Haleakalā National Park, October 2024

Watching the sun rise over the clouds at the "house of the sun."

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Haleakalā ('house of the sun”) is an active shield volcano that rises 10,023 feet above the ocean and also takes up over 75% of Maui. The summit includes a 2,600-foot-deep crater, with its surrounding land designated as a national park in 1976.

I’ve always been fascinated by the national parks, so it’s not surprising that Haleakalā was the number one thing I wanted to do on the island (National Park #26/63). As I researched the park, I realized there wasn’t much hiking available and that the real draw to the park was visiting the summit at sunrise. NPS only allows for 150 cars at sunrise, but because we visited in October, we had no problems getting a reservation.

Sunrise at Haleakalā was at 6:22 am. This meant we needed to be up and out the door of our B&B by 4:15 am. We both slept poorly the night before, knowing we needed to get up early, so it was pretty quiet in the jeep (other than 103.9 playing on the radio) as we wound our way up the side of the volcano. We arrived in the dark but were greeted by several other cars with passengers sleepily crawling out and putting on their warm gear. We walked to the fence line and waited for the sun to appear.

Our first peek of the volcanic crater.

The chilly crowd waiting and watching…

Adam and I spent a fair amount of time discussing (arguing) what the mountain in the distance was. I won this argument - that’s Mauna Kea (13,796 ft) on the Big Island.

Watching the sunrise at Haleakalā was pretty damn special. Sure, we were there with several other people, but we were all spread out enough that neither Adam nor I paid any attention to them. We noted where the sun was rising and watched the clouds appear below us as the sky lightened.

Once the sun crested the clouds, we could hear a Hawaiian chant echoing off the crater walls from the visitor’s center.

E ala e, ka lā i ka hikina, (Awaken/Arise, the sun in the east,)

I ka moana, ka moana hohonu, (From the ocean, the deep ocean,)

Pi‘i ka lewa, ka lewa nu‘u, (Climbing to heaven, the highest heaven,)

I ka hikina, aia ka lā, e ala e! (In the east, there is the sun, arise!)

A ranger later told us that one of the tour guides was the voice we heard that morning. It was a beautiful way to experience the sunrise, and it brought tears to my eyes, of course.

Once the sun rose, the view didn’t change. We took that opportunity to enter the visitor’s center to warm up and look around the gift shop. I noticed through the window that there was a shadow from Haleakalā on the West Maui Mountains, so I walked around to try to line up a shot.

See the white sticks on the mountain? I referenced the Kaheawa Wind Power wind farm in a previous newsletter.

The large ridge in the middle is Puʻukukui. Īao Valley State Park is in front of the ridge, and the Waihe’e Ridge Trail is behind that ridge.

We then drove up to Red Hill, the highest point in the park.

The University of Hawaii runs the Haleakalā Observatory, which is not open to the public. This view felt very Star Wars-esque.

Kaumu o Kaleihoohie (5,499 ft) in the shadow of Mauna Kea.

As I took pictures around my 360° view, I noticed this gentleman taking pictures “above the clouds,” and snapped this shot. He was still on the ridge as we walked over, so I stopped him to ask if he wanted this picture. He said yes, so I sent him an email with the attachment. I hope he liked it!

The West Mountains of Maui with Kahului Bay on the right and Maalaea Bay on the left. We were so high up, looking at sea level, that it felt like we were in an airplane.

A closer view of Kahului Bay. I found it fascinating to see all of the different angles of Maui and compare them after visiting each location.

The main visitor center parking lot.

The summit crater

After leaving Red Hill, we stopped at the Kalahaku overlook.

The light was terrible, so this was the only shot I was happy with. It felt like we were in outer space.

At this point in our trip, Adam and I needed to head towards our condo in Kaanapali, but we were starving. We settled on Kula Bistro, which was such a good decision. I’m still dreaming about their banana macadamia nut pancake - the best pancake I’ve ever had, and I DON’T LIKE BANANAS. *shrug*

Hawaii was the 5th state we visited in 2024, a year full of adventures. I just wish it wasn’t expensive and so far away. I hope it’s not another 10 years before we visit again.

Happy New Year to all of you! I’ll be back next week with my ten favorite photos of 2024!

Cheers.