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Great Hiking on Stromboli:
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 | Check about volcano-activities, volcano alert status and about possible lava-flows that You might see. Don't miss to talk to the locals - It is important to know, if the mountain behaves normal! |
| Organise a map of the island (small shop beside the church) in the village center (especially if You might want to leave the beaten tracks go a little futher, or take some short cuts) |
| Take very warm clothes and rain gear - even in hot summer weather (!) |
| Take a sleeping bag and a blanket or materess to put underneath (sharp rocks) |
| Take good shoes (slippery, sharp rocks) |
| Check times for sunrise and sunset (You don't want to miss sunrise the next morning!) - take an alarm clock and don't forget Your flash lights |
| Check weather and wind conditions as well as the general wind direction and the forecasts. |
Trip:
| Allow enough time to go up and find a good place to spend the night (with heavy pack and some breaks to rest and to study the mountain allow a minimum of 4-5 hours) |
| The trail starts very easy (touristy) and gets harder while going up. Take enough time to stop, watch and study the eruption activities on the mountain while going up. Start to feel the Stromboli-rhytm. |
| In October 2001 f.e. there seemed to be 2-3 different eruption vents while going up. Only one site was directly visible at the way up. The others we could actually just hear. After two days we knew that there were 5 to 6 different vents and we were able to get a glimpse of most of them. |
| The best place to study the mountain is the very top. Allow enough time there before You decide to get any closer to one of the vents or before You follow the rim down from the top along the south western side of the mountain. Check what the wind is doing. Never get close to one of the clouds. They carry sulphur acid and You're not able to breathe when You're caught by one! |
Trip loogbook, Tips: (October 2001)
| We set up camp past the top of Stromboli following the decreasing rim towards south west. At night time we got an incredible view of 4 different vents. The biggest vent once threw its rocks dangerously close to were we stayed. So don't feel save if You see a sheltering rock formation & small platform along this rim (it might be the one I built to give us some shelter against the fierce wind. We camped to close! |
| The best small excursions we did after dark. Every 7-12 Minutes some of the vents were erupting - sometimes with frightening ground tremors and with really impressive sounds that go along with the eruptions. Don't forget to have a tripod. Nice pictures of eruptions at night need long exposures. |
| If You plan night excursions - it's good to have a GPS so that You don't get lost. Mark heaps of waypoints while moving away from camp so that You can easily follow them on Your way back. There is a lot of dangerous drop offs - be aware! |
| In October 2001 there was a nice ground opening, allowing stunning views of spilling Lava at night. It looked like a pumpkin soup that was permanently spilling over the pans edge. Unfortunately I was out of film to catch it during our night excursion. Well, when we saw next morning where we discovered the site at night, it was pretty frightening to see one of the vents now throwing its rocks all around this place. |
| Sunrise (we almost missed it...) was just stunning - it is worth to be at the top of the hill when the sun starts to rise. Great views and colours in any direction... - yellow and red eruption clouds - wow. |
Sorry, that there are no published pictures yet. I will scan an publish some
shortly after the ongoing expedition (will be somewhen in 2003).
When comparing more than 5 expeditions in Hawaii with the trip
on Stromboli there is one thing to say:
Although it is most likely that You won't see flowing Lava-streams on
Stromboli. But this active volcano surely offers a great experience
in actually hearing it erupt in a very impressive way, and this... -
every 10 minutes!
Go for it! - and stay save.... :)
Volcano Expeditions / Vulkan Expeditionen / Hints & Tips / Trails to
active volcanoes
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