Lake Waiʻau is recovering

In early April I posted a hope that the winter snows would help Lake Waiʻau near the top of Mauna Kea recover from years of drought. For those of you who don’t have my book, Lake Waiʻau exists at an elevation of 13,400 feet. It is a sacred place for Hawaiians and I can well understand that. It is unique, beautiful and the site of some interesting experiences that Betty and I have had. We first saw the lake in 1982 and although it was not large, it was breathtaking.

When we were putting the book together in the summer of 2013 we hiked into the lake to take a current picture of it. Much to our surprise the lake was almost non-existent. Years of sparse rain and snow on the mountain had taken its toll. The beautiful lake was then a mud puddle.

Well the snows and rain have come back to Mauna Kea. This year was a reasonable winter, the wettest we have had in many years. I am happy to report that the water level in the lake is much higher than it was last summer. It is probably at about 75% full. Another good year and the water level should be back to normal. That is welcome news to those of us to whom the lake is special.