Grab your best boots. Two gallons of water, a days food and your cameraas. We leave early: 3 a.m. and travel as light as we can.
Be at the lava flow before the rangers, the tourists, and before our entry can be cut off by another lava flow.
It's an eight mile hike on dark lava in the wee hours with a flashlight. Very dangerous footing. But once there the sights are unforgettable.
Then, spend the hot day on the flow either in the shade of a lava outcrop or we climb the "Pali" the 3000 foot lava cliff in front of Kilauea's ocean entry to find breakouts up high on the summit.
If you break a leg you are on your own. There is no rescue. You are out of bounds in the park. Cell phones don't work.
We stay until night fall when the best photos are taken. Hiking out in the dark about 9 p.m. If you are carefull, it will become one of the best days of your life, and worth every risk. I've done this about 20 times and with care, each becomes a treasured memory. Take lots of film or digital memory. 2-3000 shots is enough for one day depending on the lava conditions.