Tip for hiking on Volcanoes: Be careful!
Hiking on active volcanoes offers thrills, but visitors should beware the spills
I peered over the craggy rim of Erta Ale, Ethiopia’s most active volcano, at the lava lake below. Beneath a gassy haze, boiling, ruby-red, molten rock thickened and rose up, swelling like a tidal wave topped off by a fireworks of crashing surf. Earth is made up of blood and guts, I thought, just like me. I had stumbled upon the opportunity to hike to the 610-metre summit of Erta Ale while planning a road trip across the ancient kingdoms and lakes of Ethiopia’s Rift Valley. The East African Rift runs through Ethiopia’s crusty, northeastern Afar Region. There, the shifting of the tectonic plates beneath the parched desertscape produces a chaos of fire and gases that can be seen at the top of Erta Ale, which contains one of the world’s six lava lakes. Though navigating congested urban streets represented the extent of my recent hiking prowess, I decided I had to climb the volcano. The twoday trek turned out to be the most arduous and spectacular event in my month-long trip, and whetted my appetite for more.
I’m not alone in my desire to gaze upon breathtaking vistas, watch heart-stopping pyrotechnics and gain insight into the fiery depths of the planet we inhabit. Statistics from several sites and tour companies suggest that trips to both visit and hike volcanoes are climbing. Volcano Adventures, a tour company founded by German volcanologist Tom Pfeiffer, says its daytrip excursions to Italy ’s Stromboli and Etna volcanoes have increased by 15.3 per cent since 2014. The number of people climbing Mount Nyiragongo, an active stratovolcano at Virunga National Park in Congo, increased 92 per cent between 2015 and 2017. A National Park Service report estimates a 58 per cent increase in visitors at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park since 2008, when Kilauea, an active shield volcano, began erupting. And with its current activity — a 4.6-magnitude temblor struck the Big Island recently and shook Kilauea — there’s more opportunity to come.
“Volcano tourism is set to rise with the establishment of more volcanic and geothermal Geoparks and World Heritage sites,” said guidebook author Patricia ErfurtCooper, referring to the areas designated by UNESCO to protect the planet’s geological heritage. The risk of being trapped, injured or killed while hiking a live volcano, however, means one should undertake careful planning. Although I returned from my first trek with just a few minor cuts from stumbling over loose, razor-sharp rocks, I realized I should do some research before planning another. So I turned to several experts, including Rosaly Lopes, a senior scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and author of the The Volcano Adventure Guide (Cambridge University Press, 2005), among others.
KEEP THE FOLLOWING ADVICE IN MIND
Perhaps the most important tip is to consider obtaining travel insurance and extra coverage, because both natural and political conditions can change rapidly. Do your research. “Find out as much as possible about the volcano you plan to visit before leaving home,” Lopes advises.
For example, which of the six eruption types does it exhibit? Hawaiian and Strombolian eruptions emit gentle lava flow and moderate eruptions, respectively. They represent the least dangerous types to watch. Plinian eruptions (similar in scale to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79) refer to the extremely destructive ones. “Be aware,” warns Lopes. “No two volcanoes are alike, even if they are classified as the same type.” For volcano research information online, check out the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program and the U.S. Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.
Lopes suggests preparing a checklist that includes information about the volcano’s current and past activity. Find out whether your volcano destination is regularly monitored by scientists from a nearby university; local experts and guides can provide invaluable details you might not find in guidebooks. Look at maps that show roads or trails to the summit. See if escape routes have been provided and find out what kind of local emergency services are available.
PACK PROTECTIVE ATTIRE
Determine equipment and clothing based on what type of material your volcano is likely to expel, and your potential proximity to explosions, Lopes says. A visit to the tourist spots at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park shouldn’t require more than a sturdy pair of shoes. If you are hiking on rough, brittle volcanic terrain, such as on Erta Ale, wear long pants, hiking boots and a pair of leather gloves. A hard hat or helmet and protective goggles are advisable when visiting an active volcano that spits out Strombolian explosions, such as Yasur, on Tanna Island, the major tourist attraction in the South Pacific archipelago nation of Vanuatu.