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Photos Above the Clouds Atop Maui's Haleakala
By David Johns
It was another great day in Maui today. I posted an intel a few days ago with some photos of my first day here on the second biggest island in the Hawaiian chain. I'm here on business, but had a free day today for the Fourth of July weekend. I decided to spend it driving up to the top of Haleakala, which is the largest dormant volcano in the world. Although the popular thing to do is get up crazy early and catch the sunrise, I simply couldn't convince myself to roll out of bed at 3:00 AM. I do that enough for my day job! So after a leisurely breakfast on my lanai overlooking the beach I packed a quick lunch and jumped in my rental car (a convertible Mustang of course!). After a fairly short (but pretty) drive across the island I could see my destination. Well, actually all I could see were clouds, but I could imagine the peak hidden behind them. Starting the accent up a very windy road I was a little surprised by all the seemingly insane bikers I had to dodge coming the other way. Yellow rain slickered tourists were barreling down the mountain at crazy speeds. I later learned this is a popular attraction for thrill seekers visiting the island. Again, this involves getting up well before sunrise so it's a bit far down on my to-do list. As I wind my way further up the mountain the climate starts to change in a hurry, becoming very un-Hawaiian (at least in my mind). The rain comes down more steadily and visibility drops off dramatically as I climb up into the cloud layer obscuring the summit. After 30 minutes of this I start to get concerned that maybe the entire crater is socked in and my trip will be a disappointment. Then I round a sharp bend and the fog clears dramatically. And just like that I'm above the cloud cover. It really is a stunning sight to look out and see only clouds instead of earth below you. It's beautiful and somehow unsettling at the same time. Adding to the surreal feeling is the totally barren landscape of the volcano; a field of black lava rock with just the occasional sprig of green fighting for a foothold. A few more minutes of winding road brought me to the crest. From there I could see a solid blanket of cloud all around, rolling down into the crater itself, which is massive. The lip is over 10,000 feet above sea level, although it used to be 3,000 feet taller before the peak collapsed into itself. This of course was thousands of years ago. The volcanic activity since then has been smaller eruptions within the crater, leaving a handful of cinder cones scattered through the expansive bowl. The varied colors of lava and cinders is so unusual they're pretty. The color palette would be considered drab next to the vivid greens and blues normally associated with Hawaii, but in that world above the clouds it's beautiful in it's subtlety. Barren and inhospitable, yes, but all the more stunning because of it. Below are some photos I took from the summit. Unfortunately my pictures can't properly capture the Haleakala experience. The scale of the crater and the stark contrast of the black lava fields against the white cloud cover is something you have to see in person to fully appreciate. I'll definitely make the trip again if I return to the island. Maybe I'll even get up at 3:00 AM to catch the sunrise. Then again, maybe not!
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Looking down on the cloud bank that surrounds the crater.
A rare blossom in the harsh environment of the summit.
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I never realized that the volcano was that big. Great Intel and fabulous pictures. The one of the flower amidst the rock is stunning. Thanks for sharing this with us. gilbertg
CONTRIBUTOR'S REPLY
Thanks! Glad you like the flower photo. It's probably my favorite shot from the whole trip.
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This intel was contributed by Machinist
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May, 2012
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