Another main attraction on the central-east side of the island is Mauna Kea, the highest point in the state of Hawaii at 13, 803 ft and some even say the world (if you count where the base of this volcano starts from the sea floor)! There are a couple ways to get to the summit of this volcano – by car or by foot – and we didn’t want to pick just one! We made our way to the Mauna Kea Visitor Information Station right away in the morning. We arrived at 8 am and were greeted by a very friendly ranger who advised us to remain at this altitude of 9,200 ft for at least 30 minutes before proceeding. As we stalled to acclimatize, we read that they didn’t advise people to start this hike to the summit after 8:15 a.m. We looked down at our Apple watches and noticed it was 8:25, so we quickly filled out their hiker registration form and started our trek! Another couple was starting at the same time and happened to be from the Midwest as well! We befriended them quickly and the four of us were hiking buddies for the ~4,600 ft elevation gain ahead. The rangers were helpful in finding the trailhead; you’ll find a sign labeled R-17 on the left-hand side of the road. Turn here and then go right at the Y. After that, the path is easy to follow. The first two miles of this hike are the steepest and on some loose gravel. After that it levels off, but the altitude makes it increasingly more challenging. Around 4.5 miles, there’s an option to go left for a quick detour to see Lake Waiau. We then retraced our steps to the main trail which meets up with the road at around 5.5 miles. The final mile of the hike is on the road. The true summit is saved as a sacred site for locals but getting to the top above the clouds and seeing all the telescopes up there is still awesome. We had a summit snack with our new friends and then opted to hike down the road instead of the trail for more solid footing. We enjoyed the views of red-tinted cones as we eccentrically loaded our quads for another 8.5 miles. It took us about 8 hours total to return to the Information Station. When we arrived at 4:30 p.m. the Information Station was bustling with tour vans ready to take people up for the sunset. We quickly hopped in our Jeep and switched into 4WD high to beat the crowds up this bumpy incline. It was fun to finally put the Wrangler to work! We were able to snag the perfect sunset viewing spot and popped the cover off to sit up top for an even better vantage point. We watched in awe as the sun colored the wispy clouds until setting below the cloud floor. Once it was gone, we gazed up into the night sky to take advantage of being extra close to the stars. We made sure to shift into 4WD low to save our brakes on the way down.