Mark & Lyndon's 2003 Hawaii Trip

Maui

Hawaii 2003 was a very unique trip for both of us. This was the first trip that we stayed on only one island the entire time. We also planned on doing a lot of hiking this trip and to really explore Maui in depth and we even went some places we had never been to before in previous trips.

We arrived at the Whaler condo to find a nice arrangement of flowers waiting for me in celebration of our 20th anniversary earlier in the month. Lyndon had done a good job of being sneaky (in a nice way) by finding a florist and arranging for the hotel to put the flowers in the room on our arrival day.

The next morning, very early, we went to Haleakala. On your first day to the islands you will still be on mainland time so take advantage of it and go exploring early! On the way to Haleakala, just a couple of miles before you get to the summit, there is an opportunity to park and walk about 200' to the Leleiwi lookout. This is a very different perspective of the crater which not many people see. This trip, we hiked a good distance into the crater and, what an experience. You do need to be in relatively good health, even to make the 4-5 hour round trip we made. Of course there are many trails in the crater which can take much longer, overnight hikes, full day, etc. Here is an interesting shot with the moon right above the ridge and you can see the trail at the base. Here are some various pictures of the "sliding sands" trail that we endeavored upon. This is a shot of Mark on the top of a cinder cone (ridge). Another with Lyndon perched on a rock showing the depth of the cinder cone below. We thought about a horseback ride into the crater but we're glad we didn't. We met up with a group of people in the crater and they looked miserable and very dusty. If you consider horseback riding I'd advise goggles at least!

The next morning we slept in a bit longer but awoke to a lazy Kaanapali beach. We had some great views of the mountains, pool and beach from our 12th floor condo. The condo was very nice, spacious and very clean. We always try to stay at the Whaler on our Maui trips. Our adventure today was a drive to Hana, Lindbergh's grave, and a hike into the Bamboo Forest ending with a spectacular 400' waterfall! This was one of our best hikes ever, repleat with waterfalls, guava fruit everywhere, lush vegetation and neat old bridges! Be warned though, take the mosquito repellent on this hike!!

We made several usual stops along the way there and back, namely, a little but beautiful church on Keanae point, tutu's ice cream in Hana, a 30 minute hike to Fagan's Cross which offers excellent views of Hana and the ocean as your backdrop, Coconut Patty's (a MUST) and a few vendors here and there.

The next day we took it easier and stayed close to home base of Kaanapali. We drove over to neighboring Lahaina to walk around a bit. We took in some of our usual sights like the weekend art fest under the Banyan tree which takes up an entire city block, milled at the nearby historic Pioneer Inn, strolled along the board walk, and walked up and down the main drag, popping into various shops along the way. Later that day we found a local fish market and purchased some fish and a few side dishes for that evening's dinner. The Whaler has several nice grills available to residents and we wanted to take advantage of the kitchen and those grills. Before dinner that evening, we spent time out on Kaanapali beach and occasionally popped into the very warm pool at the Whaler quick dip. Lyndon and I also did some snorkling at Black Rock, which is rated as one of the best snorlkling spots in the world. Here are a few things we saw: 1) 2) 3). It was fun to jump off of Black Rock into the water too! This day was a day of taking it easy and being with someone that means the world to you. We knew the next day would be a streneous hike for us so it was time to relax and catch a few rays.

The "hike". We embarked on a pretty streneous hike up to the "L" on the side of a mountain facing Lahaina. We didn't think it would be as tough as it was but I can say, at various points, we were crawling on all "fours" through thick brush and unstable ground! This is a 2000' elevation in over just 2 miles of hiking! We were beat to a pulp by the time we reached the "L" and then a little further to the top where the grave of David Malo is located, but the views of Lahaina and Kaanapali were excellent! Once you reach the "L", you know then it's just a hugh limestone figure of an "L", but from Lahaina, you think it's all made of stone or something like that. We took a very worn trail back down and stopped along the way in an old abandoned mill house where we took a small break. This is what our shoes and socks looked like when we got back home, imagine how we felt! A shower never felt sooooo good!

The next day we had some down time and no streneous hikes. We drove over to Makena beach and spent a few hours there. We both like that beach because it's secluded and a part of the beach is gay/nude (Little Makena Beach). I particularly like the waves there and always get slammed around pretty well, but, I love it! After the beach we read about a fairly short and easy hike (Waihee Valley) and it was just slightly out of our way on the way back so we did it. We were only into the hike for about 45 minutes when the second "foot bridge" was missing some slats and proved to be too risky to traverse across it but we did see some nice sights up to that point. There are several of these bridges along the way and make for some unusual water crossings. I found a neat hiding place along the way and hid there until Lyndon came looking for me. I think this was the foot bridge where Lyndon discovered the missing slats (further up) and where we turned around to go back. Our last shot of the day was a one of the both of us having enjoyed another wonderful day in paradise!

The following day we decided to drive around the north part of Maui and then take a hike on the Waihee Ridge. I will tell you that, on some parts of this drive, the road is very very narrow and, in some cases, if another car is coming, one of you may have to "put it in reverse" and navigate out of the way. All this when you're on a cliff, but, there are sights and places you'll not see anywhere else, so DO IT! There is a beautiful bay along the way that, based on the number of catamaran's there, must be for great snorkling! This unusual "hill" looks deceiving but I think it's at least 1200 feet high. Here's a closer shot of the same "hill" from the backside. There are at least two tiny communities that you drive through one of which has great shaved ice!
The Waihee Ridge hike was rated moderate but it proved to be the best hike we've ever taken so far. The views were wonderful, the hiking was not too difficult and we only met one person hiking up as we were descending. It's a beautiful hike and laced with lots of little things and views to see along the way. You literally hike into the clouds and from several vantage points along the way you can see the Waihee Valley trails we took the day before. Once at the top you have a picnic table so this would make a great picnic spot or a spot to rest like I did!

We really enjoyed our single island trip on Maui and can't wait for a return trip. I didn't spend a lot of time talking about some of the minor things we did on the trip, restaurants we ate at,our favorite island brewpub, etc., but if you'd like information just send us an email and we'd be happy to tell you what we know. After 7 trips so far, and more to come, we've picked up a few things ;)

I'll leave you with a few odd and end shots that didn't fit into the narration above.

Here is a shot of our condo with Lyndon on the balcony. Mark at the Maui airport waiting for our ride home (sigh). Sunset on the west Maui Mountains. The beach "around the corner" from Kannapali (which was a bit windy but made for great body surfing! Lyndon snoozing on the grass at the windsurfing beach on the northeast side of Maui.