Hiking Haleakala National Park takes some planning. I recommend going to recreation. gov to find available dates. There are three cabins at $75.00 a night and four backcountry campgrounds with 5 sites each costing $8 a night per site.
Once you book your dates then the fun starts with airfare and hotel. I flew from the Big Island Kona airport to Maui for a total of $100 per ticket with Hawaiian Airlines.
Hotels can be very expensive on Maui, I found a cheap $250 night room that was small, clean and had no frills. This hotel was listed on airbnb.
I rented a 4 wd jeep cherokee for $70/ day. The company I used was SIXT.
The night before our flight a storm blew in and caused many cancellations with Hawaiian Airlines. Our flight was scheduled to take off at 9:00 am and didn't actually take off till 3:45 pm.
We ended up waiting in the Kona airport with the airlines telling us things such as the pilot
didn't get in until 2 am and had to sleep to the weather grounded us. I am not sure what happened. The airport has a nice outside quad so I sat and enjoyed the sun and ocean breeze with my son.
Ate hamburgers and drank beer at airport.
Once we made it to Maui we picked up our car and headed to the hotel. packed our packs and set alarm for 6 am.
We woke up at 6am and headed to Haleakala National Park.At the the gate a ranger informed us the park was closed due to weather and would possible reopen at 4 pm that day.
This was unfortunate because we had planned to hike 9.2 miles that day to our camp spot at
Paliku. Starting at 4 pm would not allow enough time to hike the 9.2 miles.
Beach Time
Beach Time
So, we went to the beach and ended up sleeping at the entrance to the park that night.
We ended up starting our hike a day late and had to change plans on camping. The park service canceled our reservation for Paliku but I was able to secure a last minute Cabin at Kapalaoa.
We started our hike at the visitor center at 10,000 feet. We hiked down sliding sands trail.
Start of hike
The trail was well marked but loose rock made hard to walk. Trekking pols were a must.
Slidding Sands Trail
First silver sword viewing.
"Silverswords live between 3 and 90 years or more. They flower once, sending up a spectacular flowering stalk, and then die soon afterward, scattering drying seeds to the wind."
NPS Webpage
We made it to our cabin at about 2:30 pm and started hike at 10 am. Once we made it to Kapalaoa Cab we settled in and enjoyed the views.
A side hike to Paliku with views of Hawaii islands Mona Kea.
Day two we hiked to Holua, this was a short 3.7 mile hike to Hōlua campground.
We walked through unworldly terrain.
Spent the night at Holua. Nice camp space with out house and water.
Shared camp with a local Nene family.
Excellent star gazing
Sleeping in the tent was cold but my Agnes down blanket along with my 30 degree bad kept me toasty warm.
Sunrise
We packed up and headed out around 8:30 am. The last trek was 3.7 miles to Haleakala Craters Road with elevation gain of 1,400 feet.
We finished around noon and then went to Safeway for some Ahi Poke bowls.
And Christmas Eve drinks.
This was such an amazing trip. A special Mahalo to my husband Lanier Bell and son Cameron Wysocky whom I couldn't have had such a wonderful adventure without.
Comments