Haleakala Sea to Summit

Haleakala 10,023'
Maui, HI
February 27, 2020

Haleakala volcano is 10,000 feet above sea level and is the highest point on Maui, Hawaii. It’s our second day of vacation here and it appears that this would be the only decent weather day to hike the mountain. I wanted to touch the ocean and make the climb from there rather than beginning at the Kaupo Gap trailhead several miles up the road. Leaving the hotel at 5:30 am, I did not feel well and for the entire 2.5 hour drive from Napili to Kaupo felt like I was going to get sick. I stayed positive and when we pulled up by the small white church jumped out and put on my hiking shoes. I immediately walked down to the ocean, touching the water and taking off on the long haul to the top of the volcano. 

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!