2012 Hawaii

on our lanai

Two Weeks on Maui

This could be our last trip to Hawaii, since the frequent flyer miles and hotel points are about gone. But then, I've said those words before...

The first thing to know about Maui is that it isn't called the “Valley Isle” for nothing. There are two mountains, one an extinct volcano, the other a dormant one, connected by a low piece of land, and all this makes up the entire island. We decided to explore those mountains as much as possible during our visit. This time it would be two weeks on Maui, as the Wailea Marriott made us a points offer we couldn't refuse. Wailea is a fancy-schmancy area with expensive resorts, fine dining and fabulous beaches.

dinner at Duke's

After shopping at Safeway for our breakfast, lunch and wine needs, we met up with our local friend Rita Cognion and drove up to Kaanapali. There we met visiting Dead Runners Tom and Debbie (who was celebrating a birthday), and Tom's local cousin Mary Jo. We had a nice get together at Duke's, and afterwards as well.

Much later in our stay we met up with Rita once again. This time it was her local running group's Wednesday evening run, followed by pizza and beer at Pizza Madness. Good name for the place. And fun too.

Early on we did a short hike. We had done the King's Highway trail through La Perouse Bay - something we'd done on previous trips, and we did it again. It's a bit difficult walking over the rocky/uneven lava. But there are some great views of the ocean, Kahoolawie, West Maui, etc. We also saw some wild goats in some of the wooded parts.

Polipoli

One place that we hadn't been to for previous trips is Polipoli State park, which is situated a good way up Haleakala - between the 5,000 and 6,000 foot level. Haleakala is the massive dormant volcano that makes up eastern Maui, and our resort area of Wailea is at its base. (West Maui, by the way, consists of a different mountain called – how’s this for originality - West Maui.)

the redwoods

Polipoli Park is a little ways from the main road up to the summit. The route was extremely narrow, bumpy and winding with at least 5,000 switchbacks. I know this because I counted the times Debbie screamed.

Once there we had the entire park to ourselves. We took the 5-mile route of hilly trails. This was a grand hike through forests of various tall trees, including some statuesque redwoods that had been planted 80 to 90 years ago. They're HUGE now. The area reminded us of northern California. What a wonderful hike - strenuous, but wonderful.

Some Non-Hikes

Since the weather wasn't the greatest, and since Debbie wasn't 100%, we spent a few of our early vacation days close to home. We still managed to get plenty of walking in - on the beach walk along the shore here, and also in Lahaina, Kihei and other areas.

Debbie actually needed medical care at the Kihei Urgent Care Clinic. She received excellent care and was fine. We missed a group run and pizza that night, but made up for that on a later occasion.

On a tip from Tom, one of the Dead Runners we met the other day, I emailed the owner of Enchanting Floral Gardens, a botanical garden in upcountry Kula. The garden was closed for renovation, but through the email I learned that we would still be allowed to tour the place. It was enchanting indeed and well worth the price of admission (which as zilch).

Here’s another case of, we had done this one before, and now we've done it again. After lunch at Ba Le, which is in a food court, but is where all the Kahului locals go because of the good Asian French food in huge portions, we drove all the way to Kaanapali for yet another Marriott time share presentation at the old Maui Marriott. It was quite pleasant - of course we said no - and we got 30,000 points out for the deal.

Pipiwai

This is one of the most popular hiking trails on Maui for a very good reason: it's one of the very best here or anywhere. It's two miles each way along a stream, beginning at Oheo Gulch. Although there are tougher hikes, this one certainly isn't easy. These are plenty of rocks (some of which were quite slippery in the rain) and stone steps to deal with, as the outbound route raises 600 - 800 feet. Along the way there are some great views of the gulch, stream and pools (this is the area formerly known as the Seven Sacred Pools - until they figured out that there aren't seven, and they aren't sacred).

the bamboo forest

One of the highlights is the portion of the trail that goes through the bamboo forest. There is nothing to prepare you for this; it's unlike any other outdoor / hiking experience you'd have almost anywhere. It's deep, dark, and somehow primevil - there's no other plant or animal for maybe 3/4 mile - only this weird bamboo.

The highlight of highlights, however is the waterfall at the end of the trail. Waimoku Falls is 400 feet high down a sheer cliff- a real payoff for hiking this far.

The trip back down the trail was a little easier. Now all we had to do was drive back to the hotel. The drive here had been beautiful, but arduous. We had taken the windswept route around the southern part of the island. The condition of the road is ludicrously bad, leading, once again, to shaken wife syndrome. Thinking that the northern route - the famous 'Road to Hana' couldn't possibly be any tougher, and that it would have to be faster than 2 1/2 hours it took us to get here, off we went to the north and west - backward on the Road to Hana.

It was long and arduous as well, and this way took us three hours. Someone please remind me that the joy is in the journey.

Sliding Sands

The Lady Adventurer and I were fairly beat up after Pipiwai, especially those of us who are running a lot too. But to take advantage of the really great weather, we found ourselves driving up to the top of Haleakala for another hike the very next day.

The road leading to the mountain is yet another killer, with zillions of switchbacks and hairpin turns. At least this road is wide enough that, as long as you stay in your lane, you have a fairly decent chance of not going over the edge. My favorite sign was, 'Slow Down When Driving through Clouds' - something one wouldn't see in Ohio.

Just before reaching the top, we stopped for a short hike to the Leleiwi lookout. There was a great view looking down at West Maui, and at Lanai further away. Then we rounded a corner and were treated to an awesome view of Haleakala Crater. Here there's a unique viewpoint - different from that at the top.

Soon we reached the summit. We could see the crater, of course, but also surrounding areas, including the summits of the Big Island 100 miles away. Having been here at the top a couple time in the past, we'd dressed for the anticipated cold temperature here at 10,000 feet. But what we weren't prepared for was the wind. It felt like gale-force, and made for a bone-chilling wind-chill.

the Sliding Sands Trail

Even though we'd been here (once just before a bike trip down), we had never before hiked down into the crater. This time we did, heading down the Sliding Sands Trail. It was tough to catch one's breath at this elevation, and our Lady Adventurer was not having an easy time of it. But we did walk nearly 40 minutes down, before we decided to turn around and go back up. The trail would have taken us 4 miles one way had we continued to the end. It connects up to other trails as well. Unless you can arrange other transportation, however far down you go is the distance that you have to come back up.

Did I mention that the Sliding Sands Tail is as awesome as they come? It is utterly fantastic, with other-worldly views of the crater the entire way. And even though nothing grows there, the ever changing landscape is fantastical. I'm sure there are colors here that are found nowhere else.

Our  climb back out of the crater was slow, but not as bad as anticipated.I thoroughly enjoyed every step of this hike. I think Debbie did too, but she's still catching her breath.

Waihe'e Ridge

I want to say that this is the hike to end all hikes, but then I may have said this before somewhere. Perhaps... but this one is something. The trailhead is in West Maui past Wailuku. It leads up. That's up as in, up into the clouds, because that's where we were to wind up.

About a mile into the 2.5 mile (each way) trail, we were treated to the most marvelous scenery imaginable. We could see the entire valley, and beyond that, Wailuku, Kahului and Haleakala in succession. And then all we had to do was look the other way (the ridge as very narrow in parts), to spot equally gorgeous views of the hills, valley and shoreline of northwest Maui.

up into the clouds - that's Debbie up there

Those great views kept getting better until we got into the clouds around the 1.5 to 2 mile mark. Climbing into those ever-thickening clouds was a surreal experience. Yes, it would have been nice to continue seeing the sights, but, as I like to say, this was something. There was, for sure, some joy in this journey.

The walk back down was also something - coming out of the cloud, we could see once again, and once again, it was truly beautiful.

It was also tough. Naturally we could move faster going down, but it was tough on the 'ole knees. All four of them. In fact, Debbie and I both wound up with achy, slightly sprained knees. Debbie is wondering if she will recover... Ever.

Around the Head

Some of us think that the shape of Maui is that of a bust of a woman, viewed side-on. In order to not leave any part un-traversed, we'd need to drive around the 'head'. We had done this before - it's not for the faint-hearted. There are miles of one-lane roads, mostly going along the side of cliffs. It's sort of like the best of the ride to Hana- both northern and southern routes, in a slightly smaller package.

There were high wind warnings the day we did it. And this is the windiest part of the island. We were a bit worried that our Vespa would blow right off the side of the cliff.

And then there was our little hike up there - the Ohai Trail. This trail was shorter and easier than others, but boy was it windy in spots. There were some great views of the nearby seashore and cliffs.

Lahaina Pali

No, THIS  was the hike to end all hikes. Hands down. And it was also the windiest. Hands way down.

Debbie and Rita at the start of the hike

Pali means cliffs, so you know this is going to be a good one. The only itsy bitsy little caveat is that perhaps we should have paid a slight amount of attention to the day’s 'high wind advisory'. We didn't, figuring those kinds of warnings were for 'other people'.

We met Rita at the finish just past the tunnel going towards Lahaina. We left one car there and proceeded to drive around to the other side in order to begin the hike. When I tried to get out of the car, I wasn't able to close the door due to the wind. I mean I really couldn't close it at all. This should have been a second warning.

a rare un-windy spot

Nothing – not even the strong wind we experienced on other hikes during recent days – could prepare us for this one. We really should have not started it in those conditions, but once we were committed, we were committed. And we didn’t consider the possibility that the winds would actually increase the higher we got.

We certainly did get high. I believe we summited at around 1,600 feet of elevation, right about where the windmill farm is. The wind was incredible at that point. Without our hiking poles we would’ve been blown clear off the mountain. Maybe right into the ocean!

the wind farm

The entire route is through open, extremely dry country. The scenery is stark, but fantastically beautiful. We could see much of the island from the trail – Haleakala, Kihei and Wailea, Maalea and most of the valley, and also Molokini, Kahoolawe and Lanai.

The going was also difficult due to bad footing on the rocky trail. It wasn’t any easier (or safer) going down the other side of the ridge. The winds still howled, pushing us the entire trip. Only for the last half mile did they subside a little.

I think that Rita, Debbie and I all had a wonderful time, but I also think we were relieved to arrive at our destination without any major mishaps, given the conditions. A mishap here could well have taken the joy out of the journey.

And That Was About It

sunset from our lanai

Two great weeks in Maui. We violated the terms of our car rental agreement in every way possible, without actually damaging the car. This, by going to places where we were explicitly forbidden.

on the beach at sunset

How to top this one? Hmmm.


To read about my running on Maui, see my Maui Meanderings Blog Post.
And you may also want to read about how Rita Cognion Tried to Kill Me.