Hawaii

November 5-28, 2011

hawaii - november 8

Haleakela Sliding Sands Trail

Crater Floor Crossing to Holua

After our quick lunch it was time to move on. The last 3.5 miles ended up taking us around 2 hours to complete. The landscape was spectacular, even as the clouds starting moving in. The terrain at times looks very lunar and it is said that the NASA astronauts came here to train for the lunar landing.

Christopher hit the exhaustion point about half way across the crater floor at which point Rubby tried taking him on his shoulders for a bit, but that didn't last long... the pack was already heavy enough without adding Christopher on top of it! So we convinced Christopher he could make it on his own and I proceeded to hold his hand and tell him stories the rest of the way to keep him entertained. No boy was ever happier to see camp than Christopher was that evening!

At the campsite we saw the cabin with a sign pointing to the left for camping but no indication of distance. There was a little path but Rubby followed it for a bit and saw no signs or tent site so he came back and we set up in a little area in the grass where it was obvious that other tents had been set up. The folks in the cabin kept peeking out at us making us wonder if we were in the right spot (we weren't) but they didn't say anything and we were tired and it was starting to rain so we didn't care. It wasn't like the cabin folks were gonna be hanging out outside and our plan was to go to bed right after supper so the kids wouldn't be making a lot of noise anyway.

We're set to tackle the last 3.5 miles.

At the crater floor you get lots more lava rocks covering the ground.

Sam and poppa try to provide encouragement to Christopher and mom along the way.

Are we on the moon or on mars?!

Beautiful lava rock sculptures.

The colours are once again striking.

Sam and Rubby pause to pose.

As she waits for mom and Christopher to catch up, Sam plays on a lava rock.

Where did Sam and poppa go?

There they are!

Sam crouched in her hiding place.

Christopher wants a chance to play too.

It's getting late and we need to keep moving to make it to camp before nightfall.

The 'mars mountain' cinder cone doesn't look that big til you remember how tall each of those silversword plants dotting the slope are.

Sam and Rubby pose for a picture.

Rubby walks ahead a bit... the slow pace with Christopher is hard to take with the big packs.

Oh no, an uphill section!

Did I mention slow?

The clouds are moving in now and casting shadows on the crater walls.

At a junction, 2 paths lead deeper into the crater valley... we're not headed there today.

Still another 2.2 miles. Christopher starts to cry with exhaustion and then smile as Rubby offers him a short 'lift' to the next sign.

Cause carrying the tent, a sleeping bag and all the food and water rations wasn't enough...

 
The lift is short lived as Christopher wants to join Sam in exploring this rock formation.

The kids pretend they are sheep in a little paddock.

 
Rubby finds something a bit more interesting in the 'shrine' area.

A lava crust partially uncovered among all the cinder and rocks.

Christopher is in good spirits again... 1.9 miles left.

A rainbow on the moon?! ;-)

Rainbow!

We're now completely in the mist but the change in vegetation (and Rubby's gps!) tells us we're getting close.

 
Kukaenene (Coprosma ernodeoides) is a ground shrub whose berries provide food for nene and are used as a laxative by people.
The yellow flower is an invasive species I believe.

 
Be careful where you step... you don't want to fall into a cavernous hole like this one!

Finally we arrive at the cabin... the campground should be nearby. (5:13pm)

With no signs pointing to any other tenting site, we set up camp on this area that looked like it was cleared for a tent.
We later found out that it wasn't the proper spot... they need to work on their signage!

Christopher is exhausted!

That's the look of a tired kid who is so happy to be done hiking and is about to get food and sleep!

As it starts to rain outside, we take cover in the tent.

Supper time! The kids are hungry and they dig in with gusto... that's ham hanging from Christopher's mouth! *grin*

 

[ Sliding Sands Trail - Part 1 | Crater Snack Break | Sliding Sands Trail - Part 2 | Crater Floor Crossing to Holua ]

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