Almost Dawn
The sun peaking through the clouds
When you dream of your Hawaii vacation, the last two things on your mind are thirty mile bike rides and waking up at 2 a.m. That is, unless you have planned to witness the awe-inspiring sunrise atop Haleakala Volcano followed by a a bike-ride descent to the bottom.
When I booked the tour, I was told, “Okay, we’ll pick you up at 2:30 on Sunday morning,” I immediately thought I had misheard them. “Huh? 2:30 in the morning!? To catch the sunrise?” Yes, they really meant 2:30 in the morning.
I reluctantly set my alarm for 2 a.m. and wondered if this was really going to be worth it. I woke up a few short hours later, layered up my clothes, and headed off to catch the shuttle. Still half-asleep, I jealously wished to be one of the late-night partygoers who were leaving the bars for bed as I passed them on the street.
As I stepped into the shuttle, I was relieved to see that the twelve other “sun-risers” were just as groggy as I was.
First, we drove from Lahaina to Kahului, near the airport, to the bike tour office. Here, the staff woke us up with some much-needed caffeine and sugar, providing coffee, tea, and muffins. After everyone completed the routine paperwork, we were good to go.
It was an hour drive up the mountain, and it was quite anticlimactic. We couldn’t see much in the darkness besides the burning sugar cane fields below, a technique used for harvesting. You could tell the road was windy and steep, which only intensified my apprehension about biking down later. I was shocked when we passed a sign warning “Ice on Road.” Were we still in Hawaii? We were almost at the top though, so I knew there was no turning back.
The freezing crowd patiently waiting
When we reached the summit I could not believe how many people were there to see the sunrise. There were hundreds of people waiting, and we still had 45 minutes until dawn. I suddenly felt stupid for thinking I was one of the only people crazy enough to do this. According to the park rangers, the weather was relatively mild for the top of Haleakala. It was 40 degrees, and I had dressed in layers, but I was still thankful for the jackets and gloves that Cruiser Phil’s supplied. There were some people in shorts and tank tops who were obviously regretting choosing fashion over function.
As the clock ticked away, closing in on dawn, the anticipation became surprisingly exciting. Cameras in hand, everyone was anxiously waiting for the orange ball of fire to emerge from the clouds. I felt like it was almost midnight on New Years Eve.
Sunrise atop Haleakala Crater
Finally! The moment we had sacrificed our REM sleep for! The sunrise was truly stunning, and it now made sense why so many people had raved about this experience. I found myself unable to stop taking pictures. It seemed the clouds and colors were changing to more dramatic shades of yellow, orange, and red as each second passed. Ten minutes and fifty pictures later, I made my way back to the shuttle to regroup.
The shuttle drove down, out of the park, and we assembled ourselves for the bike tour to the bottom. We were given a bike, a motocross-style helmet, and a few safety instructions before we started down the mountain. To set the pace, the most nervous or least experienced cyclists were put in front of the single-file line. Somehow I ended up in the back – a title I surely did not deserve, as I had not been on a bike in almost a year.
What I thought was going to be a strenuous mountain trek was actually almost effortless. Peddling was nonexistent and the only thing we had to worry about was controlling our speed with the breaks. The trickiest part was learning how to maneuver around the endless hairpin-turns. Memories (or nightmares) of the Road to Hana occasionally came to mind.
The Maui Countryside
Biking down the mountain
The scenery along the ride was beyond picturesque, and unlike anything you would expect when you picture Hawaii. No Palm trees or Plumerias here, I felt more like I was in a European countryside than a tropical island. As we winded in and out of forested turns and open fields, the landscape was reminiscent of an expensive car commercial. The views of the west side of Maui and the countryside below made me lose all concept of time, and before I knew it, we had completed the entire tour.
The time flew by, but I was impressed with how much I had learned about Haleakala Crater and the island of Maui. The guides were very knowledgeable on the ancient and modern Hawaiian history of the area. We stopped for breakfast in the small beach town of Paia on Maui’s north shore before being dropped off at our hotels. I could not wait to go sleep, but not until I looked through my camera and relived the entire sunrise over and over.
For more information on the Haleakala Sunrise Bike Tour, please visit Best Hawaii Activities
Our launch site was at the top of a hill called Echos which is about 4,500 feet above the sea level. Now I wasn’t too nervous until I had all the gear on my instructor Dexter said we were ready to go. But taking off was so much easier then I imagined and all we had to do was run for about 5-6 seconds so we could pick up a wind current and begin the flight. The flight was calm and peaceful while flying above the trees and with such great panoramic views of Maui and the ocean. The flight is a 1,000 ft descent that lasts for about 5 minutes. The landing was just as smooth as the take off and in a few running strides we were back on the ground.
