Sliding Sands

Yesterday I woke up and told Casey,"I really want to go on a hike!" He suggested something short and of course I protested and said, "Noooo! Let's do something gnarly!" One thing I really admire about Casey is that he is always up for anything! So, we packed some snacks and were on the road by 7:30AM! Our first stop was a drive through Carls Jr. for some much needed coffee for me and a breakfast burrito for the Hubs.




We drove about 2 hours upcountry and on our way we stopped to get some gas. Oy! Check out those gas prices! ....And we went to the cheeaapp place... I just HAD to post em.





Well, I asked for "gnarly" and "gnarly" is what I got! Case and I went to the CRATER. Haleakala Crater is the dormant volcano on Maui. The top of the peak is located at 10,000 feet and it last erupted around the 1700's. This is one of my favorite places on Maui and there are some of the most beautiful hikes in the world here. Throughout the crater the terrian changes frequently from Mars looking lava rocks/tubes to one of the most dangerous rain forests in the world (according to our friend Rick). I guess this has to do with Haleakala being so close to the equator... but I don't really know what that means :) Haleakala is also the only place in the entire world where the Silversword plant grows (see pic below)!







I tried to persuade Casey to go on an hike that was at least longer than 8 miles. HA! Sometimes I get overly excited about things and it can impair my judgement. Casey knows this about me and I'm so thankful! He said the Sliding Sands trail would be just perfect and half way into it... I was dying. The first part was all downhill sand, but once it was time to go back, it was ALL uphill on "Sliding Sand" hence the trail name. We were both huffing and puffing, but we did it! It was one of the best Saturdays! Props to the hubs for being a good sport and doing it even though he had the flu :) what a love.