Ever wonder who we have to thank for having long days in the summer and short in the winter? The Hawaiians believe that it is none other than Maui. One day, Maui's mother complained that the sun wasn't out long enough to dry her clothes. Maui, determined to appease his mother, climbed to the top of Mount Haleakala where the sun was said to live. Maui waited and waited. Once the sun began to rise, Maui used a rope made from his sister's hair and lassoed the sun's rays. The sun pleaded for its life and Maui promised to let the sun live so long as it would provide us longer days. The sun agreed to stay up later during the summer months.
It is hard imagine such a place that the sun can live, at least until you journey up 10,000 feet above sea level, and several thousand feet above the clouds. On January 4, 2016 I decided it was my turn to lasso the sun.
Mount Haleakala is filled with forest at the base of the volcano, and us you go further up in elevation it turns into dry grassy fields, and in some parts to desert where only the hardiest of plants can live such as the native Hawaiian Haleakala silversword. The Hawaiian word ahinahina means grey-grey, which was the best description that the society of natives could come up with since they did not know metals.
This plant can live up to 90 years. It flowers brilliantly once in its life, then dies. It manages to gather moisture for longer periods of time through its tiny silvery hairs and long fleshy leaves from moisture heavy clouds.
While it is possible to bike and hike up Mount Haleakala, it is also possible to drive, which is exactly what we did. This drive was not nearly as winding and twisty as the road to Hana, but the changes in elevation can happen quickly and if you are not used to it, it can leave you feeling light-headed, nauseous or really happy. As we made our way up the mountain, we didn't see much in the way of wild life. Cows grazed upon Haleakala's steep slopes, a pueo owl floated in the air searching for prey and the occasional little red I'iwi bird would make an appearance. The drive started out with blue skies and a bit of clouds. Perfect for hiking and photos of the scenic overlooks along the way up the mountain.
At about 6,000 feet above sea level, we were inside of the clouds a hand glider awaited the perfect moment to take off, and I was beginning to sense a difference in the air. It felt lighter and much clearer than the smoggy air of Washington, DC - despite being inside of a cloud. The views continued to get more and more impressive.
8,000 feet above sea level was the next big step up the mountain. We were now above the clouds and the sun was shining down on us. A sign for the Halemauu trail, and we quick parked the car and went on a short one mile hike to the Haleakala crater. This was fairly easy and enjoyable. We had to stop periodically to catch our breaths, even though we were going downhill since the air was thinner than before. This was easy to do as I wanted to take pictures of everything.
At the end of this trail before descending into the crater itself was an overlook that pictures can't begin to describe the beauty of what we saw. The clouds gently nestled on the slopes of a cliff, hardened lava zig-zagged and made patterns into the ground that the green forest complimented, and it was a very long way down from way up here.
2,000 more feet to go. The higher and higher we ascended I began to feel tired. The hike back up the Halemauu trail really tuckered me out. The temperature up here was 58 degrees Fahrenheit (unseasonably warm), but with the hot sun pounding down on us, it felt more like 70. I drank a gatorade and continued onward.
9,740 feet - we made it to the visitor's center, caught our breath and viewed an alien planet. Can we be on Mars? The mounds of volcanic rock were filled with the colors of red, orange, and green. The bases were dusted in various shades of brown, grey and black. It was hard to leave this scene and move on, but I hadn't lassoed the sun yet...
Ok, break is over - only a few hundred feet to go. From here we continued on foot, and man, I felt like I was on top of the world.
I lingered here for sometime, appreciating the beauty that God created, and stood in wonderment of His power. This was one moment I truly savored.
I took the sun in with all its glory, and warmth and let it soak into my exposed skin while trying very hard not to look at it. I didn't lasso it, but the sun certainly lassoed me into a comforting yet epic embrace.
Along the peak, Native Hawaiians still believing in Maui left an offering - perhaps to nurture the agreement once made between Maui and the sun.
It was beginning to get late, so we decided to wish the sun farewell, and made our descent into heavenly sun-kissed clouds, and back into the world of mortals.
It is hard imagine such a place that the sun can live, at least until you journey up 10,000 feet above sea level, and several thousand feet above the clouds. On January 4, 2016 I decided it was my turn to lasso the sun.
Mount Haleakala is filled with forest at the base of the volcano, and us you go further up in elevation it turns into dry grassy fields, and in some parts to desert where only the hardiest of plants can live such as the native Hawaiian Haleakala silversword. The Hawaiian word ahinahina means grey-grey, which was the best description that the society of natives could come up with since they did not know metals.This plant can live up to 90 years. It flowers brilliantly once in its life, then dies. It manages to gather moisture for longer periods of time through its tiny silvery hairs and long fleshy leaves from moisture heavy clouds.
 |
| Base of Mt. Haleakala |
While it is possible to bike and hike up Mount Haleakala, it is also possible to drive, which is exactly what we did. This drive was not nearly as winding and twisty as the road to Hana, but the changes in elevation can happen quickly and if you are not used to it, it can leave you feeling light-headed, nauseous or really happy. As we made our way up the mountain, we didn't see much in the way of wild life. Cows grazed upon Haleakala's steep slopes, a pueo owl floated in the air searching for prey and the occasional little red I'iwi bird would make an appearance. The drive started out with blue skies and a bit of clouds. Perfect for hiking and photos of the scenic overlooks along the way up the mountain.
At about 6,000 feet above sea level, we were inside of the clouds a hand glider awaited the perfect moment to take off, and I was beginning to sense a difference in the air. It felt lighter and much clearer than the smoggy air of Washington, DC - despite being inside of a cloud. The views continued to get more and more impressive.
8,000 feet above sea level was the next big step up the mountain. We were now above the clouds and the sun was shining down on us. A sign for the Halemauu trail, and we quick parked the car and went on a short one mile hike to the Haleakala crater. This was fairly easy and enjoyable. We had to stop periodically to catch our breaths, even though we were going downhill since the air was thinner than before. This was easy to do as I wanted to take pictures of everything.At the end of this trail before descending into the crater itself was an overlook that pictures can't begin to describe the beauty of what we saw. The clouds gently nestled on the slopes of a cliff, hardened lava zig-zagged and made patterns into the ground that the green forest complimented, and it was a very long way down from way up here.
 |
| Mt. Haleakala Crater - view from Halemauu trail |
9,740 feet - we made it to the visitor's center, caught our breath and viewed an alien planet. Can we be on Mars? The mounds of volcanic rock were filled with the colors of red, orange, and green. The bases were dusted in various shades of brown, grey and black. It was hard to leave this scene and move on, but I hadn't lassoed the sun yet...
Ok, break is over - only a few hundred feet to go. From here we continued on foot, and man, I felt like I was on top of the world.
I lingered here for sometime, appreciating the beauty that God created, and stood in wonderment of His power. This was one moment I truly savored.
I took the sun in with all its glory, and warmth and let it soak into my exposed skin while trying very hard not to look at it. I didn't lasso it, but the sun certainly lassoed me into a comforting yet epic embrace.
Along the peak, Native Hawaiians still believing in Maui left an offering - perhaps to nurture the agreement once made between Maui and the sun.It was beginning to get late, so we decided to wish the sun farewell, and made our descent into heavenly sun-kissed clouds, and back into the world of mortals.
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