October 17th, 2008

A longtime friend of mine recently invited me to join her on the island of Maui, where she was going to be visiting and enjoying a little respite from her busy life in California. We agreed to fly in to Maui’s Kahului airport, meet up and go relax at the Lahaina condo she had rented. When I arrived on Maui, I learned my friend had missed her flight and I was left on my own until she could catch the next plane over. I had about 6 hours to fill and decided to leave the airport  and drive my rental car to the top of Maui’s Haleakala crater at Haleakala national park.

The summit of Maui’s massive volcanic crater, Haleakala (meaning “House of the Sun”) scrapes the sky at over 10,000 feet above sea level. The Haleakala highway that leads to the summit begins not too far outside of Makawao.  This narrow stretch of road winds to the top along small rolling hills and through groves of eucalyptus trees.

As I made my ascent, there were times that I was literally driving through the clouds. As I drove up above the white mist of cumulus I was able to see vistas of ocean and the red metallic dirt of the lava rock landscape below. Eventually, I arrived at the toll booth marking the entrance to Haleakala National Park. It cost $10 to enter and the pass was good for 3 days.  Camping here is also permitted, though on this trip I was only coming for a couple of hours. There is a visitor’s center near the park entrance but I didn’t stop, as I was on a mission to reach the top. As I drove, I saw many bicyclists coasting down along the side of the road. One popular Haleakala activity is to be driven to the top of the crater and bicycle the road downhill.

Once I got to the top, I saw that many people had congregated at the crater’s summit, where a second visitor’s center was located and a ranger was on hand to educate about the plant life and history of the volcano. This spot offered a great view of the sweeping expanse of cindercones. I found a rock to sit on and ate my lunch in the strong sun (no cloud cover here and no trees!). I was glad I brought a snack because there is no food or drink available for purchase in the park.

Though there were a lot of visitors milling about the visitor center and the trailheads, I could see that it would be easy enough to have a very quiet and remote experience if I decided to begin exploring the trails that wandered the vast area of the crater. No hiking for me on this trip, though. I was still on a mission to enjoy the relaxing luxury of a Maui condo with my girlfriend. I made a mental note to return to Haleakala for a time when I could take an entire day. They say that it is one of the most amazing places to take in a sunrise.

After being awestruck at the beauty of this place, it was time to make my descent back down and meet my friend at the airport. She had done some research on the best Maui vacation rentals and had found a perfect condo in Lahaina. Far from the Haleakala crater, but not too far from the Kahului airport, Lahaina is known for great nightlife, lots of shops, art galleries and restaurants.

At the airport I greeted my friend with a plumeria lei, we grabbed her luggage and made our way to the coast.  It was a full day of driving for me but worth it.  Even though my girlfriend’s missed flight meant I’d lost out on some precious time with her, I was glad I was able to go and touch the sky atop Maui’s “House of the Sun”.  Now it was time to toast my friend and take in a coastal sunset on Lahaina’s gorgeous shore.