As we reached the edge of the crater we quickly said goodbye to ocean views and the continual snack provided by the wild raspberry bushes, and began the trek across the red Mars-like terrain of the Haleakala Crater. Flora and fauna were scarce but as we looked along the edge of the trail we could see tiny wild flowers that are able to survive in the high alpine climate. Looking around, the walls of the crater surrounded us and red cinder cones distinctly jutted out of the crater which was formed hundreds of thousands of years ago when the volcano was active.
Once in the crater from Kaupo Gap the Kapalaoa cabin was roughly 4.5 miles away. This is where we took a much needed longer break, refilled our water packs and tended to any ailments we were dealing with. Upon arrival at the cabin some thoughtful campers staying overnight had boiled some water for us so we could refill (the water supply available is recommended to be treated before consumption). After a good 45 minute break, and a sock change, we were back on the Sliding Sands trail, pushing to finish and exit the crater before the sun falls behind the crater walls causing the temperature to drop along with it.
As we continued across the crater floor we saw more cinder cones as the observation deck of the visitor center is finally visible. Approaching the last part of the hike we began to see a lot of the protected Haleakala Silversword plants, some of which were even in bloom. In order to reach the summit, you must take on the daunting tasks of traversing several more miles up switch backs and a few thousands vertical feet. The view of the sunlight hitting the clouds along the horizon was a spectacular ever changing show that kept us distracted from all of our aches and pains we were really starting to feel at this point. The redness of the crater seemed to intensify when the sun began to sink lower and lower making for an un-earthly sight and great photo ops.
As we popped out of the crater we were finally on pavement and had a mere three-tenths of a mile to go to make it to the summit... the longest 1,500 feet mile of my life. We arrived to the summit and were greeted by a beautiful sunset over the cloud line and a nice warm van for our ride back down According to my health app, the hike was 22.5 miles, took us 11.5 hours to complete with an elevation gain of 10,023 feet. We had a wonderful group of six that we hiked with and were very blessed to have such a beautiful day to experience Maui's Sea to Summit.
-Lise