Writer

Royal Gardens QRT

[Pool, G., 1993, "Royal Gardens QRT," Worldradio, vol. 22, no. 10, April, pp. 1, 13-16.]

On the steep fault scarps that mark where the southern flank of Kilauea Volcano has steadily slid into the Pacific for thousands of years, two Amateur Radio operators have finally rolled up the coax and are calling it a day. Paul, W3FO, and Jean, WH6DZ, Stoner left the Big Island of Hawaii in early September after filling the log with contacts that would make most hams jealous - but they paid the price. Or did they?

Royal Gardens is a subdivision just outside the eastern edge of the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It extends up the slope of rainforest, 1,500 feet above the Pacific Ocean; but some of it once occupied the dry, coastal plain below. Put in during the 1970’s, the relator who began selling its lots once boasted that his company was “growing faster than Hawaii itself.”

But nothing grows faster than the island of Hawaii. In January 1983, a fissure roughly three miles long broke along the East Rift Zone of Kilauea and began erupting lava makai (towards the sea) over five miles away. In between the vent and the sea was Royal Gardens. By July, lava had surrounded the house Paul and Jean would later caretake. Issued from the Pu’u O’o cinder cone, these slow-moving fingers of a’a (a rugged, jagged-edged lava flow) chose to travel down the roads at the top of the subdivision, rather than cutting their own. The lava forced the evacuation of the area and the advancing flows first burned and then buried 15 homes; but most of Royal Gardens remained untouched and accessible.

In 1986, the continuing eruption opened a new vent, called Kupaianaha (koo-pie-a-naw’-ha). Although the word can mean surprising, strange, wonderful, amazing, extraordinary, unaccountable, or marvelous, its flow lead to the destruction of the park’s Wah’ula Visitor Center in 1989 and the village of Kalapana in 1990. It also covered most of Royal Gardens’ coastal area. The eruption continues to this day and has claimed over 180 homes. Royal Gardens’ upper portion remained relatively unscathed, but because its entry roads came from the bottom, the top became isolated.

After that, all but one family moved out. Paul and Jean came in June 1991, after answering an ad to caretake a home that the owner still had faith in. They knew exactly what they were getting into, however. The owner had sent a video showing the lava fields surrounding Royal Gardens on three sides. They knew the closest approach was from the end of the Chain of Craters Road, which had seven of its miles covered by pahoehoe (smooth, taffy-like lava) in 1990. From there, the hike across the lava “driveway” would be a couple of miles long and there would be no services once inside. They knew the nearest store was 60 miles round-trip and that Hilo was twice that. And since lava was still flowing from Kupaianaha into the ocean, they also knew that Kilauea showed no signs of slowing down.

But it was too interesting to pass up. At 39, Paul already had 20 years in the Navy as a computer specialist. Living off his retirement income, Paul and Jean caught the rain for water, and a couple of solar panels charged car batteries that ran the house. They have strong backs and along with food, they backpacked in propane for the refrigerator, gas for the generator, and gas for the owner’s car that had become trapped inside the subdivision. Strict vegetarians, they harvested the papaya and bananas still growing on old jungle-covered properties.

They also took advantage of the low QRN. Many have wondered about the isolation, and I just mention Paul and Jean’s HF work. The house soon became a homebrew antenna farm, sporting a 2M Quagi that was their only local link out, a 10M four-element Yagi, and a Zepp used for 20M and 40M (Paul often lamented that there were no power lines spanning the subdivision that he could use as a longwire antenna). With their ICOM 735 they ran 100 W of solar power from a 900 ft. launching pad and made contacts and skeds with operators all over the world.

Actually, Jean did most of the talking. Paul was in charge of radio maintenance and many times he was he “armstrong rotator” for the beam. Paul would also pick out the QRP calls that were down in the mud for the rest of us. Jean, with that Hawaiian call and the YL voice, gained considerable attention on 10 and 40M. When I first met her, she was a Novice, KA6SMM. Within 10 months, she had an Advanced ticket, thanks to her Elmer, W3FO. Jean would work her pileups and QSL anyone who needed Hawaii, whether for fun or WAS. She easily received her WAS award in return, along with her 10-10 VP number. Paul also had a 10-10 number, and the two would check into various 10M nets as an OM/XYL team.

Getting a QSL card from W3FO always meant you had a rare and valuble DX contact. Last December (1991), I happened to be up 13,796 feet, on the summit of Mauna Kea, and gave him a shout using an HT that ran 1W into a half-wave antenna. From just below the slope in Royal Gardens, it was hard enough to hear the repeater with a preamp and the Quagi, so a clear, simplex contact was enough for Paul to rush me his very first QSL card from Royal Gardens.

Otherwise, Jean was the voice from the flanks of Kilauea Volcano. In February 1992, she and I held an impromptu special event featuring the volcano. We made over 450 contacts in a 24-hour period. We sent out a QSL certificate and a letter full of information about Hawaiian volcanoes. We still have operators thanking us for the effort.

Jean and Paul managed to strike up many friendships, including some high school amateurs in Chariton, Iowa. The students even attempted to make the trip out, in the hope of DX-ing from Hawaii, but ran short of funds. Despite the disappoinment, they learned a great deal about both the geology of Kilauea and Amateur Radio. Jean also regulary checked in to the 40M Hawaii Afternoon Net (0200Z, 7.290 MHz) with a reassuring “Aloha from beautiful downtown Royal Gardens!” that could be heard throughout the island chain.

Until October 1991, the hike across the flats would include detours around active pahoehoe toes; but these were very viscous and Paul and Jean could skirt them easily. On 8 November 1991, however, a small fissure eruption in between Pu’u O’o and Kupaianaha sent curtains of fire 10 feet into the air. The eruption created a lava pond up against the Kupaianaha lavas, and two days later that pond sent an a’a flow down toward Royal Gardens. After much consultation and insight into what was happening above, Paul and Jean evacuated their ham and personal gear to my office at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. They waited a few more days while the a’a flow made its way very slowly into Royal Gardens. Then the plumbing upslope failed, and the channel feeding that flow drained. By Thanksgiving, the flow was pau, done. Paul and Jean never had any more problems with lava in their backyard.

W3FO and WH6DZ have now returned to the mainland and are traveling around Canada and the United States in an RV. Jean will be active on 2-80M throughout their travels. If you hear her on, say Aloha and talk story about their stay on the world’s most active volcano. Don’t forget to send a 73 to Paul, though, who will be in the background, pulling your call out of the noise and making sure Jean sounds so darn good.