Photo Friday--Backpacking Haleakala
May the Fourth be with you! It's time for the final installment of photos from our recent trip to Maui (see here and here for the earlier posts). The "we" of the trip is the author, my husband, and our 20-year-old son. Sorry for the unmercifully long post! The primary objective of our Maui trip was a 3-night, 4-day backpacking trip into and across the Haleakala crater. Lots of people dayhike from the rim down to the crater (though we didn't see all that many--it's not a trivial hike, involving typically about 11 miles and a 1000' climb back out of the crater). A few people each night use the 3 huts scattered around the crater, allowing them to eat and sleep indoors (and to carry less gear). Those of us who don't plan 6 months out get to carry our tents and do it the hard way. We started by picking up our permit (free, but required) at the ranger station near the Park entrance, then driving all the way to the summit. That was well past our trailhead, but