Two weeks on Maui

 
 
 
 
 
 

We woke up to a partly cloudy day, temperature again forecasted to be in the 80’s. We were quite lucky so far, there was no heavy continuous rain so far during our stay, and nothing was forecasted for the next couple of days. The sun came up behind the west Maui mountain range. From our hotel balcony, we could see the mountains still cloaked in deep shadow while the clouds on top got lit up burning red, as if the mountain summit was on fire. The whole light display lasted for only a few minutes, but long enough for us to record it as memento.




Sunrise Behind West Maui Mountains


The day’s plan called for an early hike at central Maui’s Waihe’e Ridge, followed by going up to the Haleakala 10,000 feet summit for some sunset pictures. That meant packing a diversity of gears, one set for hiking a sun drench trail up the Waihe’e Ridge in very warm weather, another set for a possible cloudy, windy and cold summit in the 40s up on Haleakala.


There is always a potential of the ocean clouds covering the Waihe’e Ridge during the late mornings, it also takes about 40 minutes to an hour to drive from the Hyatt to Waihe’e Ridge, going via Wailuku in central Maui, so we decided to have a quick morning breakfast and get on the road by 7:30 AM. By the time we arrived at the trail head, it was almost 8:30 AM. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and there were minimal clouds over the horizon.


The Waihe’e Ridge trail is about 2.2 miles long climbing about 1,500 feet. From the top of the ridge, one can see the Pacific Ocean to the north, the majestic Waihe’e Valley below the ridge, and Haleakala volcano and the town of Kahului further to the east. There is also the Makamaka’ole Falls running down the valley. Unfortunately, the waterfall was dry, but the valley it flows through is gorgeous and lush green.




View of Kahului Sugar Cane Fields and Haleakala Volcano


The trail runs through forests of guava trees, swamp mahogany, and Cook Island Pines (Araucaria Columnaris, see adjacent picture). Story had it that Captain Thomas Cook introduced Cook Pines along his exploration routes because Cook Pines is a good source for building ship masts.
We also came across wild orchids on an exposed slope. As we hiked up, cloud cover slowly moved over the near by peaks but the ridge was still clear. When we were at the swap meet at central Maui a few days ago, the merchant who sold us the wooden bowl recommended this trail highly and told us to come here early in the morning. It was an excellent advice because the trail is quite expose and it got really warm under the sun, even in the mid morning. We had to pull out our secret weapon – an umbrella we brought along just in case of rain; the umbrella came in handy under the searing sun.




Waihe’e Valley, Maui


We were famished after the hike. Since we were close to central Maui, we decided to go to our cheap eat of choice in the area, the Saigon Café. We ordered curry chicken lemon grass vermicelli and a pho bowl. Naturally, we tried out there vegetable wrapped fried spring roll again. The food just hit the spot.


By mid afternoon, a layer of high cloud was starting to roll in. The Haleakala summit was still clearly in sight; there was some cloud at the 6,000 feet level. We debated a bit but finally decided to head up the summit. One never can predict what sunset would look like. There was a good chance for a spectacular sunset, so we headed up. The drive took almost an hour under relatively clear visibility; Haleakala is a huge mountain.


The temperature up at the summit was in the 50’s, a 30 degree difference from the foothill. By the time we reached the top, the sun was partially blocked by the high clouds, so the summit was sandwich between two layers of cloud covers. We took some time to take some panoramic pictures of the crater. The diffused sunlight was helpful in bringing out the terrain details in the shadows.




Haleakala Crater, Maui


The winds were howling. By the time it reached 4:30 PM, the temperature must have dropped another 10 degrees. Out came our winter hats and gloves. On the summit, the low sun angle was about shoulder height, shinning through a thin layer of high clouds. We could see multiple layers of orange high clouds stacked behind each other, something we seldom see at the sea level.




Haleakala Summit Sandwiched Between Two Layers of Clouds


It was getting really cold with the wind, and it didn’t look like the sunset was going to be a promising one, so we decided to head down before total darkness made it difficult to negotiate down the winding mountain road. Along the way down, we took some snap shots of the setting sun; it was still a very pretty and unique sunset. You can judge for yourself.




Driving Down Haleakala During Sunset


Dinner that night was at a Thai restaurant called Thai Cuisine II at Maui Center Mall, Wailuku. We ordered a beef satay for appetizer – probably one of the best we’ve come across. We also ordered Pad Thai, a noodle dish; the preparation was above average, and a red curry chicken dish. The curry chicken was a bit too sweet and not enough spiciness. Overall, 2 stars out of 4.


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Hiking Waihe’e Ridge & Haleakala

Monday, December 8, 2008