Duane Zitta, Tom Steidler, and Brian Wyland from O’ahu completed the ascent from Hilo to the summit of Mauna Kea (Sea to Stars) via Saddle Road/Access Road/Humu’ula Trail. This route slightly differs from the traditional access road to summit as it veers off onto Humu’ula Trail just after the visitor center. While slightly shorter than the access road route by about 1.75-2.00 miles this route has a much steeper elevation profile with rugged terrain that is mostly un-runnable.
The route started by touching the ocean at 05:36:18 HST and ended reaching the summit at 16:55:27 HST. Our journey covered 41.77 miles climbing 13,803 feet in 11:19:09 self-supported. The route started at the very prominent tree that is in the middle of Hilo Bay on the waterfront with a small black sand beach, followed the Bayfront, turned left up Kaumana, merged onto saddle road, continued up saddle road turning right onto Mauna Kea access road until reaching the visitor center, slightly after the visitor center turning left onto Humu’ula Trail climbing until joining back up with the access road finishing up around the true summit which is at the end a very small trail on the highest caldera. This route is very unpredictable weather wise and the access road can change without notice preventing any vehicles from driving to summit. This route requires you to sign in and out of the visitor center when utilizing the Humu’ula Trail so plan accordingly. Conditions ranged from 83 degrees/sunny to 28 degrees/75mph winds/wind chill 14 degrees. This route can easily be duplicated and is very detailed in our GPS track.
START
Hilo Bay
05:36:18 HST
Mauna Kea Access Road
11:29:40 HST
Visitor Center
13:52:00 HST
Humu’ula Trail Start
13:52:00 HST
Humu’ula Trail Exit
16:27:29 HST
END
Summit
16:55:27 HST
Total Elapsed Time
11:19:09 claiming group self-supported FKT