High Times at Haleakala

We made a day trip to the top of the Maui today to Haleakala National Park. The main feature of this part of the park is the famous Haleakala Crater. It is huge: 11.25 km (7 mi) across, 3.2 km (2 mi) wide, and some 800 meters (2,600 feet) deep. When you are standing on the rim, it feels as if you might be descending on the Moon.



There were other-worldly plants and the sands of the crater changed color in every direction that you looked: blues, greens, yellows, reds, every color imaginable.



We began the steep descent down; even though it was the beginning of summer, it was quite chilly as we hiked into the Crater. We only had a few hours before we had to meet everyone else for dinner, so we didn't have a chance to hike as far as we would have liked, but the views were beautiful.

On the trek back up, we were really envious of the crowds of people who were on horseback!



We drove up to the Summit and we were above the clouds and could see all of the islands of Hawaii! Words cannot express how beautiful it was!