Day 10 - Haleakala Sunset

 Saturday, September 5, 2015

It's another gorgeous morning out here in Ka'anapali! Just look at that sky …

We all pick out own breakfast at Farmer's Market Maui, a small, wholesome grocery store about a block from our condo. I love being able to walk there and get all kinds of healthy, yummy things to eat.

You probably don't know this, but my favorite fruit is passion fruit and I go a little “lilikoi” crazy when we're in Hawaii. This morning I buy some chobani passion fruit yogurt, fresh squeezed passion fruit juice and even passion fruit cream cheese to put on my bagel. I also get a bit of banana bread, but that's hardly worth mentioning in the present of all that passion fruit (although it was good).

Breakfast on the lanai.

Watching the sunrise from the top of Haleakala is on many “Maui-Top-10” lists, but that's obviously not going to happen today. It might never happen actually, since it involves getting up at some god awful time in the morning -- like seriously 2 am -- and you might get there only for it to be totally overcast. Some members of the always helpful Tripadvisor community suggested going around sunset instead, so we might have to consider that, but first ... back to my favorite place on Maui: Black Rock.

Not wanting to walk all the way from the Whaler's Village to the beach with all our gear, we park in the garage; a daily max of $20 is not so bad in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately, the waves are still rocking and rolling – or more accurately pounding and slamming – and I can tell without going in the water that visibility is going to abysmal. Tjitske isn't thrilled about the prospect of battling the waves just to get in the water, so we go off in search of calmer waters elsewhere.

Sandy suggests we try Kahekili Park by the Westin. It's also completely exposed and likely to be just as bad, but it's someplace new to try.

The surf here is pretty rough too, and the water has that milky blue color that indicates lots of sand swirling around. 

The sun is brutal and all three of us already got more sun than we should have yesterday, so at first I hang out in the shade of the pavilion for a while, where someone is playing the ukulele. But we really should be more careful about the sun so for about $17 A&A Beach rentals provides us with an umbrella and a boogie board “for the week”. Of course, we won't stay on Maui long enough, but it was cheaper than renting for 3 separate days and now we can just leave them in the trunk until we check out.

Plans to head up Haleakala this afternoon are getting serious and after some calculation we realize that if we want to go today, we had better get going soon. Of course, I wouldn't be me if I didn't need to check out the water first so I quickly don my gear and gracefully slip past the breaking waves into …

Uh …

Hmm ...

I can barely see my hand in front of my face!

A group of scuba divers is hanging out a ways further out with a few snorkelers mixed in, and I make my way over to them to see if it clears up any, but unless you dive way down it's too churned up to even make out the coral. Poor visibility always makes me nervous, especially on Hawaii where serious shark attacks are more common, so I swim back to shore where I have fun bobbing around the waves for a few minutes.

The wind has picked up a lot, since we first got there and suddenly it's picking up umbrellas, boogie board and beach chairs alike, and sending them hurtling down the beach. Some fly into into the ocean, others hit unsuspecting beachgoers. I'd say it's time we pack it up! Funny, because my guide book describes Kahekili as one of the more sheltered beaches!

We don't have time for a sit-down lunch, so we hurry into Subway where we pick up subs, and a salad for Tjitske. 

As we start driving towards Haleakala, I can't help but notice that it's pretty cloudy at the top ... but as you can tell it's a gorgeous day so I try not to worry.

I do a good job of not worrying, until suddenly a dense fog moves in. Coincidentally, a new Jamie Lew Curtis horror movie has just hit theaters and it's called The Fog. And it's about, well creepy things happening in the fog. 

Luckily, after a few miles we move past the clouds into brilliant sunshine. When I get out to take a picture the air feels crisp and clean. I do love the mountains! We've just gone from sea level to 5,000ft and I can feel the sudden chill in the air. Another noticeable difference is the absence of background noise that we're so accustomed to. It makes the sound of the gravel crunching under my Keen sandals seem excessively loud.

At last, we've reached the park! 

The lower visitor center is located a short distance from the entrance and when we get there one of the rangers is taking down the flag – which I find odd, but don't give it much thought. He seems very eager to help out and directs us to the bathroom. When I overhear another ranger announcing that they are closing in a few minutes it all makes sense. We rush inside, get my national park passport stamped, and hit up the info desk for some last-minute advice on how to get the most out of our visit.

Best spot for the sunset is easy; “All the way to the top!” Our hiking wish list of; no uneven surfaces, nothing steep, nothing slick, and no boulders, proves a bit more challenging giving that we are standing on a dormant volcano, but she's still able to come up with some suggestions.

The Halemau'u trail is a relatively easy 1 mile hike to the rim of the crater (or past that if you are looking for a longer hike), so that's where we'll start. As the ranger had warned us, we do have to hike across a volcanic landscape with some uneven rock, but it's nothing we can't handle.

The clouds sweep in and out, and it's amazing the effect it has; the temperature drops rapidly, and it goes from bright and sunny, to drab and gloomy in an instant. It even sprinkles occasionally.  

Eek! Strangers in the mist. 

Oh wait, those are my strangers.

I am starting to get worried that we are slogging across this uneven terrain for nothing. And indeed, when we reach the rim there's nothing but a wall of white rising up from the crater floor. 

It reminds me of the Kalalau lookout in Kauai. It can be one of the most incredible views you'll ever see ... or it can be thick and impenetrable like this. Sigh. After waiting a few minutes we reluctantly turn around.

Sandy and Tjitske go on ahead, while as per usual, I'm still tinkering with my camera taking pictures of who knows what, when suddenly a mountain peak emerges from the clouds. "Come back! Come back!" I yell.

It takes me a few minutes to figure it out, but then I realize that we never made it to the rim. Luckily, it should only take a minute or so to get there.

A little pano

We all made it just in time!

The sun keeps sinking lower in the sky, so after the obligatory picture or two (or ten), we head back to the trail head. But not without getting a few pictures of the plant life.

Red and green fern growing from bare volcanic rock ... maybe a Sadleria fern?

Already the view is amazing as we're driving up the winding road that snakes its way to the summit. 

Quick stop at the Leleiwi overlook. In hindsight, I don't think we actually made it to the actual overlook. Apparently, there's a short 0.3 mile trail that leads to a view of the crater, but I have no recollection of walking anywhere after we parked. Even so, the view is incredible. 

We pass the upper visitor center and drive straight towards the summit, where we start slicing through wispy clouds again. Would we be better off watching from the visitor center? I'm worried, but this is where the ranger told us to go so I have to believe this is the right place to be.

When I open my car door at the summit, the cold seeps in immediately. Brrrr! We are so not prepared for this. 

The harsh climate of hot days and cold nights, intense sun, drought and wind, presents a challenge to most plant life, but certain species thrive in this volcanic landscape, including this endangered 'Ahinahina', or silversword. Silverswords bloom only once, erupting into a towering stalk of flowers like this one.

Sandy wants to head back to the car after a couple of minutes, but I convince her to hang out in the enclosed shelter, where it is at least marginally warmer and we have unobstructed 360 views. But first we break the cardinal rule of never opening the trunk unless we are leaving, and root through the beach bag in search of anything we can put on our bodies.

Welcome to the summit of Pu'u'ula'ula! 

 I'm glad Sandy agreed to try the shelter, because there are several informational boards located inside that among other things point out important landmarks and explain the predominant weather cycle. We find out that we can see all the way to the next stop on our itinerary, the Big Island! Although it's been so long ago that now I don't remember which distant peaks they are haha.

This next photo, is one of my favorite pictures, because it very clearly shows identifiable landmarks. On the right-hand side, you can clearly make out the sharp peak of Haleakala that has given the park its name. I had assumed that it would be the tallest peak in the park, but it "only" measures 8201ft. You can tell that late in the day, it literally lives in Pu'u'ula'ula's shadow!

The high altitude and clear skies make the summit an ideal location for star gazing and is home to the Haleakala High Altitude Observatory Site, aka the Haleakala Observatory. Doesn't it make you think of Starwars? 

It's hard to describe what it's like to be up that high and to have the ground beneath your feet gradually slope down, only to abruptly disappear in a sea of clouds.  

Obviously, there is no time to waste, so instead of warming up in the car for while, we find a little enclave that helps shelter us from the wind. 

Silly cousins! The sun hasn't even set and already our noses are red from the cold.

Bundled up and ready for action! Tjitske has shared her beach towel with me so I don't end up with gravel embedded in my cheeks, and we spread the wind resistant blanket across the three of us to block the wind and try to retain body heat. Not too bad for an impromptu visit!

Watching the sunset here is truly a magical experience. A spiritual moment that can't be expressed through pictures, although of course I do have plenty of those to share. Starting with a panorama, because that's the best way to show you what it looks like in person (please click picture to enlarge).

If you enlarge this next one, you'll see on the left a lone electricity pole leading down into the valley, and straight ahead in the distance a mountain just tall enough to break through the clouds.

A closer view of that mountain peeking through the clouds.

Z for Zorro

My favorite of all:

A great ball of fire paints the sky where the sun has just dipped below the clouds.

After the brightest colors start to fade, Tjitske and Sandy beat a hasty retreat to the car, complaining of numb, frozen fingers but excitement keeps me warm-ish and I tough it out by myself for a while longer. 

The already cool temperature plunges rapidly now, but my tenacity is rewarded when a short time later vibrant beams of light shoot out across the night sky. I tried to capture it, but the picture doesn't do it justice.

Someone had set up a telescope at the visitor center and I meant to ask them if I could have a look, but when I get out of the bathroom I practically sprint back to the car and forget about it. We didn't see a lot of stars there anyway, although that could have been because there was still too much light. 

It's slow going on the way down and Sandy has wisely put the car in a low gear to avoid burning down the brakes. Just to be on the safe side, we pull off at the Leleiwi lookout again to cool it down and snap some pictures of  the lights down below. No one really talks about that, but I think it's pretty neat. I'm not sure which city it is, maybe Kula?

As we're driving again it occurs to me that there actually were a lot of stars visible while I was setting up to take those city lights pictures, and at the next turn off I ask Sandy to please pull over again. Oh, the joys of traveling with a hobby photographer! 

Look, it's the Milky Way!

I'm so engrossed in uploading pictures to the blog, that I accidentally direct us south and I don't realize my mistake until we come across another exit for Haleakala Crater. Oh no! Just what we needed after an already long day.

It's after 10pm and our options for food are limited, so we head to McDonalds. Tjitske still hasn't eaten her salad, so we grab a table in the back and hide her Subway contraband behind our Happy Meal boxes. And look, there's even a little Dutch on the box (bottom right).

By the time we get home it's well past 10:30 and we are all exhausted from being out and about all day, in the cold no less. After showering and blogging, it's almost 1am and the others are fast asleep ... and they wonder why I'm always slow to get going in the morning!? 

♥

Breakfast: Farmer's Market store
Lunch: Subway
Dinner: McDonalds

Hotel: Ashton Paki Maui