Matt Kapcala

Mr. Steen

12/11/02

To Hell And Back

What was once a beautiful highway with lush green foliage on each side is now a dismal charred blanket of hardened lava. The rivers of lava that once flowed like cherry syrup have since hardened into blackened swirls of pahoehoe. To some this would be devastating but I find beauty in what is before me. My name is Gerald Johnson. I am a Volcanologist. I explore volcanoes.

Kilauea is the largest active volcanic crater in the world. No one knows when it will erupt and a part of me wants to witness this eruption. This is what I do. Excitement pushes me on. Excitement, bordering on fear. Exploring volcanoes is an addiction, a risk taking occupation. When a volcano erupts there is an enormous sense of power. The earth is vibrating and the sounds are deafening.

As I approach the crater for the third day in a row I wonder if today the crater will come to life. I set up my equipment and begin working. As I walk around the crater I have to be careful so I do not break through a lava tube. I watch for thin spots. I take some samples of lava from a break in the top of one of the tubes for testing. I am about 350 yards from the helicopter and almost to the opening of the volcano. As I look over the side I feel a vibration in my pocket and pull out my pager. The instant message says, “Get off the volcano as fast as you can! There has been a disruption and it is going to explode.” It is my wife and partner. She did some research on the graphs I e-mailed her. The volcano appears quiet at this time but my graphs say it is exploding with excitement on the inside. I begin to feel a warm burst of air fly up into my face and molten lava is starting to rise to the surface. I turn around and sprint to the chopper. The earth becomes a fiery inferno. Gasses burst to the surface of the lava lake firing molten bombs that soon take the shape of poisonous clouds of ash. As the volcano comes to life, each breath it takes causes the pressure in the air to change so greatly my ears are constantly popping. I can see Pele’s hair named after the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes. The dark brittle filaments of lava follow large blobs of lava and cool quickly in an updraft. They create glassy threads that drift in the wind. The temperature soars and I start to feel the tremendous heat as it blows towards me. No life can survive this for long. Is this what hell is like? Once the volcano erupts the island becomes an above ground hell. The air is filled with poisonous chlorine and sulfurous gasses mixed with a drizzle in the air which creates an acid rain. If it continues everything made of metal will turn to rust. It is mesmerizing. How can anything so destructive be so beautiful? I forget about the equipment as I start the ignition. I know I don’t have much time. I look out the window and see molten rock spurting from the volcano. I fly off the crater to safety. I can see how these beautiful islands were formed from a fiery explosion to a picturesque postcard photo.

As I travel down the volcano acid drizzle is falling. This has been a dream come true for me today. This is what feeds the fire inside of me. As I arrive a safe distance from the volcano I am thankful to be alive but can’t help but be excited about my next assignment.