Haleakala Crater Day Hike

After two failed attempts to backpack Haleakala with Shaina, see here and here, I jumped at the opportunity to join Will and his out-of-towner friend, Roland, on their day trip to the crater today.

We drove out from the house early this morning, and as we cruised along the highway, the top of Haleakala was so clear and free of clouds that you could see the observatory at the summit (about 10,034 feet about sea level) glittering in the sunlight like a beacon.

We made a breakfast stop in Paia for crepes at Cafe des Amis.

{Will and Roland deep in conversation}

{my decadent hot chocolate for breakfast}

After fueling up on crepes and breakfast burritos, we made a quick stop at Mana Foods, the best independent grocery store on Maui, to pick up sandwiches and snacks for our hike.  Then, we were back in the car and on our way.

Once we entered the Haleakala National Park, we drove to the parking lot at Halemau'u Trail, affectionately known as "Switchbacks."  

The trailhead is 7,990 feet above sea level among native shrubs and lava rock, and traverses down into the crater via a series of switchbacks that takes the hiker 1,000 feet down in about two miles.

{Will and Roland leading the way}

{looking down from the top of the switchbacks at the bottom of the crater}

As lovely as the photos are, known of them can really give the scale of what we were looking at along our hike.  You can't get the sense of depth of looking down 1,000 feet and knowing that in less than three miles, you're going to be down on the flats of the crater.

{see the little red dot balanced on the left rock mount? that's Roland posing in front of the crater valley--hopefully that gives you some idea of the immensity of Haleakala}

{wildflower at the bottom of Switchbacks}

{looking up at the 1,000 foot descent we just completed}

From the bottom of Switchbacks, we hiked a mile to the Holua Cabin.  Once we arrived, we were greeted by a pair of very disinterested Nene, an endemic Hawaiian goose.  I have been dying to see these birds in their natural habitat ever since I learned about their existence.

The Nene (pronounced "nay-nay") is the official state bird of Hawaii, and is exclusively found on the islands of Hawaii (the Big Island), Kauai, and Maui.  

{a panoramic shot in front of Holua Cabin}

{Holua Cabin--this cabin and two others are available to rent via Haleakala National Park.  These cabins are in high demand and must be reserved up to 6 months in advance of your travel date}

After a brief break in front of the cabin, we met a trio of backpacking badass chicas and invited them to join us on Will's tour to a super secret lava tube.

{climbing down to the entrance}

{it's starting to get dark down here!}

{pitch black is interrupted only by our headlamps}

The tube that we hiked through rolled into caverns that reached high overhead where drops of water collected across the arched ceilings like diamonds.  Some passageways through the lava tube were narrow, and the slabs of lava slid underfoot with the sound of scraping plates.

At one point, we gathered together and switched off all our headlamps.  The sensation of pure darkness fell over us like a heavy blanket pressed close to our faces.  Closing your eyes or opening them felt exactly the same--the darkness was absolute and complete.

Near the end of the tube, there was a huge gaping skylight that illuminated a pile of lava rock underneath it.  The lighting felt similar to how treasure chests are shown in pirate movies.

{climbing out of the lava tube}

We did a complete through passage of the lava tube, and when we came out of the other side, we marveled at the rolling landscape of lava.

{trekking back to the cabin}

Back at the cabin, we said goodbye to our new friends as they continued their hike out of the crater, and then we sat down to lunch.  While we ate, the Nenes began to circle closer and closer to our picnic bench, begging for scraps.  "Oh no, Nene" became the common refrain as we finished up our lunch.

After our picnic, we shrugged on our daypacks and turned back the way we came and headed for the switchbacks.

{looking down at the switchbacks from half way up}

We were so lucky to have been blessed with perfect weather for our journey into the crater today.  The skies were absolutely clear for our entire trek into the crater.  On our way out, a few roiling clouds glanced against us but they kept us cool and refreshed as we stomped up the steep climb back to the car.

{stone steps up Switchbacks}

{clouds and bunny ears on the ridge}

After our hike out, we drove the car further up Haleakala to the summit--10,034 feet above sea level. At this drier elevation, silverswords grow.

The silversword can only be found on Maui, and only at elevations over 6,900 feet.

This plant has been a threatened species since 1992 after its numbers had been depleted by human vandalism and theft and excessive grazing by cows and goats.

{gorgeous coppers and reds in the cinder cones up at the summit}

{Unfortunately, these photos don't do justice do the amazing array of colors your eye can detect from the summit of the cinder cones in the crater}

{we're so high, we're looking down at the clouds}

{Haleakala Observatory}

We managed to kill some time and catch short naps in the car until sunset at 6:30 at the summit.  The sun was a flaming ball of fire as it hit the bank of clouds and sunk beneath it, painting the sky a wash of pastel pinks.

I didn't even bother to try taking a photo, because no picture that I was going to take would do justice to what I was capturing with my eyes.

Just another reason why Maui No Ka Oi (Maui is the Best).