exactly what he/she is supposed to alert me to and make sure he/she can articulate this to the person who is checking vehicles without me telling him/her what to say. I would tell the person that I understand that altitude sickness is a serious issue and if the kid has any sort of severe reaction, the trip to the top gets cancelled and we head back down. I'd also bring a blood pulse oximeter so I could measure everyone's SpO2 values objectively and let the person at the gate know I have it. I might even stay at altitude (Waimea or Volcano House, etc.) for 1 or 2 nights before going up there. Altitude sickness is not exclusively an issue with kids, but they are concerned about kids that can't alert their parents to severe issues getting in serious medical trouble up there. I would look at this like applying for a visa: the more things you can do to convince the officer that the things he/she does not want to happen aren't going to happen, the bigger the chance you have of getting the outcome you want.

unicon

Those are excellent suggestions. Yes we will be travelling with a pulse oximeter as we did for the Pikes peak trip too. In fact this time I was thinking of taking oxygen canister also. But couldn't find any place to get them locally near Kona and they can not be carried on a plane, so can't bring them along.

I guess I'll just keep the Jeep and hope that they let us go to the summit. Will surely report back how it goes.

Thanks again for your inputs.

STS-134

The fact that your younger child has been to Pikes Peak without issues is a good sign. Most likely, nothing bad will happen and you'll be able to go all the way to the top. But Pikes Peak is a much different situation in that basically nowhere within a 2 hour drive of it is at an elevation of less than 4000 feet. The Maunakea summit on the other hand is possible to reach from sea level in around 90 minutes from the Kona side and in even less time from the Hilo side. There's a reason why they require everyone to stop at the VIS for at least 30 minutes, while there's no such restriction for Pikes Peak.

unicon

So we have decided not to go to the summit as it is almost certain they won't allow kids to go up there (had called the visitor center to check). I have already canceled the 4wd and booked a regular car. Now need to decide whether it is worth going up to the visitor center for star gazing or just spend more time in Volcanoes national park and find a good star gazing location in the park itself. We had kept half a day for the Mauna Kea visit and one day for national park (we are staying at Volcano house inside the park for one night). Or may be look for some afternoon activity near Kona and then head off to the visitor center in the evening for star gazing and reach the national park at night.

I guess it depends on how much better is the night sky from the visitor center vs a dark location in the park. Is the difference really worth the extra drive. What do you think?

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

When I did the tour a few years ago we did the summit then the stargazing from the visitor centre and using the telescope provided we could make out the rings of saturn and the red spot of jupiter. We could also see the band of the milky way and more stars than even at sea level ( stayed at the waikoloa village) as you are above a fair proportion of the atmosphere even at 9,000 ft.
I might check in advance to see what you may be able to see when stargazing
Regards

TBS

Section 107

Banking Scot is correct. Believe it or not (look it up) stargazing at the visitor center is much better than at the summit. For viewing - visiting the summit is really only good for the vista and then sunset (and the coolness factor of being so high and so close to the ocean at the same time!).

Stargazing at the VC is excellent, and if you get lucky there will be several (or more) of the astronomy club locals there with semi-professional (or higher) grade telescopes for sharing with the public. Contact the VC - IIRC there is a schedule of what evenings club members will be there.

Stargazing at VNP is equally amazing. Even more amazing if there is active lava flow. Anyway, at both keep in mind it takes a while to truly get dark in Hawaii so prepare to wait for at least an hour after sunset before the good stuff happens in the night sky. There are frequently astronomy club members at VNP, too, sharing their telescopes and guiding folks around the night sky.

I was there with my two teenage boys in July 2022 - and we did what Banking Scot did: a guided trip up to the summit at sunset, then stargazing down low at the VC where the human eye actually works well, then the next day a trip to VNP late in the afternoon for exploring and viewing the lava flow in daylight, then sunset and lava flow at night, then moving away from the caldera viewing point for stargazing.

Both MK and VNP get cold once the sun goes down, so bring layers! And bring water and snacks. Being cold and hungry will put a significant damper on what should be an amazing adventure.

unicon

Returned from our Hawaii trip yesterday and weather made the decision for us whether to go to Mauna Kea visitor center or not. It was cloudy and raining both the days we were in Big Island. But we enjoyed our time in Volcanoes national park quite a lot. There are some nice hikes there. Will plan the next trip to Big Island and the Mauna Kea summit in 5 years or so.

STS-134

I wonder if there's anything they can do if your kids hike past the VIS though? If I have kids in the future, and they absolutely refused to let them up in a vehicle, and I was fairly certain that there wouldn't be issues with altitude sickness, what I'd try to do is hike with my kids on the first mile of the trail while my wife remains at the VIS. Once we reach the point where the trail crosses the road, I'd call my wife and have her proceed up the mountain, and hop in the car when it reaches the point where the trail and the road meet. It looks like it's about a 1 mile hike to this point from the VIS -- maybe not easy for an 8 year old at 9000 feet elevation but certainly do-able. In any case, if the kid is strong enough to hike a mile at that elevation I think the kid is probably fine to go to the summit. Hiking will also allow additional time to acclimatize to the altitude; I'd expect this to add an additional 30-60 minutes for an 8 year old.

As others have noted, you wouldn't be allowed to drive up to the summit at night. The headlights wouldn't be good for the telescopes.