To avoid another camping folly (forgetting stove fuel, neglecting to get a permit, etc.) we were extra careful packing and preparing this go round. Our plan was to park at the Halemau'u trail head, hitch up to the summit, hike down the Sliding Sands trail about 9.8 miles to our campsite at Paliku. Although we were expecting the park to be scurrying with tourists on the holiday it was strangely quiet. Finally, after trying for about 15 minutes to get a hitch up to the summit from where we parked our car a park patrol man pulled over for us. After being examined (Do you have any weapons? Drugs? Felonies? Etc.) we were thrown (okay, not quite) in the backseat of the patrol car. Needless to say, it was our first and hopefully last experience behind glass and bars!
The decent down into the moonscape crater was just as beautiful as we remembered. The reds, greens, browns and blacks of the crater seemed especially vivid with the Carolina Blue sky backdrop. There were only a few signs that a month had past since we had last been on the volcano. Andrew was especially delighted to see several silver swords blooming, which is really pretty cool since these endangered plant species bloom only once). Not only that, the nene which so stealthy taunted and avoided us on our last hike were so friendly we could hardly escape them!
We passed only a few hikers in the crater, making it feel at times like we were all alone. If we knew what was ahead I'm sure we would have cherished every moment of this peace and calm .....
We arrived at our campsite at Paliku with plenty of daylight left. The campsite was nestled alongside cliffs that shape the Kaupo Gap. Our expectations were perhaps unfairly high since we had been promised this campsite would feel vastly different than the rest of the arid park. Although we were a little underwhelmed, it really was beautiful. We did an extra hike, maybe 2 miles, into the Kaupo gap, but returned in time for a game of cards and dinner.
While we were playing cards a woman who was staying in the campground's cabin approached us. She was with a group who was doing a service project on the mountain, but for whatever reason didn't want to risk hiking the route the group was going. So, she asked if she could hike our route with us.
Now, let's pause here. Our most vigilant readers will most likely recognize that Andrew and I have had some extremely good luck here in Maui. Everything from hitchhiking to free rent. Anyway, whether you believe in karma or not, we have felt for quite some time that we owe some good deeds. Hiking with this woman, we felt, would help to make up for some of it. Little did we know that by the end of the day we would not have only have repaid our karma, we'd have some invested in the bank .....
Roxana. Where to begin? Roxana believes metal interferes with her energy fields; Roxana thinks she is 'tuned in' with people and nature in a deeper sense (but couldn't be more wrong otherwise wouldn't she sense we wanted her to be quiet?!); Roxana has been not only a science teacher, but also a horse and dog trainer, an expert in every part of the tourist industry, in "business", and interior design; Roxana believes appropriate hiking apparel is long jeans, about 15 rings, and lip gloss; Roxana believes Andrew and I are "cut from reindeer" since we are Norwegian; Roxana has problems with rules and authority; Roxana wants bites of our candy bar despite having three of her own; Roxana complains about the iodine taste in the water after Andrew gives her iodine tablets to treat the water of micro organisms; Roxana needs to take breaks from hiking about every 10 minutes; etc.
And after nearly 10 hours of listening to her blab constantly, Andrew and I believe Roxana is a headache. We didn't ditch her, but we thought of it several times. Overall, our trip to Haleakala was certainly not a test of our physical endurance, but a real test of our patience.
Ha! Well the pics are heartbreakingly beautiful. Roxana sounds like a character. I think "cut from reindeer" might be ok and is actually what I'll start saying to other Norwegian people. The candy bar greed though, that's a problem!
ReplyDeleteHugs, M