I find few things as satisfying as closure.
On Hawaii’s Big Island we had the fun of following a road until it stopped at the edge of the uninhabited Polulu Valley. It was the end of the line. Our “pot of gold” was a spectacular view across the ocean with enormous cliffs carving into the oncoming waves.
Our first glimpse of the ocean at the end of the road.
The road may have ended but there was a steep hiking trail heading down to the water’s edge. It was impossible to resist even on an empty stomach and that is saying something for me.
As we headed down the path, I had to stop at each opening in the trees to take a look. The windows into this incredible vista turned out to be even more amazing.
When we reached the bottom of the trail, we got a closeup view of the black sand beach we had seen from afar. I’m always partial to black so I thought it was particularly beautiful.
A fitting end to a great day. I guess that’s why I like to finish the trail.
As we started down the path, we were able to catch our first sight of the waves heading to the beach that marked the beginning of the valley.
The sun lifted some of the fog and lit up the waves.
There was a fairly significant wind blowing into shore and we noticed it a lot more once we got out of the trees at the bottom.
This was my first encounter with black sand and lava rock – I was impressed.
Krahnpix 
Those shots bring back great memories! Last February, I was also at the Polulu Valley Lookout! I didn’t hike down there though.
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We were there in March. It was a relatively short but intense hike.
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One of my favorite places in the whole wide world. Hiked about 8 miles along this coast once. The trail starts getting pretty overgrown.
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That would have been great. I’ve read accounts of people who did that and they were quite impressive. Unfortunately issues with my feet limited my hiking range when we were there otherwise I would have liked to follow your footsteps.
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