My centennial visit to Haleakala included a 4.5-mile hike on the Sliding Sands Trail into the summit crater. Though it resembles a caldera, the crater formed as heavy rainfall carried by trade winds eroded the mountain’s core. The trail offers views over a barren, rocky wilderness across the coastal peaks and out to sea, obscured on this day by a low ceiling.
The trail is visible below, though my destination is beyond view
The Sliding Sands Trail snakes it way to lower elevations below the crater’s southern edge
Peaks aside the Ko’Olau Gap rise above clouds which obscure the ocean beyond
Contrasting colors of the rock make a striking landscape across a barren wilderness
Beyond the two mile mark from the trailhead, Split Rock is my principle destination
Split Rock
