Crews In The Wild

Welcome to my first blog post about Hawaii. I visited my 27th and 28th national parks for my 28th birthday. I stayed in hostels because it was cheaper than booking a hotel or Airbnb which makes a huge difference when you’re traveling solo. I stayed at Howzit Hostels in Maui and on the Big Island of Hawaii. It cost anywhere from $55-65 a night. They give free chocolate chip pancakes and coffee for breakfast. It was a great deal if you don’t mind sharing a room with 7 other people. I personally don’t mind because I have stayed in hostels before, and it’s a great way to meet new people and make friends.

Day 1 I spent hiking on my birthday in Haleakala National Park. I hiked the Halemau’u Trail to see the Haleakala crater. If you do hike this trail I do recommend lots of sunscreen. There is no shade and if you’re a pasty white girl like me you will definitely burn and level up to a lobster. The trail is 4.2 miles round trip. The views are incredible and the trail is not crowded. There are other people on it so you won’t be totally alone but you won’t feel like you’re constantly being stepped on.

Later on that day I went on sunset dinner cruise with Trilogy Excursions. I couldn’t recommend them enough. It was the perfect end to an amazing birthday. The food was delicious. It was a gorgeous sunset, and we got to see two whales which was perfect considering whale season had ended the day before in Hawaii. I will admit though I was the only single person on this cruise. It definitely gave couple’s cruise but I ended up talking to a couple next to me. The food and views were definitely worth the price. It was $198 which includes a 2.5 hr cruise with a four course dinner and unlimited drinks.

Day 2 in Hawaii was a bit of an adventure to say the least. I had made plans to hike Pipiwai Trail on the other side of Haleakala National Park. It was gonna be a little over 2 hour drive. Little did I know Google Maps was gonna take me on an adventure. I was driving, and I came across a road closed sign which I thought was weird considering the skies were clear and the road was paved. Also there was another truck coming from the other direction so like any good carefree solo traveler I drove around the sign. Well that was a rookie mistake. Everything was fine until the last 7 miles. The road turned into one way gravel. I was thinking “Oh crap what am I going to do if a car comes from the other direction? I could get driven off a cliff.” Well guess what I came across four construction trucks. The way I was praying to Jesus and I was sweating bullets. I’m pretty sure my guardian angel was like why didn’t you read the sign and turn around. I survived without running off the road, but once I got to the end of the road I saw a huge road closed only for local traffic sign. I was like oopsy daisy my bad, and I know every single construction truck probably looked at me like stupid main lander.

I hiked the Pipiwai trail which was 4 miles round trip. It was a lush bamboo rainforest. It was so peaceful listening to the bamboo rattling against each other. At the end of the trail is Waimoku Falls. After finishing Pipiwai trail, I did Kuloa Point Trail. It is a short little 0.5 mile trail. It was an easy trail with a gorgeous black sand beach and waterfalls. After I left I did the smart thing and took the correct road which is the Road to Hana. Its absolutely beautiful but is a very windy road with plenty of one lane bridges. I traveled to Ho’okipa which the signature turtle beach where the turtles are just chilling and sunbathing on the beach. Honestly sounds like a dream to sunbathe the day away. You know those turtles are living their best lives in Hawaii getting a little tan on the beach. After the beach, I ended the day eating at Paia Fish Market which serves huge portions. The fresh fish plate is so delicious. I finished the night off with shaved ice because when in Maui you have to have shaved ice or else did you really go to Maui. I went to Tobi’s Shave Ice and had the POG.

Day 3 I squeezed a quick little hike before getting on a plane to Kona. Little did I know I would get extremely muddy. I hiked the Waihee Ridge Trail which is 4.2 miles round trip. It took me 3 hours. I would recommend showing up to the trail in the morning not long after they open up at 7 am. The parking lot fills up pretty quickly and also bring hiking poles because on the way down it is slippery due to the mud. The hardest part was probably navigating the mud. I fell four times going down but luckily on my butt every time so it made for a nice cushion the way down. I made it without injuries. Praise God! Some sections were not as slick as others but the views were magical. It blew me away how beautiful it was. I ended up getting lucky with pictures because 15 minutes after I started hiking down a dense fog set in and made it impossible to take photos at the top. After my hike, I had to get a quick little treat before getting on the plane and get cleaned up which means another shaved ice. This time was at Ululani’s Hawaiian Shave Ice. After arriving in Kona, I drove to Hilo to my hostel and had dinner at Jackie Reye’s.

Day 4 I checked off my 28th national park Hawaii Volcanoes. I hiked multiple trails while there. In total, I hiked around 11 miles that day because many of the trails were connected to each other so I figured why not see where this trail leads. I did Kilauea Iki, Crater Rim, Thurston Lava Tube, Devastation and Byron Ledge trails. All of these trails are pretty short and easy to do. You can easily break them apart into multiple days, but I just wanted to keep exploring. The volcano was due for an eruption while I was there unfortunately it didn’t erupt until the day I left. Oh well we still have time to see a volcano eruption on another adventure someday.

After leaving Hawaii Volcanoes, I made the executive decision to see the sunset at Mauna Kea. This is where the fun begins. Mauna Kea is the tallest summit in all of Hawaii. It is 13,803 feet which is pretty wild going from sea level to over 13,000 feet. It’s giving altitude sickness. When driving to Mauna Kea, you have to stop at the visitor center for 30 minutes to get accustomed to the change in elevation. The visitor center is 9,200 feet elevation.

When you leave the park rangers check with you to make sure you feel ok and aren’t feeling any altitude sickness. The park ranger asked, “How do you feel?” I said, “I was fine.” He checked my gas because in order to go up this mountain you need at least 1/2 tank of gas because as you go up you can only drive 20 mph and this will surely eat up your gas the further you go up. Another stipulation to go up is you need to have AWD or 4WD which my rental had AWD so I passed that test. I got a big surprise when he said, “You have to put your car in the L gear on the way down.” I was thinking, “Huh are you crazy?” I looked at him like London Tipton looked at Moseby in Suite Life of Zack and Cody and was like yeah the PRNDL. You know the PRNDL. In all of my 28 years of life I have never used the L gear. I thought it was just for looks. I was like I do not use the L gear in driving. I use an L to spell my name and I take L’s in my love life, but I do not use the L gear ever. I think he saw the fear in my eyes and he said “Let’s check to see if it works.” Well lucky me it worked.

He cleared me to go up. I’m thinking ok time to put your big girl panties on and suck it up. You can do hard things. “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgement.” (2 Timothy 1:7). This verse got me through nursing school and many nerve wracking situations. The way up is mostly gravel with the last 1 1/2 mile being paved. The entire time I praying to Jesus. I definitely felt the altitude on the way up. I had some chest pain whenever I took a deep breath I could feel my chest tightening, but I was like push through you got this. I’ve hiked in Peru so I was like you can handle a little altitude. It was totally worth it. The sunset was so incredibly beautiful I got a little teary eyed. The beauty of God’s creation always blows my mind but this was truly breathtaking. It reminded me of the bible verse “Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” (Genesis 1:3).

Now the true test of bravery came when going downhill. I put my car in L and prayed for the best. The park ranger told me to set it to whatever I felt comfortable and to keep it at 20 mph. Also be careful with the brakes because if you’re too brake happy you can overheat your brakes and go into brake failure. So no pressure but I was shaking in my boots cause I was real nervous. I was like try to not to ride off this mountain due to brake failure. I get back to the visitor center where they check the temp of your brakes before letting you drive off. The park ranger said, “Your brakes are too hot, and you need to stay to let them cool off.” I knew he was right because I could smell burnt rubber, and I just started laughing uncomfortably. He showed me how hot and my eyes bugged out of my head when I saw 387. My brain was saying, “That’s higher than the number of days in a year. Oh Jesus heaven help me.” So I had to wait at the visitor center for 30 minutes after which ending up being the best decision because the stars came out and they were so vibrant and bright due to there being no light pollution. Excuse the quality I don’t have a professional grade camera. All I have is an iPhone. I ended up making it safely back to my hostel without my brakes failing. Praise God!

Day 5 I went to see some local waterfalls. These waterfalls you don’t hike to so they were easy to see. I went to Akaka Falls, Rainbow Falls, and Boiling Pots. The only one with an actual trail is Akaka Falls which 0.5 mile round trip. When visiting these falls you do have to pay a fee when visiting and parking. It is $15 for each place. Afterwards I hit up one more trail at Hawaii Volcanoes. The Pu’u Huluhulu trail is 3 miles round trip. It takes you through volcanic rock and an old eruption site.

Final day in Hawaii, I planned to hike Pololu Trail and Green Sand Beach. Pololu Trail is 1.2 miles round trip with 878 ft elevation loss on the way down. On the way down is pretty steep but manageable once you get to the bottom of the trail is the a beautiful black sand beach and the Pololu Valley. After leaving the trail the girls who complete the trail get a flower. Then on the way to Green Sand Beach I hit up a local food truck and had a Hawaii bowl, smoothie, and hibiscus tea.

There are 4 green sand beaches in the entire world. Green sand beaches are created from the after effects of a volcanic eruption. The trail to Green Sand Beach is 6 miles round trip if you’re hiking. However, I did see people off roading on this trail to get to the beach. It is very rocky for vehicles so 4WD is needed but rental vehicles are not allowed. That’s why I didn’t take mine because I already pushing it with the rental agreement when I had my spicy hot brakes on the way down from Mauna Kea. I was like let’s not push my luck again because I don’t think my guardian angel can handle it. If you’re expecting a bright green beach this beach is definitely not that it’s more like an army green. After leaving the trail I had to get one more fancy dinner in Hawaii. If you’re ever in Hilo I would definitely recommend Moon and Turtle. Everything there is absolutely delicious and the dishes are meant to be shared so they are nice sized portions.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my travels in Hawaii and laughed along at my misadventures. Follow along if you want read about my adventures through more national parks and around the world.

Yours truly,

Crews In The Wild