A 10-mile trek, a 1000-foot climb, and a brilliant sunset on a dormant volcano, marked the end of our epic adventure in the Haleakala Crater.
My second day of backpacking in the Haleakala Crater started at Paliku. You may want to read about the first day’s adventures in Haleakala Crater before you continue. If you’ve already read that post (thank you!), continue onwards for an account of day two and a video at the end of the Climb Out of the Crater section, below!
For convenience, I have included the map I drew for the first post, below.
A Sunny Hike on the Halemau’u Trail
By the time my husband and I packed our bags in Paliku, the sun had started to shine through the clouds. We got on the trail around 8:30 a.m. The path out of Paliku was muddier due to the continuous overnight rain, but we managed to hike the 0.2 mile distance without getting much mud on us. From here, we retraced out path towards the junction of Sliding Sands and Halemau’u Trail.
Now that my feet weren’t killing me, I took the time to appreciate the yellow flowers that were sprouting around the trail. They looked beautiful in the golden sunshine. The annoying rocks proved to be helpful on the way back.
We stopped for 10-15 minutes after almost every hour, took off our boots and socks, and lay them out on the rocks to dry off in the sunshine. After doing this 3 times, they were dry enough that the gross sensation of walking in drenched shoes went away.
The terrain started to get monotonous after a while and the climb up and down the uneven rocks was uncomfortable, but we eventually came upon some interesting lava formations. The older lava flows here were completely covered in grass but there was a clear boundary where the newest lava flows marked their way. Life was trying to swim into this territory but the earth wasn’t ready yet.
It felt like the perfect day to hike. It was cool, dry and just windy enough to keep the sweat off our brows. The sun was behind us; it helped dry our backpacks. Soon the rocky world converged into the cinnamon granular soil again.
I had initially felt that this day was all about just making it out of the crater and was not expecting to be wowed by any more spectacular views. After all, we had pretty much hiked the entire length of the crater the day before. What more could there be?
Nature proved me wrong, as it always does. About 2.5 miles from the junction of Sliding Sands and Halemau’u Trail, cinder cones started popping up left and right. The earth here had vibrant splashes of color everywhere: golden, orange, yellow, red and brown.
After trekking through a path between two cinder cones, we suddenly walked into a dramatic openness where the crater lay in front of us like a vast field. The smooth trail formed a visible arc for over half a mile. I skipped down the path like an ecstatic child. It was awesome!
We approached an area that was fenced off and a sign there explained it was a deep vent. It went down as far as the eye could see. About a mile away from Holua Cabin, we saw a sign for the Silversword Loop. We considered taking the short detour, but we needed to get to Holua, have lunch and then hike out of the crater, so we decided to forgo the side trail.
As we got closer to Holua, the landscape changed again. The rocky terrain returned to kill our feet. We could now see the sharp switchbacks of the Halemau’u trail zigzagging across the 1000-foot high crater wall. It was a little daunting to stare at it and imagine hiking through the switchbacks on tired legs, but I decided to worry about it once I got to that point.
Holua Cabin
Holua Cabin seemed like a replica of Paliku and Kapala’oa cabins and was situated in an equally, if not more, scenic spot. If you went to higher grounds towards the side of the cabin, it offered sweeping views of the crater. There were several camping spots amid the soft grass. The gutters around the cabin’s roof, channeled rainwater into a huge container that supplied water to campers (but had to be treated/filtered, of course).
The cabin was empty and there wasn’t a soul in sight. For about 10 minutes, we had this blissful place all to ourselves. We spread out our tent and wet items on one side of the picnic table, took off our damp shoes and socks to soak up the sun, and boiled water for some hearty mashed potatoes.
The couple from Paliku, with whom we crossed paths several times that day, had now made it to Holua, and decided it was too pretty to pass over for camping. We chatted with them as we finished up our lunch and packed our belongings. We said our good byes and good lucks, and then headed in the direction denoted by Park Road- 3.9 miles on the sign near the cabin.
Climb Out of the Crater
Between the lunch, the 45-minute break, and the painkillers kicking in, I felt rejuvenated enough to take on the climb. The 1-mile section of the trail, leading from the cabin to the base of the hills, was nice and flat. It served as a great warm-up for the upcoming climb. In about 15 minutes, we got from Holua to a gate at the foothills, where the trail started climbing up instantly.
If you are really scared of heights, this might not be the best hike for you. Rest assured that the trail is fairly wide, with solid footing and it felt secure. Or perhaps, I was unconsciously comparing it to Crawler’s Ledge.
I normally tend to go very fast in the start and tire myself out quickly, but I knew the key here was to go slow and steady.
In no time, we found ourselves 200ft above the base of the crater. The views were breathtaking. To the left (as I faced the crater), the wide Ko’olau Gap and the clouds looming in the background made it look like the earth dramatically plunged into nothingness.
My husband joked that we had, at last, found the end of the world. Haleakala is actually an erosion crater, as opposed to a volcanic crater. All the land mass at Ko’olau was eroded away by ages of wind exposure and rain.
As we gained more altitude, the sun got hotter and brighter. It was hard to stay hydrated even though I was continuously drinking water. We were glad we maxed out our water supply at Holua cabin.
Around 700-800 feet, I was exhausted, all my fuel reserves (aka bananas) were depleted, and I just wanted to make it out. Eventually, I heard voices above me and knew that we could not be too far away from the parking lot where the trail begins. But I was wrong. It was at least another hour before we made it to the trailhead.
We still had an hour and a half of daylight left, when we finally emerged from the trailhead, like victorious warriors. Okay, maybe like two battered, un-showered and hungry looking hippies. No sooner had we stuck our thumbs up to hitch a ride to the top, a car pulled over.
Here is a sped up video that shows our ascent up the first few hundred feet of the trail. I hold no rights to the song in the video. The song is Saeglopur by Sigur Ros. It’s always on my playlist when I hike or snowboard.
The Summit
We exchanged stories with the kind couple from Germany who gave us a ride to the parking lot, hopped into our car and drove a few minutes up to the summit where spectators were amassing to watch the sunset. At 10,000 feet, the summit was pretty cold at this time of the day.
With wobbly legs, I walked to the top of a short trail that offered a view into the crater. The cinder cones dotted the crater floor. I offered a silent thanks to God for giving me the physical strength to traverse the entirety of this alien world, and then walked back to the car.
Sunset at Haleakala
I wanted to see the sunset, but I was too tired to wait that long at the summit, and insisted that we start our drive to Kahului, where we were spending the night, before catching a flight to the Big Island. We slowly drove down and then pulled over to watch the sunset from a lower spot in the park.
I salute the people who drag themselves out of bed at 3:00 am so they can drive to the summit of Haleakala and watch the sun rise over the crater. But as they zombie drive back through the masses after the sunrise, they miss this opportunity to watch the evening sun burst into brilliant colors like an exploding star.
Satisfied with our Haleakala sunset, we got into the car and drove to Burger King, to stay true to our post-backpacking-munchies tradition.
