A teenager attempting to vault over railings separating steam vents from the walking path at Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park managed to land in a 25ft fissure in the earth spouting steam. His parents contacted the park’s search and rescue and they were able to rappel down and yank him out without too much trouble. To [ more... ]

These shots hit the inbox (rthompson@backcountry.com) with the following fantastic note: With apologies to Jack Handy – If you drop your kayak paddle into molten lava forget about it man because it’s gone. A few kayakers more interested in thrills than self-preservation braved 190F water to paddle in and get these shots. The photo work [ more... ]

A fierce rainstorm and rapidly rising stream trapped 54 hikers overnight in Hanakapiai Valley on the North Shore of Kauai, Hawaii. The hikers said the stream seemed to rise to impassable, fast-moving depths in a matter of minutes. One 40-year-old woman hiking with her fiancé lost her footing while crossing, regained it for a moment, [ more... ]

This video from a Scuba diver off the coast of Maui looks like the trailer to a horror movie. Apparently the guy shooting is parked just off a deep ridge and avoids the undertow, but his subject is pulled into the vortex. Good news in the YouTube description: “John Hoover, author, takes a ride on the wild side at Nakalele point on Maui. No Hoovers were harmed in the making of this video.” Apparently these undertows can hit over 30mph.

A duo diving off of Maui managed a very rare, chance undersea encounter with a rather large pod of humpback whales. They were diving with rebreathers running helium, so there were minimal bubbles…not that I have any idea of bubbles usually scare away whales. What I do know is that the helium ensures us some funny, muffled, high-pitched cries of, “huly shet” over and over.