In late April, my hubby and I visited our second Hawaiian island, the beautiful isle of Maui. Maui is known for it's beautiful beaches, spectacular scenery, and abundant sea life. But being the National Parks junkie that I am, I was most excited to check another US National Park off my list - Haleakalā.
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| My hubby was the park sign model |
Haleakalā National Park is named after a large dormant volcano that rises over the east side of Maui Island. It's name - Haleakalā - is Hawaiian for "house of the sun." According to local legends the demigod Maui imprisoned the sun on top of this mountain to lengthen the day. Today the mountain's summit area is considered sacred to Native Hawaiians.
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| First look into the crater |
On the third day of our vacation, my hubby and I decided to pay Haleakalā a proper visit. I learned watching the sunrise from Haleakalā's summit is a popular activity. However, it's so popular that the parks service limits visitors for this activity, and requires an advance reservation. Since I didn't get sunrise permits, hubby and I instead enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and walk around our hotel grounds before heading out.
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| We're high up! |
It's quite a journey to reach the top of Haleakalā. Starting from sea level, a very windy road ascends 10,000 feet in nearly 30 miles to the volcano's lofty summit. I can now attest to the tedium of driving this road. The plentiful hairpin switchbacks seemed endless as the road cut through lush pasturelands. Slowly we rose above the clouds into a barren, rocky landscape.
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| Chukar - these birds were everywhere |
Finally the park entrance sign came into view. After hopping out, stretching our legs, and taking the obligatory park sign photos, hubby and I continued a short distance further to the park headquarters visitor center. But we hadn't arrived at the summit yet - the park HQ was at a mere elevation of 7000 feet. We still had bit of climbing ahead of us!
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| Lots of colors here |
Back into our rental car we went to tackle more of the park's zig-zag road. On our way upward, hubby stopped briefly at a couple of scenic pull outs. But we didn't dally long - both my hubby and I had summit fever.
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| Selfie time! |
After following more of this slow, curvy road, hubby and I finally arrived at the Haleakalā Visitor Center, sitting at 9,740 feet. From the parking lot we could see the final steep road to the true summit. But we'd stopped here to check out the best known hike at this national park, the Sliding Sands Trail.
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| Starting down the Sliding Sands trail |
After spending so much time in the car, it was a relief to finally do some walking! I located the trailhead sign and we followed a path leading through a bleak, rocky plain. Aside from some scraggly bushes with yellow flowers, the only other vegetation I noticed was a patch of silverswords, a plant unique to Haleakalā National Park (a bit more on this later.)
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| The trail plunged down very steeply |
Since the Haleakalā volcano last erupted between 1400 and 1640 AD, it is considered dormant. The crater itself is now geologically known as an "erosion valley." Evidence of earth's erosional forces were evident as my hubby and I began our downward trek along the Sliding Sands Trail. Boulders lay scattered along the crater's steep side slopes. The soil itself was composed of fine sand and dirt particles.
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| The views were very dramatic! |
The scenery was fantastic! The eroded soils were very colorful, displaying shades of browns, grays, rusts and oranges. Several small cinder cones poked up from the crater floor. The steep crater sides sloped dramatically downward. It felt as if we were walking on the surface of the moon. Puffy clouds swirled around the mountaintop, creating interesting shapes.
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| Lots of photo ops |
Oh boy, was the trail steep! We descended quite rapidly. It was 3.8 miles and 2400 feet of elevation descent into the crater. I'd heard that a frequent problem was that the downhill trail seemed so effortless, it was easy for people to travel farther than their abilities, and then have a difficult time hiking back up. At nearly 10,000 feet, effects of high elevation also could zap hiker's stamina. Bound and determined not to get in over our heads, I told hubby we should turn around after about a mile of hiking.
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| Our turn-around point |
Although I would've loved to wander further into the volcano's crater, I also didn't want to wear myself out on the return trip. So hubby and I reluctantly reversed course at one of the switchbacks and began the grueling slog back uphill.
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| Ugh - the hike back up was grueling! |
The return hike lived up to it's perceived difficulty. It was a long, hot trudge back to the trailhead. Now I was glad we didn't hike any further down. Once back at the parking lot, it was time to see the summit proper. Hubby drove the final quarter mile up to Haleakalā's 10,023 foot summit.
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| The highest point in the park |
I actually thought the summit was a bit anticlimactic. It was very bleak and rocky. A small building on top had a few display boards and a wide window looking over the landscape, but little else.
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| Looking out over a huge cloud bank |
Because of Haleakalā's height, it towers above the cloud layers offering an unusually clear view of the night sky. Several large telescopes have been sited on the summit, all to conduct important research. Among their many duties these large observatories search the skies for new galaxies and track satellites orbiting the earth. The area has been dubbed "Science City."
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| Lots of telescopes on top |
A short paved path led visitors around the volcano's very tippy-top. We got a nice look at the array of telescopes, and then followed the path to a rocky ridgetop that offered great views of the dramatic cloud formations below.
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| Really interesting clouds |
Back down by the parking area was a huge patch of silverswords. Unique to the summit of Haleakalā, these plants are only found here and the slopes of Mauna Kea on Hawaii. Critically endangered, the silversword survives in the extreme environment on top of these volcanic mountains. This small silver-colored shrub lives at least five years before growing a large flowering stalk up from its base. Once the plant produces a flower, it then dies.
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| Silversword plants |
On our way back downhill from the summit, hubby and I made a stop at one of the overlooks we'd missed earlier. Not only did this viewpoint offer a great vantage of the crater's floor, there was a very enthusiastic local volunteer stationed nearby. This man was a wealth of information, and generously shared his knowledge with us. Along with stories of the park's geology and plants, the volunteer mentioned numerous rare birds inhabited an area known as Hosmer Grove, near the park entrance. He said there were tons of Hawaiian short-eared owls that roamed the parking lot, begging for handouts from the tourists. Owls? One of my favorite birds to photograph, we made a quick beeline for Hosmer Grove.
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| Red-crested cardinal feeding her young |
Hosmer Grove is an old experimental forest, created by Ralph Hosmer in 1927. Hoping to create a viable timber industry on the island, he planted groves of pine, spruce, cedar, and eucalyptus. Most of the species he planted did not survive, but a few absolutely thrived in the environment, so much that they became invasive.
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| Female 'i'iwi (I think) |
One positive outcome of this unique forest has been the influx of rare birds that now make this area home. Some Hawaiian honeycreeper birds are found here and nowhere else. However, one of the more common Hawaiian Native birds that resides in Hosmer Grove is the lovely scarlet 'i'iwi.
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| Kiwikiu - according to a nearby sign these birds are critically endangered |
After pulling into the tiny Hosmer Grove parking area, I immediately scanned the area for owls. Finding no sign of bird life, hubby and I decided to explore the short trail that wound through the old forest. It wasn't long before we spotted the bright red feathers of our first 'i'iwi. Then another appeared. I saw several of these lovely birds in our stroll though the forest - but boy, were they hard to photograph!
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| 'I'iwi - a beautiful red bird |
It wasn't until our return to the parking area that I had better luck capturing the birds on camera. The parking lot and entrance road were lined with bushes sporting blooming yellow flowers. The 'i'iwi seemed to love these flowers. Once perched with their beaks in the blossoms, the birds stayed still long enough for a few images.
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| I saw 'i'iwis all over Hosmer Grove |
Not only the 'i'iwi, I was also able to capture a few other birds flitting around in the yellow-flowering bushes. I got one good photo of a greenish-yellow bird with a curved beak. Later, going through my images, I realized I'd gotten a photo of a bird called kiwikiu, which I learned was critically endangered and only found here in Hosmer Grove. A nearby sign said only 200 of these birds are thought to remain.
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| They seemed to like these yellow flowers |
Although I never did see any Hawaiian short-eared owls, my hubby did spot a pheasant pecking around the picnic area. I had no idea pheasants lived in Hawaii! I thought these birds preferred to live in the midwestern plains.
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| Of all things, we spotted a pheasant! |
Although the dormant volcano and eroded crater were scenic and interesting, the highlight of my visit to Haleakalā National Park was seeing and photographing all the colorful and unique birds in Hosmer Grove. If I'm ever back in Maui again, I'd like to revisit this area - and maybe take in a sunrise or sunset on top of the mountain!
