I loved how misty it was during our hike. We were very lucky that it wasn't a blazing sunny day, otherwise the hike would have ended with Bam carrying my dead body back down the mountain. As we continued hiking up, the cloud cover deepened, the breeze picked up and then it began to rain down on us lightly. It was amazing. It's probably the coldest I have felt my entire time being in Maui (minus the few instances when I encounter air conditioning in the great indoors).
The L looks a little beat up from so close up. There are ruts that run all up and down the L from run off from the mountain. The white horizontal bars inside the borders of the L indicate the number of athletic accomplishments of the school that year (like paddling, football, baseball, etc.). 
The trek down was a much smoother adventure. I was mainly relieved that I wasn't panting like a dog the entire time. And it wasn't the panting that was the most difficult aspect of the hike, it was that I attempted to hide the fact that I was panting in front of my much fitter hiking partner. Let me tell you now: it's much easier to pant and breathe heavily rather than stifle the natural urge.
When we made it back down to the car, Bam pulled out more snacks: spam musubi that he had made at home. Spam musubi is a popular snack and lunch food here in Hawaii made from a block of rice, topped with a slice of Span and wrapped in nori to keep it all together. Delicious!
My red, dusty and beat up sneakers after a long, hard Monster Hike!
It was a great but brutal hike. I'm glad that I powered through and made it to the top in what I feel is record time for someone who doesn't do a lot of elevation workouts. It's a great hike, but it's not one I'll be revisiting anytime soon, so enjoy these photos. There won't be more like it for awhile...
