So we pack up camp and hit the road.......pretty desolate country up here...but the sheer awsome-ness of it makes for a quick trip back to the road to the summit - about 7 miles back, toward Hilo.

As we make the left onto the summit road, we catch the first glimpse of snow at the top...... and the anticipation begins.....

The sign near the start of the summit road reads much like signs on trails up Mount Washington - the east coast version of Mauna Kea - white mountain in Hawaiian - and four-wheel-drive vehicles are MANDATORY.

By the looks of things here, it's hard to believe that we're about to climb some 7000 feet and the bright blue sky belies the weather that we're about to encounter at the summit.......

At the 9300 foot level the pavement ends and the road, tho well maintained, gets pretty rough - the Jeep handles it well tho..... and there are even a few fools driving their 2 wheel-drive cars up here....... A word to the wise - don't - even if it's a rental car - the road gets very wash-boarded in places and if the weather, turns nasty you'll be sorry...... not to mention that if you try to get a tow-truck up here, you better have _plenty_ of cash with you.

Up, Up, and still further UP we go.......a slight shortness of breath is evident and it is getting cold - INSIDE the Jeep - as we get closer to the white stuff.....
At about 11,500 feet the road is looking more like Loveland Pass in Colorado.... and the excitement is beginning to make Mutha a little uneasy - course she was that way at Hawai`i Volcano National Park too, so I tell her to chill (no pun intended here) and enjoy the view.....

A bit further ahead, after a quick and frosty pit stop, the road levels out a bit and the view is something right out of The Rockies fer sure.... "This is Hawai`i?" I'm saying to myself - one less reason to live on the mainland! and WHOA Duuude!!! look at the pitch on that ash(volcanic) pile!!

The perspective of the photo doesn't show it well, but what you are looking at here is about 1200' V drop on about 2500' length - an ego pumper of a slope...... Imagine what that would be like with a foot or two of fresh fluffy stuff!!! Too much of a hike for the minimal amounts of snow on this first trip - but I'll be back, I promise myself.....

The view across The Saddle to Mauna Loa is nothing short of breath-taking (literally, at this elevation)