A Visit to Pu'u Kukui on Maui, Day 4)

A Visit to Pu'u Kukui on Maui, Day 4

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Sunday, 12/20/98, is our last day on Maui. The visit to the Pu'u Kukui watershed has turned out better than we anticipated. Many of us thought we'd be freezing and rain-soaked most of the time, but except for a brief drizzle this morning, not a drop has fallen during our stay. And although it's been nippy at night, warm clothes and a comforting fire have made things cozy. Plus, our hosts, Randy Bartlett and his staff, have been accommodating and eager to share their knowledge and love of the mountains with us. We've been fortunate, no doubt.

By 9 a.m., we've eaten breakfast, packed up, tidied the cabin, and loaded our gear into the trucks driven to Haelaau House by Arnold and David, the same gents who picked us up at the airport three days earlier. Hank has accompanied them up the dirt road from the highway, and he leads us back down. Before we depart, I take a final glance at Pu'u Kukui, hidden by clouds for the first time during our visit. Has some higher power been looking after us on the mountain? I'd like to think so.

The seven-mile ride to the highway takes about 20 minutes, and from our windswept perch at 3,000 feet, we emerge near sea level in the sunbaked, iron-rich fields maintained by Maui Land & Pine. At the lower gate, we thank and bid aloha to Hank and Scott, who arrives just as we are about to drive off.

From there, Arnold and David take us a couple minutes down the highway to a Budget Rent A Car location just Lahaina-side of Kapalua airport, and we luck out and land a great deal on a Ford longbed truck and a mid-sized car. We say mahalo and aloha to Arnold and David, who've taken care of us like family even though they've never met us prior to this trip. By 10 we've loaded up our rentals and are bound for Haleakala National Park. Arnold, who's invited us to kick back at his Kaanapali condo and head to the beach, calls us hardcore hikers when we politely turn down his offer and opt to head for the House of the Sun instead.

The 1.5 hour drive from Kaanapali to Haleakala is relaxing and almost problem-free (we do make one wrong turn while approaching Kahului). I especially like Upcountry Maui, for its cool, green climate reminds me of Flagstaff, Arizona, where I spent a year while in grad school. We pass several packs of bike riders, and I think of Ralph Valentino, an HTMC colleague who didn't make the trip because of illness and had suggested a bike tour for our Sunday outing.

However, today we'll be hiking instead of biking. By 11:30, we've passed the front gate of the National Park and after a short lua stop at the Visitors' Center, we head to the summit at Red Hill (elev. 10,023) where we huddle atop a pu'u to eat lunch and enjoy the view down into Haleakala. It's a bit nippy at the summit, and most of us are donning jackets and in some cases rain pants to keep warm. But it's a beautiful day out, perfect for a quick hike into the crater and back.

Initially, we plan to hike down via the Halemau'u Trail. However, Grant suggests descending Sliding Sands instead, with a turnaround time of 2 p.m. so that we'll be back at our rental vehicles in time to return to Kahului where we have a 6 p.m. flight to Oahu. Hearing Grant's idea, I recollect a side trail on the left that leads to a small crater called Ka Lu'u o ka O'o (elev. ~8,400) about a mile and a half down Sliding Sands and suggest we make that our goal. After relocating our vehicles to the big lot adjacent to Pa Ka'oao (White Hill), we ready our gear and set off.

The hike down Sliding Sands is wonderful, with the huge cones and jumbled topography on the floor of Haleakala spilled before us. Several times, Grant yells out in glee with arms stretched overhead to celebrate the beauty we're experiencing. Judy, Grant, Pat, and I move rapidly down the long switchbacks of Sliding Sands while the others are in no rush and hike more casually. On the way, we pass half a dozen or so hikers heading back up. These folks are moving much slower and the faces of some show the obvious strain of hiking uphill at elevations over 8,000 feet. Seeing them, I remark to Judy that we'll face a lung burning climb when we too head back up.

We move so quickly to the junction of Sliding Sands and the side route to Ka Lu'u o ka O'o (25 minutes or so) that I give thought to going all the way down to the crater floor, tagging it, and then heading back up. Good sense, however, tells me that the descent and subsequent ascent will be too time-consuming and painful, so I follow Grant as he begins the half-mile stretch to Ka Lu'u o ka O'o (lit. "the plunge of the digging stick").

This side trail contours along the massive slope of the crater wall at about the 8,400 foot level. To the right below are a couple large cones, namely Kamoali'i (8,200) and behind it Pu'u o Maui (8,133). As huge as these cones are, they appear less than so because the massiveness of the crater makes one's sense of scale go helter skelter. Although my mind knows everything around me is huge, my eyes send a different message, and not until I see other hikers far off looking like toy soldiers do I comprehend the reality of the scene in view.

Grant, the first to reach Ka Lu'u o ka O'o, hikes past it and continues along a 50-yard extension before backtracking to make a clockwise circumnavigation of the small crater. To circle the mini crater, one needs about five minutes, and I opt to go around counterclockwise. Pat and Judy soon arrive, hike around O'o, and join me at the end of the extension trail. To this point, atop my red Coolmax shirt I've been wearing a thermal pullover and my rainjacket to keep warm. Knowing that a puff & huff climb to the summit is ahead, I strip off the outer layers, stuff these in my pack, eat a couple cookies, take a couple long draws of water from my camelback, and commence the return trip.

Grant has already set off, Judy tags along with me, and Pat hangs out longer at O'o before starting the ascent. Meanwhile, Ken, Kost, Carole, and June have decided not to go all the way to O'o and have already turned back. The climb up Sliding Sands is far from the take-one-step-and-slide-back-two horror hike that some folks characterize it as. Granted, going up Sliding Sands isn't easy ("You're beautiful but you hurt me," says Grant), but once a steady walking and breathing rhythm are acquired, the going becomes tolerable.

The return trip to the summit takes an hour. When I top out, I turn to the interior of Haleakala and raise my arms overhead as both a parting gesture and to celebrate that I haven't croaked after the semi-grueling climb. Grant has summited just before me and Judy is in good form a minute behind. Pat, who's hung back to savor the experience, is in view moving up the switchbacks at a rapid tempo, and he soon, too, crests out.

We join the others back at our rental vehicles, load up, and head down the mountain. At about the 5- to 6,000-foot level, heavy clouds create a near whiteout situation. Grant is in front driving the mid-sized car and I the truck. When the visibility drops, we turn on headlights, slow down, and eventually join a caravan of other tourist cars moving deliberately down the highway. At a point where the first houses begin, we move below the cloud zone and unobscured visibility returns again.

We head to the Pukalani Store since Carole insists we stop there so she can buy a bento, but as it turns out everyone else purchases a snack (an apple turnover for me) and Carole leaves sans bento, sans anything. Go figure.

From Pukalani, we're Kahului bound, where we refill the rentals with gas, return them, check in our baggage at the airport, and wait for our 6 p.m. flight to Honolulu. Except for some slight modifications, we're still wearing the same clothes we've hiked in today, and we stick together so as not to offend other passengers. Someone suggests a group picture, and a local guy overhears us and offers to snap the shot.

The flight to Honolulu is half-full and goes without a hitch. By 6:45, we're back on Oahu, capping off a great trip with great weather, great hosts, and a great bunch of hikers. Local TV news anchor Dan Cook is on our flight, and at the baggage claim area he asks June and Grant where we've been. When he finds out, he appears interested. A future news special? Hmmm...

As a postscript, on Monday, I receive an email from Randy Bartlett, who invites a group from the HTMC back for another service trip in '99. Randy also says he's trying to line up other groups for service trips to continue weed control work, which will give more people an opportunity to experience the magnificence of the West Maui Mountains and Pu'u Kukui.

Aloha,

--Dayle


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