Haleakala 10,023'
Maui, HI
February 27, 2020
The first miles of road went quickly but upon reaching the trailhead I quickly realized I might be in trouble. The sign was overgrown by 6’ or taller grass and no trail existed. I didn’t have much choice but to continue as Laura and her father would be picking me up at the summit in 8 hours or so. I set off on a path thru the bush and after an hour of seeing only grass I eventually saw a trail sign leading to a road. Excited with this small success, my attitude improved and I took off up the road intending to make up some time while I could.
It wasn’t long before I was once again faced with a major bushwhack. It was very obvious this trail has not seen any traffic in years but once again I did see a trail marker poking up thru the tall grass and knew I still needed to continue onward and upward. Kaupo Gap is a 20 mile long trail and in over 4 hours I had only covered about 6 miles. I was way behind my timeline and knew I had better get moving fast now or be out in the dark tonight with Laura worrying about me up top. I saw a sign for a cabin along the way and at this point the trail seemed to appear in spurts. I was excited and got myself in a better mindset once again. I made the cutoff for the cabin around 1:30pm and with 10 miles and a lot of elevation to go I turned up the pace across the mostly flat 6 or 7 mile stretch across the crater. I was pushing now, mostly jogging at about 15 minute miles trying to make up for all the time I had lost wandering around route finding and trying to find the correct path along the way. 
As I continued to gain elevation I put on my fleece to stay warm in the driving rain. My shoes had beef wet since the start and I now had a few blisters to deal with too. Happy to see the incline steepen, I knew it would bring warmth and soon the end, but I figured I still had 5 miles to go and I knew I had missed our meet time. Laura would be worried. Anyways, I came across a couple on a steep incline - the first people I had seen since I left the ocean 17 miles back - they were runners and indicated that I had about 3 miles to go but that I looked to be in bad shape. I was grateful and accepted some energy chews from them when they offered. I hadn’t eaten all day and had hit the wall. The snack boosted my energy and I set off in the driving rain with my head down, motivated to summit soon. An hour later I saw Laura and Stan, both soaked to the bone and cold, waiting for me. I almost wanted to cry. The feeling was intense as they sometimes can be when your pushing hard for a long time. Laura gave me an extra jacket and I hiked to the top of Haleakala finishing around 5:15pm - 9 hours after setting off from the ocean. Considering the first half of the hike was a massive struggle and likely cost me several hours, I felt like I make a good effort and solid time to the top today. It was definitely type 2/2+ fun but as usual looking back while writing this blog post, I’m happy I made the effort. A new national park for me and an accomplishment to be proud of is always fun! Next time I hope Laura goes with me!
