Tag Archives: Haleakala

Haleakalā: The Mountain That Stole My Heart

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View from the summit of Haleakalā volcano on Maui showing reddish‑brown cinder cones and rugged volcanic terrain under a clear blue sky, with drifting clouds nestled among the crater slopes.”

A Trip Back in Time

I’ve been deep in my Hawaii Photo Tagging project, reliving a trip from November–December 2016 with my sister and cousin. Spending time immersed in those photos is like stepping into a time machine. It feels like yesterday… until I remember that 2016 was ten years ago. Ten! Impossible, yet here we are.

So what I’m about to share may be “outdated,” but it’s still absolutely fresh in my mind. Today, we’re talking volcanoes — specifically a mature, stately mountain, not that fiery upstart Kilauea. Those stories will have their own day.

Meeting the Giant “View from the summit of Haleakalā volcano on Maui showing rugged volcanic slopes and dark rocky terrain above a vast layer of white clouds under a deep blue sky.”

First of all, Haleakalā is majestic. This isn’t a cute little cone volcano. It’s a full‑fledged shield volcano. Officially, Haleakalā rises 10,023 feet from sea level to summit, but in truth it’s closer to 30,000 feet from its base on the ocean floor. You don’t grasp its size until you reach the summit, look out over a layer of clouds, and realize you’re standing above them.

Topographic map showing a winding mountain hiking route with labeled waypoints including Lava Tower, Barranco, Karanga, Barafu, and Uhuru Peak.”

Driving up is an adventure in itself. The road zigs, zags, and switchbacks so you’re never heading straight up. You get glimpses of the valley as the road twists, but honestly? I was driving, and those hairpin turns encourage you to keep your eyes firmly on the pavement. Add in the bicyclists — yes, the pedal kind — who pay good money to huff and puff their way to the top. I guess the exhilarating ride back down makes it worth it.

House of the Sun

Haleakalā means House of the Sun in Hawaiian, and since the 1800s it’s been a tradition to visit the summit at sunrise. I’ve never done it. Between jet lag and the 3 a.m. start time, I’ve always passed. It’s become so popular that the National Park Service now requires reservations for sunrise viewing.

“Silhouetted group of people watching a dramatic sunrise above a glowing cloud layer, with golden and orange light illuminating the sky.”

 

Dormant, Not Dead

Haleakalā isn’t about to erupt under your feet. It’s considered dormant, not extinct — meaning it could erupt again someday. The last eruption, as best anyone can tell, was between 1750 and 1790. Not long ago in geological terms, but long enough for me to feel perfectly safe wandering around.

“Rugged volcanic landscape with reddish-brown slopes and rocky formations beneath tall peaks partially covered by drifting clouds under a bright blue sky.”The Summit That Captured My Heart

The summit is home to the Haleakalā High Altitude Observatory, built there for the purity and clarity of the air. I didn’t climb up to see the observatory. I was too mesmerized by the landscape.

Haleakalā has more of a moonscape than a landscape. Plants are few and far between, and the browns, reds, and blacks paint a surreal, velvety picture. My mind knows it’s sand, dirt, and ash — but it looks soft enough to touch. I imagine a giant hand reaching out to stroke the terrain.

It’s not waves, water, surfers, or sunny brilliance. It’s moody. Dramatic. Dark. Dotted with cinder cones and caldera cliffs. I don’t know why I love it, but I do.

A Rare Treasure: The Haleakalā Silversword “Two tall flowering stalks with clusters of small blossoms rising from spiky silver-green leaves, growing among dark rocks with a stone wall and railing in the background under a clear blue sky.”

While you’re wandering around the summit, keep an eye out for the Haleakalā Silversword. These plants are found only here — nowhere else on Earth. They flower once in their lifetime, sending up a spectacular, towering bloom, and then die soon afterward, scattering their seeds to the wind. If you’re lucky, you might catch one in bloom during your visit. It’s a sight you won’t forget.

Step Into Another World

So next time you’re on Maui, skip the beach for one day. Make that twisty drive up the mountain. Stand above the clouds. Let Haleakalā wrap you in its quiet, otherworldly beauty.

It’s worth every mile.

“Rugged volcanic crater landscape with rocky terrain in the foreground and tall peaks rising above drifting clouds under a bright blue sky.”

Road Trip to Hana- Again

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On the Road to Hana

I’m in Maui so that means a trip to Hana. The only way to get there is taking the “Road to Hana” also called the Hana Highway. Regular visitors to this site can attest to my experiences with the Hana Highway. I’ve had some close calls when I’ve attempted to make the drive on my own so this time I chose to take a tour. Let someone else do the driving. In case you are wondering about my cowardly decision the Road to Hana is considered the 5th most dangerous road In The World!

The Hana Rainforest & Waterfall Fun Tour

The concierge recommended Aloha Sunshine Tours for the trip to Hana. Pick up was in the lobby at Ka’anapali Beach Club at 6:10 am. I was advised to wear a bathing suit under my clothes and bring beach towels and sunscreen. Also recommended was bug repellent and Dramamine. This is not an inexpensive trip. I was receiving a discount but for those not members of a resort club or time share the cost of the tour was $161.45 per adult. The price includes lunch in Hana. In our case lunch was a sandwich wrap and a soft drink. I just didn’t want you to think it was an elaborate restaurant meal, it wasn’t. 

Lets Talk about The Road to Hana

The Hana Highway is dangerous because in a 30 mile stretch there are 620 curves and 59 single lane bridges. Unlike other places where one car goes then the other side goes, like at a stop sign, if you have a line of cars behind you  that gives you the right of way and the on coming cars all wait until the whole string of cars has passed. Some of the curves are blind curves. Our tour bus went around them with the horn blaring to let cars on the other side of the curve know we were coming. Two of the passengers got car sick. but thankfully managed to hold it until we could find a place to pull over. The drop offs can be dizzying when you look down.

The Hana Highway runs through a rainforest

The scenery is magnificent. We stopped to take a quick dip under a waterfall. You are traveling through an honest to goodness rainforest. Waterfalls abound, some dripping down onto the highway. There can be fog and limited visibility. The day we went it was sunny for the most part. Only patches of rain. One big change from my previous tour, when we got to Hana we turned around and came back. The tour did not take us on the back side of Haleakalā. Our driver said the unpaved road there was too rough on their vans. I’ll share some of the stops we made in the next post.

If You Go

If you get to Hana , whether on your own or by tour, be sure to pick up some banana bread. It is THE BEST! I’m told it’s made with the tiny bananas and that is what makes it so moist and sweet. I don’t know if that’s true but I’ve never had banana bread as good as this in my life. Its worth the scary ride on the Road to Hana.

 

 

 

I want to find a nice decent job as a helicopter pilot.

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Well maybe not but our Tuesday morning adventure did involve a helicopter.

Of the 3 of us, I was the only one who had ever been up in a helicopter. My first ride was back in 2008 in Sedona. It was an awesome experience. But Sandy has steadfastly refused to even consider taking a helicopter ride. Of course Kathy didn’t know this and she pushed hard for a chance to see Maui from the sky.

To my surprise Sandy agreed with very little argument. I don’t know what that was about but we found ourselves booked with Sunshine Helicopters for a flight over Haleakala and the Road to Hana. I was hoping for some good aerial photos. Alas, this was not to be but the seating worked out for Sandy and Kathy.

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The 3 of us were assigned the back seat, Kathy to my left and Sandy to my right while I was in the middle.

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The road up Haleakala

That meant that both Kathy and Sandy had windows where they could take pictures but I soon found that my seat pretty much prevented that. In fact it was hard to see much of anything.

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The front seats had a couple and they where constantly bouncing around, heads or hands always managing to get into the frame. The other seat was occupied by the Pilot. So much for getting shots out of the front window.

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Still it was interesting and fun and I am thrilled that I was there when both Kathy & Sandy experienced something new.

helicopter

 

Back to Haleakala

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We didn’t make plans for Saturday because Kathy’s plane came in so late. We wanted to give her a chance to rest but we did go to the the resort’s orientation. I thought it would be a good way for Kathy to get up to speed on the things we can choose to do.

But Kathy’s a trouper. She didn’t want to waste a minute. As soon as we finished at the orientation, booking a whole list of events and tours, she suggested a drive to Haleakala. I made sure we had a full tank of gas this time.

Kathy took over the navigating so we didn’t need to use the crazy GPS. (It doesn’t work so well  on the Island)

It was another twisty, turny drive. But the clouds were spectacular this time. When Sandy and I went up the first time it was gray and rainy, but this drive was beautiful with lots of blue sky.

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We made a quick stop at the first visitor center then on to the 2nd. The views were amazing. Kathy kept saying the clouds looked like cotton candy.

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The summit was in reach and the gas gauge was looking good so we hopped back in the car and continued to the top.

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By now we were at 10,000 ft.

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There were stone stairs to cover the last few hundred feet but all 3 of us looked at that and said Oh No! This is good enough! It made my knees hurt just looking at them!

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For any of you that might consider climbing the stairs, there is an observation deck & building when you get to the top.

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Onward and Upward

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As we left the first Visitor Center I was getting concerned about the gas situation. I could not see how we had used so much gas but I didn’t want to get stranded so I told Sandy we might  not get to the summit this trip.

The road up the mountain was very winding. Cue music to “the Long and Winding Road”.

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Soon we were passing through fog and clouds and the air was becoming cooler.

We started to see elevation signs. I was having a blast maneuvering around the hair pin turns but Sandy wasn’t enjoying it quite as much. She had a pretty tight grip on the seat and didn’t seem to be looking out at the passing views much. I only caught glimpses but what I saw was pretty spectacular.

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Suddenly we were above the clouds. The sky was blue and we could see the 2nd Visitor Center ahead. As we pulled into the parking lot the gas gauge hovered around the 1/4 mark. Even though we could see the summit from the lot, I was just afraid to go any further. It made me think of a scuba dive. When you have used 1/2 of your air you turn around. You don’t push it so that’s what we decided to do but first we wanted to take some pictures.

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I started looking out over the side of the mountain. Impressive but it didn’t really get me excited. It looked like it might be a little higher if we walked from the parking lot up to the Visitor Center, elevation 9,740 ft!  I’m so glad we did. We would have missed the best vista if we’d stayed in the parking lot!

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That’s when the strange and amazing landscape revealed itself. I found myself looking down into the remains of the crater which was sprinkled with cinder cones! This area is known as the Sliding Sands and it is beautiful in an alien sort of way.

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I could have stayed right there admiring the view but others wanted even more and followed a trail from the parking lot heading for the summit.

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Although we did not get to the summit this time. (We plan to return with a full tank of gas) We could see the Observatory complex on the summit.

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Because of the remarkable clarity, dryness, and stillness of the air, and its location above one-third of Earth’s atmosphere, as well as the limited light pollution, the summit of Haleakala is one of the most sought-after locations in the world for ground-based telescopes. As a result of the geographic importance of this observational platform, experts come from all over the world to take part in research at “Haleakala Observatory”.

Next time we’ll definitely make it to the top!