Life is an Adventure: Sunrise at the top of the world

I woke up at 3:30am today. On purpose. After a quick stop at Zippy's for french toast and hash browns, I made the ~40 mile drive to the summit of Haleakala crater at 10,023 ft. I arrived at the park entrance at 4:45am - and there was a line to pay the fee! There were sooo many cars and tour buses going up to the top. Luckily there weren't cars going down - the roads are narrow and windy, plus it was dark. It took about 30 minutes to get to the summit, and the sun was coloring the sky a bit. I made the mistake of following the cars to the visitor center lot, and not continuing up to the summit lot. If you ever go, turn right at the VC and drive up to the summit. There's a nice little enclosed viewing area. Also, dress warmly! It was about 50 on the summit but extremely windy! I was in jeans, sneakers, an under armor fleece, long sleeve T and jacket. I was warm except for my hands. I would also recommend a hat other than a baseball cap - not only does the brim make taking pictures difficult, but it's not very warm. Better than nothing though!

Anyway, sunrise was beautiful. I climbed to the top of the Pa Ka' oao overlook, where the crowd was sparse (down at the VC it was a mob of people in shorts wrapped in beach towels). The sun came up over the clouds, and you can see the peaks of Mauna Loa & Mauna Kea on the Big Island as well. It was worth losing feeling in my fingers :) Once the sun was up, I got my stamps and decided to hike down into the crater on the Sliding Sands Trail. It was 2.6 miles each way to the first cinder cone, Ka Lu'u o ka' O'o, with an elevation change of about 1500ft. Similar to Angel's Landing, except I did the easy down part first. I'd much rather go up first, then come down at the end when I'm tired. The trail isn't called sliding sands for no reason...the entire trail is covered by 1-3 inches of sand. Imagine hiking up a 2.5 mile sand dune. It was worth it though. Once I reached the cinder cone, I could see old lava rivers and the clouds in one of the gulches. I just sat on a rock, watching the clouds below, with no sounds other than the wind. It was beautiful.

After the hike, which I finished in 3 hours 15 min, I was pretty tired and it was getting close to lunch time. I started to drive down the mountain, and pulled over to eat lunch once the clouds took over the road. Whenever I fly, I always think how fun it would be to be in the clouds. So I got out of the car and walked through the clouds :) Then I spent the rest of the day by the pool, reading and napping. It was a good day!

Peaks of the Big Island in the distance