Haleakala National Park
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Day 12, Tuesday –
Tuesday morning -- or was it still Monday night? We set our alarms for 2:00 a.m. We’re headed for the sunrise at Haleakala Crater at 10,000 feet altitude! It was Doris, myself and Will for this adventure! We woke up and were on the road at 2:30a.m. for the two hour drive to the crater and sun rise at 5:50 a.m. The others were convinced we are mentally deranged but, as expected, there were at least 200-300 other brave souls up there with us. And this is an everyday event! In fact, the other crazy people at the top of Haleakala paid $80 or more to bike down the volcano for 28 miles! (No matter how adventurous you are, it seems there’s always someone at an even higher level).
The temperature hovered around 45° with a breeze. Great weather at 5 a.m.! Even Will, who blazes backcountry trails in the Vermont winter, was feeling the cold! But it was worth it – the sun rose with it’s reflection on the clouds below us. It was like watching a sunrise on the beach but with a really strange look – the sun was floating above the clouds. It was amazing, unique and incredible. This experience would be as memorable as the helicopter ride over the volcanoes.
An advertised highlight and activity of the Haleakala sunrise is the bike ride down. It looked like fun, but we were content in our heated car watching the bikers going downhill at 25 mph in 45° weather.
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