Hawaii - Pu'u'o'o erupting painted on the night of 4/5 October 1997 · Sunday 4th October · carrying 6 litres water · food · camping · recording and painting equipment I set off from the trailhead at 8.30am · across black naked lava flows · the route is marked by regular cairns · the hot sun reflects off the glassy surface of the lava as I stagger uphill under my 60lbs pack · up to a smoking crater and through a steaming broken landscape · after 2½ hours cross into rainforest and hike for another hour · arrive at Napau Crater · pitch tent with a perfect view of Pu'u'o'o smoking 3 miles NE across a burnt and blasted landscape · lunch · start work · drawing and underpainting · raining at 5:00 I retreat into my tent and work until dusk · look out to see entire sky · clouds · smoke and steam lit by the eruption · occasional explosions send lava into the air and a series of skylights along the SE flank of the volcano glow under the steam clouds · bright pulses light the night followed by a distant roar · standing in the drizzle I work by the light of my headlamp until 2:00am when the paper is too wet to absorb more paint · doze constantly checking the volcano until 4.30am · get up · work until 8:00am · breakfast · work until 1:00 · stop after 20 hours painting · lunch · pack · hike back with a lighter pack · arrive, at trailhead at 4.30 · the last day of 26 weeks fieldwork · back to R and B's with a bottle of champagne and a light heart .
|
