Haleakalā

Day 4:

Slow morning for Amelia today…I think I’m still on East Coast time, waking up pretty early, hehe. I played around on my phone for a while, read a little in a book I bought about Hawaii, and was about to start catching up on Netflix shows when Tony began to stir. 

We had plans again with Paige and Christian, but they weren’t quite ready yet, so Tony and I got dressed and headed to Baby Beach. Not a terrible place to wait, hehe. On the way we stopped by our favorite, Paia Bay Coffee and Bar for some breakfast. Delicious! I got the Local Moco again, and Tony got Katsu Chicken and Waffles. We shared the dishes and fueled ourselves for the day. 

Next up: the beach! The water was absolutely stunning, and I can’t believe how good the photos came out! Looking back at them, I could hardly believe they weren’t edited at all….but they weren’t! The turquoise colors came through amazingly, and the red rocks seemed to glow! 

As if that wasn’t cool enough, we saw 5 more seat turtles on the beach! WOW! Hehe. They look like a part of the scenery, just a stray rock here and there, but the closer you get, you begin to make out the shape of the turtle. It was so cool to see so many! That brings our trip total up to 7! It was so hard not to want to lay down next to one and cuddle it, haha. It was really nice to watch people keeping their distance, and knowing that one reason the turtles feel safe is that they are left alone to do their thing. We hung out here for a while, enjoying the magnitude of the ocean just in front of us and the quintessential view of the green sea turtles on either side of us. 

Soon it was time to meet up with Christian and Paige, and they took us to a little paved hiking trail in ‘Īao Valley to see “The Needle,” a needle-like rock outcropping in the valley. These mountains looked like something out of Jurassic Park, and Paige told me that when it rains, there are little waterfalls that pop up all around and make it even more impressive. 🤩

After the needle, we moved on to a local swimming hole in the river. We parked the car on the side of the road, crossed the street, and went under the road by way of a little tunnel, made for the flood waters to pass through. What a cool experience! We followed the path, and eventually, we made it to “the spot.” But, as soon as we got there, Paige realized how much it had changed over a short period of time. Having been there recently, she said all the rocks had shifted, and the swimming hole they frequented had been rearranged and wasn’t quite the same. Bummer! Apparently, it had rained a lot the past week, and the power of Mother Nature herself moved the large boulders and rocks out of place. So neat!

We learned that it’s a tradition in the ‘Īao to move the rocks around to create nice swimming hole areas, so Tony and Christian attempted to do just that, moving huge rocks from the riverbed It was fun to watch, and they accomplished a great deal, but it wasn’t quite enough to create a quiet swimming pool. Still fun and entertaining, nonetheless. 

Paige offered me a spiked kombucha, which I had never tried before, and it was quite tasty! Mahalo! Cheers! Hehe. I may be looking for those in the future. Some alcohol with probiotics, okay :D. 

After our river fun, we headed to Costco so Tony and I could supply up for the rest of the week. Costco is apparently the cheapest place on the island to get anything. Even the local grocery stores are quite pricey. Not a terrible idea when vactioning in the states to stop by the local Costco to stock up, hehe.  Will keep that tip in my back pocket for future adventures. While at the beheamouth warehouse store, we indulged in the cheapest feast we could’ve found on the island. Delicious, yet heavy. Haha. 

We headed home and were greeted by a live band playing in the garage! How coool! They were really good and playing some easy listening/psychedelic rock. We just hoped they’d finish sooner than later because tomorrow we plan to hike to the crater! 😅🤣 Wooohooo! 

Day 5:

Hello Haleakalā!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

We woke up around 5:30 to finish prepping for our biggest adventure yet on Maui….a 13 mile volcano crater hike! Yipppeeeeeee! I’ve been so excited about this, I was awake and ready to go far before the alarm clock went off. Hehe. 

Tony and I sleepily packed our backpacks and got ourselves as ready as one can at that time of day. We hopped in the car, plugged in the address to the crater, and we were on our way. Still overcome with sleepiness, we barely spoke a word as we drove in the dark, our epic adventure minutes within reach. 

As the sun was rising, we were driving around delicious curves of farmland in upcountry, slowly making our way up towards the incredible Haleaklalā (House of the Sun) summit. The road up is not unlike other mountain roads; skinny roads, steep cliffs, and terrifying turns. We entered the clouds, and almost as soon as we were admiring the cloudy, spooky environment, we just as quickly exited to find blue skies and a beautiful, bold, rising sun. There is something special about being above the clouds…. If that’s something you’ve yet to experience, send that to the top of your bucket list! You’re welcome! 🤗

We park in where the Switchback Trail begins…easily one of the most difficult parts of the journey. Tony, an experienced Haleakalā hiker, knew that the recommended route is to park here, and hitchhike to the summit, where we would then hike down into the crater, across, and up switchback, to get back to our car. 

We opt for the hitchhiking route…technically my first time ever hitchhiking, although, there was that one time in México I almost got stranded at Uxmal and hopped into a truck after an offer to bring me as far as Mérida, where I could get a taxi back to Valladolid…..hehe….😅.

Anyways…..determined to get a ride to the top, we follow the signs for the hitchhiker pickup pull off. Apparently, this is a well-known and warranted thing to do. We see many cars pass us by, almost all of them single drivers with plenty of room for us, but we’re passed by regardless. We start to debate how long we’re willing to stay here, wasting time, when we could be headed out on the trail. Our best estimate is that it’ll take us until sunset to finish what we have in mind. 13 miles is no joke. Hehe. It’s about 8:00 AM, and I’m wondering…..holy moly, what have I gotten myself into, lol. 

Just when we were about to give up hope, an old trusty rusty Toyota Camry slows down and agrees to take us to the top! Amazing! James is our driver and host, and it turns out he works at the observatories on top of the volcano! How freakin’ cool is that? We hitchiked, AND we got to meet someone who mans some of the most incredible telescopes out there??!?! No way! Hehe. So, on our way to the summit, we learned what each of the telescopes did, and just how important they are. Oh, and this amazing human also drove a stick, much to Tony and I’s approval. He handled the hairpin-death-defying turns as if he did this twice a day every day. Oh wait. He does! Haha. 

Once at the visitors center, we parted ways with our gracious host, James, and began our ultimate adventure: Hiking and surviving the one, the only, Haleakalā. We decide to check out the visitors center and grab a pamphlet and a map, just to be sure we know where we are gong. We couldnt’ help but buy a magnet and a couple of stickers for our water bottles, or maybe our special keepsake box. After all, the waterbottles don’t last forever. Haha.

We begin our long jounrey with Sliding Sands Trail, around 10,000 feet in elevation. Let’s just say, its COLD up there….lol. I only had a sweater I brought because Boston was below freezing when we left, and a puffer jacket, also mostly due to the cold in New England. Thank GOD, or Pele (the goddess of volcanoes), that I had these extra layers, hehe. 

Right from the start, the sights that lay before us were unlike anything I have ever seen! I’ve been up and around a few volcanoes, but this beautiful bit of Pachamama was different. It was as if we had been transported to Mars, or some otherworldly galaxy. The colors and peaks that lay before us were breathtaking! Just about 4 miles down into the actual crater, then we crossed the middle for about 6 miles, passing up close and personal with some of the cinder cones until we met the dreaded Switchback trailhead. We hiked up and up for about a mile or so, to then hike one more mile to the parking lot. EPIC.

We find one of the cabins that you’re able to rent in the national park….How amazing would that be???? Can you picture the night sky with zero light pollution at 10,000 feet?! It’s also said that the crater of Haleakalā is the quiest place on Earth…how cool! 🤩 That will have to be a MUST on the next trip out here, hehe. We make good use of the picnic table just out front and have a quick wrap and some snacks, fuel for the most difficult part of the hike yet: Swithcback. While we’re enjoying our brief respite, Tony spots a non-potable water spigot and ventures over and samples some. Cold and tasty, but not to be trusted, just in case. However, as soon as the water rushed out of the spout, two local Nēnē, the national bird of Hawaii, came rushing towards the spigot. Tony returned and let the water flow for our feathered friends, who seemed much obliged to slurp up the chilled water. There was a sign warning us not to feed them, but it said nothing about giving them some water! Hehe.

We finally make it to the notorious switchback. Approximately 2 miles left, and a big chunk of it is a treacherous, uphill, rocky footpath with an imminent death cliff on the one side of the narrow trail. Here we go! After hiking almost 11 miles so far, our already tired legs and lungs should have no problem doing this, right? Right??!! Haha. 

Slow and steady wins the race, and we bit by bit, rock by rock, make our way towards the heavenly parking lot where we left our car. At one point, we realize we’re running low on water. Uh-oh. I KNEW we should’ve brought more! Haha. Oh well, we’re here now, and we live with our mistakes, lol. Time to ration what we have left. We made it ¾ of the way up, and we turned on a particularly narrow hairpin turn in the trail, when a gust of wind came from nowhere and blow Tony’s hat off. Nooooooooo! Hehe. I caught up to assess the damage, and the hat lay just beyond our reach, about 10 feet down a very steep cliff. It was absolutely not worth it to try and fetch said hat, but it was such a bummer that it was in sight and retrieveable, that is, if we had the right equipment. Womp Womp. We considered it a sacrifice to the volcano goddess, Pele. 

We sip slowly on our half liter of remaining water, and encourage each other to finish this beast of a trail. We do finally make it, out of the switchback realm, only to realize there is another mile of trail, mostly uphill, to our car. We got this! Ughhh….it’s so worth it! Lol. #Dana&Hayden, hehe. Hope you’re reading this 😜.

Dehydrated, cranky, and exhausted, we make it back to the parking lot. Woooohoo! Mission complete! What an extravagant and wild and awe-inspiring hike! I LOVE the power of volcanoes…. Destructive, brutal, fiery, dangerous, yet, life-giving, passionate, flowing, and elusive. Such a paradox of a living being, and I will forever be amazed at Mother Nature and her tenacity to create and destroy at will. I am forever grateful for Pele and the multitude of other earth gods and goddesses who make our world what it is. Gorgeous! Mahalo!

After reaching the car and sitting down for the first time in a while, we decided it would be an excellent idea if we drove to the top again, just to fill all our water bottles from the potable water tap. We were parched! Lol.

Once that mission was complete, I persuaded Tony to drive to the very top summit to take a few more pictures. I mean, we’re already here, right? Hehe. We could easily see the outline of Big Island, and when I zoomed in with my phone, we could JUST make out the observatories on Mauna Kea. That’s been a big goal of mine, to hike Mauna Kea from the ground up. And also to star gaze at the summit. One of my favorite bands, Nakho and Medicine for the People have a song, “I Mua,” which heavily influenced my dream, along with an exploration of the volcanoes in El Salvador and Guatemala, and now, Maui. There is just something inspirational and gritty about a volcano, and I adore them! 🌋🌋🌋🌋.

Finally, we begin to make our way down the dormant volcano, the largest in the world. Tony is driving like an expert, but as the passenger, on the cliff side of the road, I had to close my eyes a few times for fear of what awaited us, if there were to be an accident and we should slide down the side of the steep cliffs to our demise, I didnt want to watch it happen, haha. Tony is an excellent driver and handled the downward road like a champ, but it’s always a tad unnerving being the passenger and glimpsing death so nearby, hehe. 

Once we were almost back to a normal route, off the volcano, we passed thorugh a eucalyptus tree zone, and with the windows down, it really smelled like pushing your cart through the local Home Goods and the dried flowers section with the eucalyptus bunches, ready to be purchased. Invasive, yet beautiful. 

We came back to our little oasis in Haiku, changed, tried to gather ourselves a bit, and ventured back out for a much deserved dinner. We ended up back at one of our favorites, the Paia Bay Coffee and Bar restuarant. We tried some new dishes, which were equally as satisfying as the last, and a few celebratory cocktails on our massive achievement for the day. 

Back home again, we emptied the car, showered, and passed out. 

Day 6: 

Today was an obvious sleep in kind of day; we needed to recover from our massive hike yesterday, hehe. 

So we slowly woke up, and we made a few wraps from our haul at Costco to bring with us on our beach relaxation day, packed what we needed, and we were off! Of course, we had to get coffee for Amelia, so we went to Baked on Maui, again….sooo good! 

We decided to hit up a target to find a replacement hat for the one that was sacrificed to Pele on Haleakalā, and along the way we passed a fresh fruit stand. I had been craving some fresh tropical fruit: papaya, coconut, mango, pineapple. So we stop by, and I score some fun bananas; they’re a slightly different species than the typical banana back home, and some papaya, which I scarfed down in the car, hehe. Sooo good! It kills me that you can’t buy ripe tropical fruit where we live. But, it makes it all that more special when in a place that has it :). 

Back on the road again, coffee and fruit in hand, we wind our way along the coast to Target. There wasn’t much in Target in the way of men’s hats, but we did manage to find a couple of things to walk away with, as always. Haha. We decided to try the Walmart that was across the street, since we were so close. 

We walked in and there was a whole section of souvenir tsatskis, and reasonably priced! Couldn’t believe it, lol. It was fun to walk thorugh those aisles and see what they had to offer. We both ended up finding a new hat; I had realize I forgot to pack mine for the day, and really didn’t want to be without one, sitting on the beach for the rest of the day. Satisfied with our purchases, we exit Wally World and finally begin our journey to relax on the beach. 

Baby Beach was calling our name again, as we didn’t have the muscle strength or energy to fight off the bigger waves elsewhere, so that’s where we headed next. One of the lucky purchases of the day was a little red shovel, which Tony used to expertly build us a superior sand lounge chair. Such a genius idea! No need to spend money on an overpriced beach chair; just shovel some sand around and create your own! Hehe. 

We relaxed in our sand lounger, having a snack, and admiring the different shades of blue that glistened before us. We took cat naps, played around on our phones, I did some blog work, and soon we were hot enough for a dip in the cool Maui waters. The area we were was so shallow and relatively calm, with the exception of the water pouring in over the rock jetty, and pushing in from the side where the jetty ended. This caused a unique effect where the little “pool” area would fill rapidly, and then just as quickly, if not faster, the water would empty out, creating a strong current that was fun to float down. 

We stayed at the beach for several hours, simply relaxing and enjoying the views. Are we really here?! As we start to get hungry, we get in touch with Tony’s friends, and we decide to go out to a ramen place we had seen earlier in our shopping adventures. Tony has been to ramen spots all over the country, his favorite being right near our hometown in Lowell, MA: 1981. So, it was only inevitable that we’d have to check out Ramen Bones on Maui. 

Overall, pretty good, but 1981 is still the forerunner for best ramen in the country. Kudos to you guys!