Nightmare before dawn on Haleakala

Before going up the summit to see the sunrise on Haleakala, you should know the whole truth: Christmas was 3 weeks away and 3 days before we left Maui...

Just a second. Before the soap opera, I'm going to put you in context.

Haleakala National Park

It is not a single volcano, but a group of them. However, all of them are extinct.

It occupies an enormous extension formed by two districts:

1. Kipahulu Districtwhich includes the Ohoe Natural Pools and the Pipiwai Trail, at the far end of the Road to Hana.
2. Summit DisctrictThe Summit Disctrict is said to be the ideal place to witness the true awakening of Maui... and where the events I am about to tell you about took place.

The entrance ticket to the park gives you access to both areas and has a duration of 3 days, with no limit to the number of visits. So remember to keep your ticket.

Watching the sunrise from the top of Haleakala has become one of Maui's must-sees.

So much so that, since February 1, 2017, they have launched an online booking method to visit the summit district between 3.00 am and 7.00 am.

• Each permit costs $1.5 per vehicle.
• This price does not include the entrance fee to the park, which must be paid at the gate.
• You can book up to 60 days in advance.
• There are 150 places available, divided between 4 areas: Pu`u Ula ula or Red Hill summit (3050 m), Haleakala Visitor Center (2970 m), Kalahaku Overlook (2840 m) and Leleiwi Overlook (2690ft).
• The exact parking location is on a first-come, first-served basis and is not indicated on the parking pass.

If you want to enter the park after 7:00 a.m., you do not need to make a reservation.

Sunrise on Haleakala, shot 1

The day had already started to go wrong the day before...

At the end of 2016, the booking platform did not yet exist.

Simply put, the tactic of: Foolish the last!

So, the night before, we left water, breakfast and lunch ready to go, and went to bed early. We knew that the walk from Wailea to the summit of Haleakala would be long and the early start would be painful.

However, there were unforeseen events that we hadn't counted on ....

The first, on the forehead

The new tenants of the apartment next to ours arrived at midnight, very excited, talking loudly among themselves, banging on the suitcases, the closets, opening the faucet as if there were no drought in that part of the globe... You get the idea. It was 12 o'clock at night...

At 3 o'clock in the morning the alarm went off. With all the pain in my heart (well, not so much, because I knew the noise would wake up my 'dear' new neighbors a bit), I got up to take a shower.

Good thing I didn't wash my head... Now you'll understand why I say that, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

As advised, I dressed in as many layers of clothing as possible:

3 pants (one over the other), short-sleeved T-shirt, long-sleeved T-shirt, sweater, fleece, raincoat, two pairs of socks, sarong as a scarf... plus some beach towels and an extra comforter in the trunk, just in case.

Since we had read that there was a van selling freshly brewed coffee on the road up to the park, we didn't prepare any hot beverages. Wrong! We didn't come across any coffee stands. And in the park they don't sell any food or drink.

I'm getting ahead of myself again....

On the way to the summit

At 3:30 in the morning we set off for the national park. A 1.5 hour drive awaited us until we reached our destination.

As we drove up the zigzagging road to the entrance gate, the temperature began to drop... and the car's air conditioning wouldn't start.

• Moments of panic.
• All windows fogged.
• We couldn't see three on a donkey.
• We stopped the vehicle on the shoulder.
• We tried everything we could.
• Try to start it, Carlos! I mean... Nahuai!
• Nothing

In the end, we had to climb the Haleakala with the windows half open.

We were so cold. And the thing had just begun...

Parking at Haleakala

Once the entrance ticket to the park was paid (for the second time, but I'll tell you about this another day, otherwise I'll go on forever), there were still 30 minutes driving to the summit.

The speed limit is 50 km / h, to respect the wildlife that inhabits this area and avoid accidents. We were going at 25 km/h or less because the fog did not allow us to see anything within a few feet of our noses.

They say that the road is very beautiful up there. Unfortunately, I can't confirm it, although I believe it.

We passed several parking areas. However, we already knew that the ones that were really worth it to see the sunrise were the last two: Red Hill and the visitor center.

Of course, these are also the areas where the most tourists accumulate. And since we always try to avoid the crowds, we look for a lesser-known alternative. But let's take it one step at a time.

We parked at the Haleakala visitor center at 5:00 am.

A storm of water and wind put the finishing touch to the dense fog that covered everything around us.

Because of the cold, the fuel level decreases more than normal. This effect is reduced when you return to low altitudes. In any case, if you don't want to have any surprises, make sure you have a full tank of gas.

When we got out of the vehicle to go to the bathroom, we almost froze to death. Well, I may be exaggerating, but only halfway, don't believe it.

There was a group of people with a guide standing guard at the best oriented viewpoint in the parking lot. It was more than an hour before sunrise and the little I could understand from their body language was that this was the last place they wanted to be.

We went back to the car, covered ourselves with the comforter and shivered for half an hour.

At 5:30 a.m. we decided to head for our destination: the viewpoint at the end of the Pa Ka'oao Trail.

Pa Ka'oao Trail

This short trail of about 300 meters can be covered in less than 5 minutes.

It took us 10 minutes because we couldn't see beyond our feet, and we were fighting the wind and rain as we went along.

When we arrived at the lookout point, we found that we were the first.

It was 50 minutes to sunrise.

We set up the tripod in what we assumed was the best place.

We tried to protect ourselves from the storm, without much success.

Sunrise on Haleakala?

Fifteen minutes before the scheduled sunrise, a few more tourists arrived.

We took up positions next to the tripod, which had fallen over a couple of times because of the wind.

• The camera was fogged up.
• The video one got wet every time I took it out.
• Our fingers froze.
• The fog did not dissipate.

It was getting brighter and brighter, but the sun never came out.

So:

We did not see the sunrise. We didn't see the volcanoes. We saw nothing.

This was the look on our faces...

The frustrated trekking

We returned to the car with our tails between our legs.

We covered ourselves with the comforter, turned on the heating and had some breakfast - how we missed the hot coffee or tea!

We waited almost an hour inside the vehicle. The fog was still where it was.

We had planned to hike the first part of the Keonehe'ehe'e Trail (also known as Sliding Sands) and reach the Ka Lu'u oka O'o volcano. However, the visitor center told us that there were no forecasts that the storm would let up during the day, and they advised against hiking any trails in those conditions.

With our heads down, we headed for home.

After the rain, the sun always comes out

It wasn't until we left the park that the fog lifted.

Y, what happens in Hawaii when it stops raining?

Rainbow.

A rainbow so perfect that it almost closed the circle before our eyes.

We returned home and enjoyed a hot tea. And then a nice steaming American coffee.

And, to make up for the morning's nightmare, we treated ourselves to a day of beach and snorkeling south of Maui.

We also vowed not to try it again....

Sunrise on Haleakala, shot 2

... but we were too eager.

Or, rather, I felt like it. I have to admit that it took me a while to convince Nahuai. His hands were the ones that suffered the worst symptoms of frostbite (for the record, I'm not kidding).

However, the weather forecast was better.

You learn from your mistakes

Two days after the first unsuccessful attempt:

• We added two extra pairs of socks each to use as makeshift gloves when we were on the summit of Haleakala.
• We made ourselves a large hot tea (burning) and transported it in a tupper inside a beach bag/fridge that was in our apartment.
• We turned on the air conditioning in the car as soon as we left the house, so that it would warm up and not go crazy when we needed it. Spoiler: it worked!

Return to the Haleakala summit

We knew our way around, the air conditioning worked and we didn't have to pay admission again because the ticket is valid for 72 hours.

What could go wrong?

Fifteen minutes before reaching the summit... the fog covered again as far as the eye could see.

Noooooo!!!!

Once again, a wind and water storm welcomed us, although somewhat less violently than the previous time.

We did everything the same. The same parking, waiting in the car, the Pa Ka'oao Trail...

And what did we see?

Nothing.

For the second time, it did not dawn over Haleakala.

We thought:

Well, maybe we can do the long trek today. The wind is not so strong...

When we got back to the parking lot, we realized that all the fog was tucked into the valley from where the sun was supposed to rise. However, just behind us, we could see the mountains of West Maui towering above the clouds.

It wasn't a sunrise, but that's something.

We had a "more or less" hot breakfast and waited almost an hour inside the vehicle.

We asked again at the visitor's center and... our joy was in a well.

There were no forecasts for improvement. Again, goodbye to hiking the Sliding Sands Trail to Ka Lu'u oka O'o volcano.

It was our last day on the island. So we had no choice but to put it on our bucket list for the next trip (if I manage to convince my photographer for the third time... let's see how I manage!).

To the sound of Moana's 'Your Welcome', we headed down the mountain for our last afternoon of beach and snorkeling in Maui.

My advice

What to bring

• Bundle up as much as you can and layer up.
• Make sure you have a full tank of fuel in your car.
• Take all the water and food you will need. If you have a thermos, the better.
• Wear good hiking boots if you are going trekking.

Sunrise or sunset on Haleakala?

I couldn't tell you which one would be more beautiful, because I didn't get to see either one.

It is true that sunrise is the most popular, but, at the same time:

• It requires you to get up early
• Advance reservations required (from February 2017).
• It is overcrowded.

By the way, if you want to be sure that you get a spot in the upper parking lots, even if you have an online reservation, I recommend getting up early and arriving at least one hour in advance.

The sunset, I have read, is also worthwhile.

Be that as it may, the most important thing is the weather conditions. So, be sure to check the forecast before embarking on your trip.

Well, I did it and look how it turned out... Ouch!

In any case, I leave you the weather link below.

The Maui Guide in PDF format

Would you like to download aPDFwith all the information contained in this blog about what to see in Maui and, even better, how to do it?

54 pages that will help you plan your personalized itinerary and enjoy Maui at your own pace. 

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Useful Links

• Map with the trekking trails in Haleakala.
• More information on how to get your entry permit from 3.00 to 7.00 am.
• Official reservation page.
• Weather forecast page.
• Hotels in Maui.
• International flight deals to Hawaii: Trabber, eDreams, andMomondo.
• 5% discount when you purchase your travel insurance at IATI from here.

And if your attempt to see the sunrise at Haleakala goes as badly as mine, I'm sure some of these other Maui wonders will leave a good taste in your mouth:

• 7 day tour of Maui.
• Guide to organizing a trip to Maui on your own.
• The best snorkeling beaches in southern Maui.
• Sighting of humpback whales off the coast of Maui.
• The full description of our experience at O'hoe Gulch and Pipiway Trail.
• 3 days and 2 nights discovering the Road to Hana.

Want to see another island in Hawaii? My recommendation, take a look at Kauai:

• 9 days on the road in Kauai, step by step.
• A practical guide to organizing a trip to Kauai on your own.
• Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon of the Pacific.
• Kalalau Trail, Kauai's most challenging hike.
• Kauai's most beautiful beaches: what would you like to do today?
• Awaawapuhi Trail, the Napali Coast at your feet.
• Fly over Kauai in a helicopter... without doors!
• Discover the Napali Coast on a luxury boat.
• Queen's Bath, forbidden beauty in the Garden of Eden.
• Mahaulepu Trail, hiking, temples, and pristine beaches on Kauai.

Have you seen the sunrise over Haleakala? Olé, olé! Tell me about it down here, with details, please. Is it as impressive as I imagine?

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