Thanks to Aileen for the invite to tag along with her group to hike in the top destination for Maui, Haleakala Crater. Well, that’s if you believe the travel guides.

Haleakala Visitor Center

We woke up before the crack of dawn and drove up the winding ten-mile road to the 10,023′ summit to stand in the cold mountain air and watched the crescent moon seemingly rise as the earth rotated on its axis.

Haleakala Visitor Center

People drive and fly countless miles to bear witness to … a ten foot selfie pole standing out from the crowd …

Haleakala Visitor Center

… oh and the sunrise is not bad either.

Haleakala Visitor Center

Looking back at the triangular shadow of the dormant volcano.

Haleakala Visitor Center

Sunrise group photo at the House of the Sun.

Haleakala Visitor Center

Menchie trying to slow down the sun’s ascent much like the demigod Maui did in Hawaiian folklore.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Partial group photo in front of the crater that was thought to have last erupted between 1480 and 1600.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Aileen and El left to shuttle and stage cars, so we made our descent down the Sliding Sands Trail.

Chukar

We spotted a couple of introduced game birds roaming around the top of the trail. When is hunting season?

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Ferlino marching to his own tune, more accurately the senior boy scout songs from back in the day.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Going down the wide switchbacks.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Mari trying to catch the sun as Aileen and El soon caught up to the group.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

How many flags can you spot in this photo? Look carefully.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

El against the volcanic landscape pimpled with cinder cones.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Three of us standing on varying degrees of elevated volcanic rocks.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Passing through a stretch of endemic ‘ahinahina (silverswords) found only on the slopes of Haleakala, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. These very grey plants once carpeted the mountains like a blanket of snow until animal grazing and human visitation decimated the population to a mere 100 back in 1927. The creation of Halekala National Park in 1961 brought them back from the brink of extinction. We were too early for the blooming season that occurs during June to November.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Low flying drone view or just a very tall selfie stick.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Approaching the bottom of the crater floor.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

Belated Happy Birthday to Aileen, I guess that’s why she got two donuts.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

No horses were tied up at the hitching post, so some in the group took full advantage of the vacancy to test our their balancing, twisting and hanging skills.

Junction

All dressed up with someplace to go.

Halemau’u Trail

Bringing the rear up on the sandy trail.

Halemau’u Trail

Behind the scenes of the making of a direct to video action flick. Subtitles not included.

Halemau’u Trail

Following the trail as it weaved between the cinder cones in the crater.

Halemau’u Trail

Slight detour towards the Halali’i Cinder Cone.

Pele’s Paint Pot

Partial group photo in front of the swirling and striated colorful colors of the cinder cone best seen with the camera eye, as the rest were off making their own photographic memories.

Halemau’u Trail

Heading back to the main trail.

Halemau’u Trail

Just concentrate on the first mileage, worry about the second one later. One foot in front of the other.

Halemau’u Trail

Hiking towards the afternoon clouds that were filling up Kaupo Gap in the distance.

Halemau’u Trail

Passing some low lying shrubs on the trail.

Halemau’u Trail

Approaching one of three cabins in the crater.

Halemau’u Trail

The Dynamic Duo decided to check out the lava tube that seemingly only has one entry and exit now.

Halemau’u Trail

You’ve heard of The Flyin’ Hawaiian? Meet The Flyin’ Filipino.

Holua Cabin

Sharing the cabin area with what soon became a popular hanging out spot. Glad we grabbed the picnic bench before the large influx of hikers streamed in from the trails.

Holua Cabin

Look but don’t feed the Hawaiian goose lest one be kicked out of a Neanderthal group, guilty by association and all. The nene were thought to have descended from Canadian geese that were blown off course and their descendants evolved into the nene, nene nui and the giant Hawaiian goose. All three were hunted by the Hawaiians, Europeans, rats, pigs, dogs and mongoose until only the nene went extinct. In 1962, the nene were re-introduced to Haleakala from nene raised in England of all places. The population count is roughly below 400 birds for Maui.

Holua Cabin

Cave eye view of the cabin below.

Holua Cabin

The Dynamic Duo leaving no stone unturned, no cave unexplored and no selfie untaken.

Holua Cabin

I thought Flag Day wasn’t until June 14. For some, it’s every time they go in the mountains.

Halemau’u Trail

Leaving the cabin as we pushed off the trail for the final climb of the day.

Halemau’u Trail

Ferlino providing amusement for the group and other passing hikers. I’m glad we are all easily entertained.

Halemau’u Trail

Some had to ponder if the sign meant gate was closed or to close the gate. Luckily, we chose the latter.

Halemau’u Trail

Climbing up the graded trail that hugs the 1,000′ plus cliffs.

Halemau’u Trail

How many switchbacks is this? Who’s keeping count? Ferlino!

Halemau’u Trail

This is nothing. We do much harder stuff before breakfast. LOL.

Halemau’u Trail

Leaving the switchbacks behind us as we crossed over the Rainbow Bridge. Hope we are not fallen pets.

Halemau’u Trail

The end of the trail. The light at the end of the tunnel.

All pau

What we’ve got here is failure to communicate. After we all got on the same page, we assembled back at the trailhead to take our final group photo of our memorable hike.

GPS Tracks

Our crater hike covered 11.24 miles at high elevation and rugged scenery straight from the fourth planet. Many thanks to Aileen and CJ for acquiring the accommodations, rental cars and sunrise permits. Mahalo to the group for the fun company, encouragement and motivation. Post hike meal at Kula Lodge where the waiter that has a passing resemblance to the 43rd President checked and double checked on soda refills. Maybe he should’ve checked harder on the meals and dessert.

Photos taken by Aileen Agustin, Chris Bautista, CJ Mendiola, Elderick Deal, Ferlino Carinio, Mari Saito, Menchie Bautista and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

We spent our last day on Maui hiking around the dormant volcano that is actually taller than Mount Everest. Tried getting sunrise permits, which were all out. That meant a couple hours of extra sleep for us.

Haleakala Highway

Sharing the road with bicyclists as we took the winding road up to the top.

Silversword

We entered the sprawling park for free, thanks to Matt and his military service and saw a small scattering of the ahinahina in its natural habitat, the adaptive plants reputedly once covered the slopes like snow back in the day.

Pu’u ‘ula’ula

Panoramic view from 10,023′ of the crater with her different colored landscape and cinder cones populating the floor. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Observatories

Closed to visitation. No stargazing for us today.

Chukar partridge

Just looking for that pear tree now.

Sliding Sands Trail

Matt attempting to introduce waterfalls to the volcanic landscape.

Keonehe’ehe’e Trail

We would not be sliding down this trail today, as Matt had asked the park rangers earlier what the weather forecast held in store. Not good was the answer. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Sliding Sands Trail

Group photo left to right: Matt, myself, Ferlino, Analyn and Cisco.

Haleakala National Park

Ferlino walking the line. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Kalahaku Overlook

We stopped further down the road to gather another perspective of the crater. Ferlino getting some air time in the parking lot. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Kalahaku Overlook

Watching the contrail clouds roll into the crater. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Kalahaku Overlook

Matt looking out towards the twin volcanoes of the Big Island.

Kalahaku Overlook

When the very thing you are looking for is right in your face. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kalahaku Overlook

One last parting shot. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Halemau’u Trail

Driving down the road, we somehow missed the Leleiwi Overlook and ended up in the parking lot for the Halemau’u Trail. Time to hike.

Halemau’u Trail

Making our way through the native shrubland, populated with nene, to the rim of the valley.

Halemau’u Trail

The group following the fence line until they regained the trail.

Halemau’u Trail

Standing on rainbow bridge, supposedly named more for the colorful plants that contrast with the volcanic rock than refracted light in the mist. Photo by Matt Vidaurri

Halemau’u Trail

Making our way down to the very clear and cloud free crater. I guess the park rangers must be related to Guy Hagi.

Halemau’u Trail

The trail zig zagged over 18 times down the 1,000’+ cliff.

Halemau’u Trail

The trail started with long and winding switchbacks which afforded us spectacular views of the crater and the surrounding walls. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Halemau’u Trail

Perched atop a protruding lava rock. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Halemau’u Trail

The switch backs became shorter as we approached the gated grassy field at the bottom.

Halemau’u Trail

Setting foot on the crater floor, with only a mile of hiking left to the cabin.

Halemau’u Trail

Approaching the cabin with no reservations, just good intentions.

Holua Cabin

Group photo left to right: Ferlino, Analyn, myself, Matt, Nene, Cisco and Nene.

Nene

No feeding of the photo bombers.

Halemau’u Trail

After a short lunch break, we headed off to explore the nearby lava tube.

Lava Tube

Not this one? Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Lava Tube

This one. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Lava Tube

Climbing down with out the assistance of a ladder. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Lava Tube

Illuminating our way as we headed deep into the lava tube.

Lava Tube

Group photo inside the cave.

Lava Tube

Climbing back up through the cavernous conduit that used to carry molten lava. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Lava Tube

Matt standing underneath the natural skylight.

Lava Tube

Exiting the lava tube after traveling almost 900′ underground. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Halemau’u Trail

Analyn basking in the lava field views. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Halemau’u Trail

Time to pay the piper in terms of gaining all that elevation back that we had lost earlier.

Halemau’u Trail

One last photoshoot above the clouds. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

All pau

Making our way back to the car.

GPS Tracks

Our 12.3 mile hike above the clouds had us walking through native shrubland, switch backing down a steep cliff, and exploring the crater of a dormant volcano. Not a bad day. Post hike meal at Paradise Supermarket, home to the best Filipino food on the island. Thanks to Matt and the group for another fun filled weekend.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers.

Taking advantage of Island Air’s discounted fares, I hopped on a plane to Maui to see an old buddy, Everett, and hike into Haleakala Crater. On the way up, we stopped at Komoda Store and Bakery in Makawao, famous for their stick donuts, but they were on vacation!

Leaving the clouds behind

Going up the winding road to the summit, we gradually started to climb above the clouds as we passed scores of bicyclists going back down.

Pu'u Ula'ula

Standing at the top of Haleakala or Pu’u Ula’ula (Red Hill) at 10,023 feet. The skies were remarkably clear and the thin air was nice and crisp, didn’t even need my windbreaker. You can see the tops of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa of the Big Island poking up from the clouds in the distance.

Panoramic view from the summit

Click here to see the larger image.

Keonehe'ehe'e Trailhead

We drove down to the parking area where the trailhead was located at. There are restrooms to use before you start heading out on the trail, but be warned as the air is quite chilly up there and the seats are not heated!

Haleakala Crater

As we started down the trail into the crater, we could see the clouds slowly spilling into the rim.

Haleakala Silversword

We came across a bunch of Silversword plants that looked like they had just flowered and they were on their last buds, so to speak.

Haleakala - House of the Sun

In Hawaiian legend, this is where a local fisherman, Maui captured the sun and forced it to have longer days in the summer and shorter days in the winter.

Cinder cones

There are numerous cinder cones scattered on the crater floor, most of them are several hundred feet high.

Paniolo Nazi

“What are you doing?” This rhetorical question was repeated ad nauseum at two Australian tourists that had wandered off the trail by this paniolo (cowboy) guide that was leading a group of tourists down into the crater. He followed it up with threatening statements that it was a $500 fine, even though he is not a park ranger. The horse droppings do far more damage, as they have introduced alien grass and vegetation into the crater. After descending almost 2,000 feet into the crater, we turned around and started to head back up. The thin air and loose volcanic dirt, hence the name “Sliding Sands”, made one work a little harder on the return trip.

All pau

As we got back to the top of the trail, we could look back and see that the clouds had advanced further into the crater. On some days, the entire crater floor is covered in clouds, now that must make for an interesting hike. The next time I make it over here, I plan on hiking the other trail, Halemau’u and spending a night in one of the cabins which would give more time to explore the crater and the lava tubes.