Last Saturday a friend & I hiked Haleakala crater. We left the summit at just after sunrise and weβre back at our vehicle 8 hours later. We arrived at the summit just before sunrise, and as the sun crested over the horizon, the park rangers invoked a Hawaiian chant to welcome its arrival
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Pre-sunrise it was cold π₯Ά. No amount of clothing seemed to keep the cold at bay, but as we set off the rising sun did its job of warming up the thin air.
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And so we headed down into the crater. We were blessed with beautiful weather all day, the thinner air of altitude increasing the felt exposure to the sun.
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On the way down we passed Silver Swords, a plant and species that is endemic to this crater.
Some of the views of the barren valley floor. Haleakala crater is actually a collapsed mountain. This explanation will not be very scientific, but there use to be a mountain βcoveringβ this cater which has slowly eroded over the years.
Some of the iron and sulphur colouring of the rocks.
A local NΓ© NΓ© goose amidst changing vegetation.
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An old lava tube with the preserved ripples of lava still visible.
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Heading towards the wall that we would climb to leave the crater.
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Views as we climbed out of the crater, first as the cloud rolled in from the east side of Maui, and then looking back into the crater. I left exhausted, aching (Iβm still feeling it), but exhilarated and grateful for a wonderful day.