“hiking Haleakala’s crater,” from the photo stream of Judy B.
Caption: “The surreal colors inside Maui’s Haleakala crater make you believe you’re on the moon. Tough hiking but well worth it !”
More info on Haleakala National Park here.
Judy has another bunch of great pix at her Canadian Beauty photo set.
This picture is simply gorgeous to me. I love the lighing and color. I wish I took it!
It would be just like hiking on the far side of the moon…
DSD
Except for the climb in and out, hiking in the Haleakala crater is not that challenging of a route. The easy trail in is 1,400 feet down and then the same up again on the way out.
There are three distinct climate zones, which makes it especially interesting. As you hike across the crater, you cross the borders between them pretty abruptly (within a couple of hundred yards). There’s a tundra/grassland zone, a moonscape zone, and a rain forest zone.
The most disappointing thing is that the hike is so popular that wilderness camping is limited to 3 nights per month. Also, there are rentable backcountry cabins at the campsites, which is disappointing from a wilderness-lover’s perspective.
Still, as you can see above, it’s well worth seeing.
Well, thank you to the commenters above. I loved shooting this hike, it’s very worthwhile !
Small note – when I referred to “tough” hiking, it was more the unique nature of the soil you hike on. The Sliding Sands trail (visible in the photo) is well named … two steps forward, slide one step back, so a bit of a slog.
Judy Bishop – The Travelling Eye
Vancouver BC Canada