On the South East coast of Maui lies the "trailhead" for the Sea to Summit hike. What is the sea to summit hike you may ask? Well, only a few crazies ever do it but you literally start by dipping a toe in the Pacific Ocean and ending at the summit of Haleakala (10,0023ft). There are a couple ways you can go about this hike with most people splitting the hike into two days and spending a night camping in the Haleakala Crater at the Paliku campground. Option #2 forces you to question your sanity and complete the hike in just one day ... which is what we did.
An early alarm wake up at 3:30 AM and an almost two hour drive through up-country is how we started our day. Having someone graciously agree to drop you off in the morning and later pick you up at the top is really the only way to do this as shuttling cars would be a huge ordeal. The trail begins at the bottom of the Kaupo Gap at Mokulau Church/Cemetery. We missed the road to get to the church since it was dark so we got a slightly later start than expected right around sunrise.
Once on our way up we slightly back tracked to the road where we were dropped off at and started walking up the farm road towards Kaupo Gap. Finding the lower section of the trail proved to be a bit difficult as there had been a lot of rain and overgrowth causing about 6 foot tall (and nearly impassible) grass for the first 1/4 mile. It is also on private ranch land which isn't regularly maintained. We bushwhacked for about an hour before we were back on the proper trail. Bringing long pants and long sleeves for this hike is recommended at the bottom as the razor grass is sharp and left multiple lacerations we could have done without.
As you begin to gain in elevation the lush jungle falls behind and you enter into a different micro-climate. This area is more like a forest with big shade trees to rest and take a break under. This is right around where the shrubs along the path start cutting you up so if you haven't put on pants yet, then now is a good time. I would recommend some hiking poles or a hiking stick as part of this stretch has grass that has grown over rocks that are waiting for a twisted knee or other injury to happen. If you look around you will see many raspberry bushes, guava trees, and a few avocado trees to snack on along the way. This also right around where the views start getting good and you can see just how far you've come.