High Adventure and Girls Camp

I got called into the Young Women program back in May, which I love! And shortly after that we had both YW High Adventure, (an eight mile hike through Volcanoes National Park,) and Girls Camp. I got to attend both and I am SOO glad I got to. Hawaii has so much to offer, and it's been so great being able to go on these adventures so that I can see parts of the island that I wouldn't otherwise get to explore.

High Adventure:
We camped in Volcano, outside of the park, at this beautiful campsite.

Friday night we hiked starting at the Devastation Trail trailhead. It was only about 1.5 miles round trip but we got to see the Halemaumau crater from a new vantage point. It was incredibly cool!  There is a woman in our stake that is a a navigator on Hōkūle`a. She joined us and taught us about navigating by the stars. She told us about some Polynesian stories found in the constellations and it was incredible. We also got to see the Southern Cross, visible from Hawaii only part of the year. It was such an incredible opportunity!

We slept in tents (through the rain) and broke camp first thing. Then we headed off for our longer hike. We were in smaller groups, and let the girls navigate. It was so much fun getting to know these girls better, and I was so proud of them and that they did the hike with zero complaints!

We got to hike through the forest, through a lava field, down into a hardened lava lake, and through a lava tube. Not many places in earth you can do that all within 8 miles. 

Ohia Lehua

Can you see the hawk in the tree?

 By the time our hike was over, it was sunny and beautiful! We really lucked out. The rain was much more desirable than scorching heat all day! :)

Only a week and a half later was Girl's Camp. It was fifteen minutes away, just outside of Hilo, so I got to go and be there during the day then come home at night to be with my family. It was pretty great!

We did a service project where we got to prune and remove wild ginger, which is an invasive species. We got so much done in under an hour. Proof that many hands make light work :)  We also went on another hike, that was about 5 miles. Again, incredibly beautiful, and another great bonding experience! Natalie didn't have to work this day, so she got to come with us on the hike and the service project. It was sooo fun having her there!

I absolutely love working with the YW, and I'm so glad that I get opportunities like this with them.