Wrapped in a blanket and surrounded by fleece, I still felt my knees knocking together, bracing themselves in the windy and cold conditions. It was dark. So dark that the only light was the milky way and shooting stars. And my cell phone.
I somehow roused myself out of bed at 2:45 AM to go see the famous sunrise at Haleakala Crater. They said be there an hour before sunrise and that it takes an hour and a half to get there. Sunrise is at 5:38 AM, which means we were out the door by 3.
We drove through the seemingly abandoned roads. Our car, Lilo, chugged her way up the twisting turns all the way up to 10,000 feet, the only light from our headlights. Although I couldn't see, I could feel the sharp face of the mountain outside the passenger side door, plummeting below. I had to remind myself to breathe.
I was not at all prepared with how cold the mountain was. I was in Hawaii! Why would I need a WINTER coat. Nevertheless, after rummaging through closets, I found enough layers for the morning to be bearable. There was no light in the sky when we arrived, yet little by little a blue appeared in the far east, outlining the faint shapes of the surrounding crater.
People dressed in all sorts of wacky winter wear clung to their cameras, angling for the perfect shot. For children, and there were some, I could see this as being anti-climactic. Why are mom and dad dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night for THIS?! But for the older folks, it was waiting for beauty.
As the new light of day filled the sky, the smokey clouds lit up and the sky became an eerie shade of green and purple. At 10,000 feet, we were above the clouds, so I could watch them move effortlessly over the lip of the crater and into the valley. The clouds looked like pillows and I felt as if I were dancing on heaven. It was very peaceful.
But after standing out in the freezing cold, you could imagine I was getting my feezing self back into the freezing car. By 6:30 or so, Nina and I were on our way back down the mountain for a short hike. It was already warmer, so I stripped off some of my layers. After the hike, we met a couple of nice hawaiians who were looking for a ride back up the mountain so they could undertake their 6 hour hike. We happily obliged and gained insight on the best beaches for scuba diving.
I collapsed into bed at 10 AM, already full of the days adventures, realizing for many, the day hadn't even started yet.
I somehow roused myself out of bed at 2:45 AM to go see the famous sunrise at Haleakala Crater. They said be there an hour before sunrise and that it takes an hour and a half to get there. Sunrise is at 5:38 AM, which means we were out the door by 3.
We drove through the seemingly abandoned roads. Our car, Lilo, chugged her way up the twisting turns all the way up to 10,000 feet, the only light from our headlights. Although I couldn't see, I could feel the sharp face of the mountain outside the passenger side door, plummeting below. I had to remind myself to breathe.
I was not at all prepared with how cold the mountain was. I was in Hawaii! Why would I need a WINTER coat. Nevertheless, after rummaging through closets, I found enough layers for the morning to be bearable. There was no light in the sky when we arrived, yet little by little a blue appeared in the far east, outlining the faint shapes of the surrounding crater.
People dressed in all sorts of wacky winter wear clung to their cameras, angling for the perfect shot. For children, and there were some, I could see this as being anti-climactic. Why are mom and dad dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night for THIS?! But for the older folks, it was waiting for beauty.
But after standing out in the freezing cold, you could imagine I was getting my feezing self back into the freezing car. By 6:30 or so, Nina and I were on our way back down the mountain for a short hike. It was already warmer, so I stripped off some of my layers. After the hike, we met a couple of nice hawaiians who were looking for a ride back up the mountain so they could undertake their 6 hour hike. We happily obliged and gained insight on the best beaches for scuba diving.
I collapsed into bed at 10 AM, already full of the days adventures, realizing for many, the day hadn't even started yet.
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