October 27

Haleakala NP has some of the steepest slopes in the world. In just four miles, horizontally, the land rises over 10,000 feet to the summit of the Haleakala volcano. It took quite some time for folks to build a road to the top. Before that, Mark Twain made the hike (in 1872), climbing 9,000 feet vertical in one day, calling this an “isolated colossus”.

The youngest lava flow from this volcano was around 500 years ago. The oldest exposed lava flow is 1.1 million years old. This shield volcano is technically still active, labeled as a “dormant volcano”, but experts feel there may never be another eruption. The landscape left from all those previous eruptions is surreal. Plenty of red, yellow, and black cover the features of the crater. Most visitors drive to the Haleakala Visitor Center after stopping at the Park HQs VC (which is shortly after the entrance kiosk where you pay the $30 fee). This is not the actual summit of the volcano, but that is only 0.5 miles further up the road. The VC is the stepping off point for hiking down into the crater via the Sliding Sands Trail. There is plenty of fine sand on the trial, blowing through the air as you kick it up from your steps. One thing to keep in mind… every step you take going down, you have to do in reverse to get back to the VC. This can be up to 3,000 feet if you go all the way across the crater floor. My impression is most people who go to the floor decide to stop at the features which are about 2,500 feet below the crater rim. Do the math, that is 0.5 miles to climb back up, so be in shape.

The Maui Telescope is near the summit, but it is closed to the public. Behind the telescope is the Air Force center for monitoring the 8,000+ orbiting objects above our heads. The summit has its own parking lot, and a small area where you can see Silversword plants. When they flower, it is a sight. But today was not flower bearing time.

I will be back in the park tomorrow to watch the sun rise over the crater rim at 6:25 AM.