Maui Vacation 2019 - Day 2/Haleakala Sunrise

I don't even know how to describe how beautiful the sunrise was on the top of the Haleakala Volcano. When I started researching things to do in Maui, pretty much every website had the Haleakala Sunrise on the top of the list as something tourists had to see. We also had some good friends see the sunrise a couple of years ago and they just raved about it. They said we HAD to go.

Our friends suggested we go the very first morning we were in Maui. That way, we would still be on east coast time and getting up at 2AM Hawaiian time wouldn't be as difficult. So, that is what we did. When we got to the hotel from the airport on Day 1, we went to bed as soon as possible. We were exhausted, so we all fell asleep pretty quickly (probably around 9PM Hawaiian time). I did wake up on my own right around 2AM, and I made sure I stayed awake. Bri was still sleeping like a log at 2AM. I had to wake her up, but she did very well not complaining too much about the early morning.

 Doug and I tossed the idea back and forth as to whether we should take a tour bus to the crater or drive on our own. It was the middle of the night, we didn't know where we were going and it was a very winding road to get there. Doug decided he wanted to drive anyway so we could do our own thing. He made a reservation online in advance to park our rental car ($1 fee - you have to make a reservation or you cannot park in one of the two available parking lots).

As you know, I have major anxiety. So, the thought of waking up crazy early to drive up a huge, curvy mountain in the dark was not super exciting for me. I prayed it would not be raining or cloudy that morning. But I knew the reward would be worth the stress, so I just went with it. The drive was going to be over 2.5 hours from our hotel. We left about 2:30AM and got to the parking lot before 5AM. The sunrise was going to start around 5:45AM.

This is the picture I took as we entered the national park (there is a stop you have to make to prove you have a reservation upon entering the park)...

Once we entered the park, we drove and curved and curved and curved up the mountain until we reached the visitor parking lot (the lower parking lot). The drive wasn't too bad at all and I was happy we made it. There's also a summit parking lot (the upper parking lot and the highest point to see the sunrise), but that parking lot was already full when we got there. That was totally fine with me. I was just so happy to have gotten to that visitor area in one piece (with clean bathrooms - extra bonus!). People were already starting to gather in the visitor center observation area overlooking the crater. There were definitely a lot of people there, but I was fine with it. There was no doubt the view would be great.

Doug was not happy though. He didn't like so many people being in the visitor center area. He noticed some rock stairs ascending a small mountain and he saw two people heading up them. He wanted to go up there. Up higher. Except we didn't know how far those stairs went, and it was pitch black outside.

I wasn't thrilled about it, but I gave in. As we started to climb, I realized the stairs were getting steeper the higher we went with no railings (I was having Great Wall of China stair flashbacks), and I was having issues catching my breath. We were on a mountain, it was very chilly and the air was quite thin. I was super exhausted due to not sleeping enough hours. I also was dealing with some anxiety. Doug was literally using his phone as a flashlight so we could actually see where we were going. Bri was totally fine going up. I, on the other hand, started to melt down some. I was moving slow, I wasn't sure I could continue on and I was afraid I was going to miss the sunrise. I was also assessing in my head how quickly I could file divorce papers once I got off that volcano (heh).

What I know now is that we were walking up the Pa Ka'oao Trail to the Pa Ka'oao Overlook/observation area. This is a screenshot of a comment I found about the trail on Trip Advisor...

I finally reached the Pa Ka'oao observation area after much urging from Doug and Bri (took about 10 or maybe 15 minutes or so) and I was so relieved. The only two people up there were the two people we followed up.

I was kind of upset when I got up there. My nerves were pretty shot. The view was definitely beautiful, but I believe it would have been also beautiful from the visitor parking observation area (even if a bit crowded). I needed a moment to compose myself, so I walked away and took a few moments to breathe. The sunrise had not really started yet, so we were in good shape time wise. I know Doug felt badly that I had gotten so upset.

After taking a few moments to myself, I did eventually calm down and rejoined Doug and Bri. I was able to really start taking everything in and enjoy myself. It was very quiet and peaceful. Absolutely breathtaking. It felt like we were on another planet.

This is how the sunrise started out...

Then after a little while, the sun started peeking over the horizon...

Then the sun really started to come up...

Once the sun came up, you could really see the crater and all the brown rocks.

It looked like Bri was sitting on Mars...

It was just amazing. No real words...

Once things got a little lighter, more people started joining us. They were smart enough not to climb the stairs in the dark (heh)...

We stayed at the overlook for probably 45 minutes or so. Then we started our descent back down the trail to the visitor parking lot. You could really see into the distance...

I had to take pictures of the rock stairs. This first pic below isn't even close to one of the steepest steps. It was pretty scary tackling this trail in the dark...

Very rocky...

 This is what we climbed. I couldn't really tell what it looked like in the dark. It's probably better that I didn't know...

Some information about the summit...

Pretty views from the parking area...

I snapped this photo as we started driving back down the mountain...

Despite my frazzled nerves and momentary angst, I am so glad we decided to do this. It was beyond amazing. And we were blessed with a perfect, clear morning. The view was breathtaking from that overlook. It is an experience I will never forget. So, I highly recommend seeing the sunrise if you go to Maui - just remember that the Pa Ka'oao Trail is a bit tricky in the dark.

We were definitely hungry as we headed down the mountain, and we were told by several people that the place to go for breakfast was the Kula Lodge and Restaurant. Boy, they were right. More on that in my next post!