Angie and I backpacked from April 11-13th at
Sunday, April 11
Our flight from Portland arrived in Maui at ~1100 AM on Sunday. We picked up our rental car then headed to the Sports Authority Store in Kahului to buy a MSR backpacking stove and fuel. We ended up buying a stove, since we couldn't find anywhere to rent one on Maui! Our next stop was in Paia to drop off our luggage at the hotel. We then set off for the Haleakala Park Headquarters to get our wilderness camping permits. The permits are free and are issued on a first come/first severed basis after watching a 10 minute orientation video at the ranger station. There are 25 permits available for each backcountry campsite at Holua and Paliku. There are also backcountry cabins available at Holua, Paliku and Kapalaoa which can be rented from the NPS. Click here for more information about cabin rentals. For more information about backcountry camping/backpacking visit the NPS website here. There is water available at both campsites, but the water should be filtered, treated or boiled before drinking.
After obtaining our permits we drove up to the Halemau'u Trailhead at 7990 feet above sea level. The temperature at the trailhead was a comfortable 65 degrees F. Our destination was the Holua backcountry campsite which was located 3.7 miles and ~1000 feet below. We set off at ~3:30 PM hoping to make it to Holua by dark. The first mile of the trail wanders through native shrubland and some very rough volcanic rock on the outer slopes of the volcano. As the trail approaches the rim of the crater, the first views into Haleakala appear.
Scott near the crater rim.
Angie.
From here the trail makes several switchbacks as it winds down to the crater floor. It was difficult to get good footing as we descended, since the trail was covered with small rocks which always seemed to slip out from beneath our feet. We were glad to have our trekking poles, but wished we had our hiking boots. We did this backpack in trail shoes, but in hindsight we should have worn our boots to protect our feet from the tough volcanic rock. We passed a few day hikers ascending the trail back to the trailhead.
We arrived at Holua with plenty of time to spare before dark. There was only one other backpacker camping at Holua. We ate our dinner and watched the sunset from our campsite. Shorty after sunset the ua'u (Hawaiian Petrel) birds began returning to their nests after spending the day out at sea. Ua'u are medium sized gray and white seabirds which are unique to the Hawaiian Islands. The birds usually leave by sunrise unless caring for an egg. It's incredible that these birds come all the way from the ocean to the crater to reach their nests. Listening to the calls of hundreds of ua'u in the dark was a very cool experience.
Once the twilight faded, the stars came out and were absolutely stunning. There is something to be said about the stars in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a moonless night! Once it got dark the temperature quickly dropped into the mid 30s.
Here are a few night photos from the Nikon D80.
25 second exposure at f/1.8, ISO 400, Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8 lens
Photoshop blend of 2 exposures of ~30mins each at f/4.0, ISO 100, Nikkor 12-24 dx lens. The first exposure was started during twilight to pick up some of the magenta color in the sky.
Monday, April 12
The following morning we got up early for sunrise (~6AM) and caught a pretty good sunrise with the misty clouds spilling over the crater wall.
Scott's camera/tripod tipped over on the rock in the foreground in the photo below and demolished the polarizer. Luckily minimal damage was done to the actual lens! Not the best way to start the morning, but at least the photo looks good!
Photoshop blend of 2 exposures, 1/30 sec and 1/4 sec at f/16, ISO 400.
After eating breakfast, we broke camp and started heading to the Paliku backcountry campsite which is located 6.6 miles down the Halemau'u/Sliding Sands Trails. After hiking for about a mile we entered the middle of the crater where there is very little vegetation, but lots of volcanic rock/sand/cinders. The cinders are up to 3000 feet deep in this area. The rain that falls here quickly percolates down through the cinders and doesn't leave much water near the surface for plants to grow.
Angie hiking across the crater. Looks like it could be the moon or Mars!
Looking up the crater walls to near the summit area.
Halemau'u Trail.
Pele's Paint Pot. The colors here are due to the minerals which are present in the volcanic rock. The camera doesn't really capture the full range of colors seen here.
Another photo of Angie crossing the volcanic plains.
Kawilinau, aka the bottomless pit. This vent is ~65 feet deep and was created by super heated gases which blasted though the crater floor.
After hiking 6.6 hard miles across the crater floor we arrived at the Paliku backcountry campsite. Our feet were very sore from walking over the volcanic rock. We only saw one other backpacker at Paliku.
Paliku gets ~200 inches of rain a year and is very green and lush. As expected, there were intermittent showers all afternoon. The cool thing about the showers is that every half hour there would be a new rainbow.
There is a pasture area near Paliku for all of the stock animals which bring riders into Paliku. Here is a photo of Angie trying to sweet talk the burro into giving here a free ride out of the crater....it didn't work!
We spent most of the afternoon exploring around Paliku and ventured part of the way up the Lau'ulu trail. This trail was park hike, part rock climb and was pretty crazy. We also saw a pair of nene (native hawaiian geese) which loved to eat the grass near our tent. Although the nene are endangered, it is fairly common to see them in the park. They are notorious beggars, but should never be fed by backpackers/hikers, since they have plenty of natural food available.
Tuesday, April 13
The following morning at Paliku was very pleasant, because we didn't have much rain. It had rained most of the night, but we were nice and dry inside the tent. Our plan that morning was to hike back to Holua and camp there for one more night before hiking back out the trailhead the following morning.
Paliku backcountry cabin.
Scott and Angie at Paliku with the Kaupo gap behind. The Kaupo gap has been formed by millions of years of erosion to the crater wall by the constant rains in the area. The rains are created by the warm ocean air cooling and condensing as it rises up the side of the volcano.
Interesting lava formation near the trail in the Paliku area.
Angie on the trail...note clouds beginning to form...more on this in a bit!
Scott at the junction of the Halemau'u and Sliding Sands Trails.
One of the few bird shots we got. This is a chuckar. These birds love to hang out in the bushes on the sides of the trail. As you walk by they blast out of the bushes making their chuck-chuck-chuckar-chuckar calls.
Angie on the trail again.
When we reached the middle of the crater on the way to Holua, the weather changed abruptly. The wind picked up and it started to rain. Here you can see the rain starting to fall...not good!
Angie hiking in the rain.
On our way Holua, we stopped by the Silversword Loop Trail for a few pictures. The silversword is a very unique plant which is only found inside Haleakala crater. The plant is a relative of the sunflower, but looks very similar to the yucca and century plants found in the southwestern U.S. deserts. The plants were not blooming that is time, (usually bloom May-October) but the silver color of the plants was amazing.
Shortly after the silversword loop trail, the wind picked up even more and started blowing the rain horizontally. We were starting to get quite wet, since the rain was finding a way around our rain gear. By the time we reached Holua, the rain/wind had not let up one bit, so we decided to press all the way out to the trailhead to avoid spending a cold night in the tent. This would make for a 10.3 mile day, but we were both ready get to the beach!
A view of the Halemau'u Trail switch backing up the crater wall. This trail was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
A small landslide on the trail. The constant rain had saturated the soil.
Angie on the Halemau'u trail near the trailhead. The trail was literally a stream, and our feet were completely soaked. This area was dry on our way down.
Despite getting rained out, we really enjoyed this backpack. Camping inside a dormant volcano is something very few people get to experience. The Haleakala crater is a unique area with some absolutely stunning scenery and stars. If you are considering a backpack here, make sure you bring your hiking boots. Your feet will appreciate it. Feel free to post any questions you have about the backpack in the comments area and I will try my best to answer them.
Aloha and Mahalo, Scott & Angie
Recommended reading;
NPS Haleakala website
"Hiking Maui, The Valley Isle" by Robert Smith
"Maui Trails" by Kathy Morey
