Hike to the sun, and her

Day 9
Halakala, Maui
54 F

I had told Charles on previous visits that I was not terribly interested in doing what I called “Special Forces hikes”.

Of course, those who know me know I enjoy hiking, and have wanted to get into geocaching for a while now... but also I am not in prime shape at the moment. So the hikes I do enjoy tend to be of the Wisconsin over-flat-terrain variety.

Despite all of the above facts, we did a Special Forces hike today. : )

The hike in question was at the top of one of the two twin mountain peaks on Maui, Haleakala. The drive up to the peak was amazing, climbing and climbing along twisting roads straight out of a BMW commercial, until we were about 10k feet up, definitely above the clouds. We were able to look down on Maui from the point of view of the gods, and even see the Big Island. Very cool.

An amazing part of all of this was the clothing of our little group. It was Charles and I, along with Vanessa and Kathy. Searay was working, so could not join us. The three locals were dressed up in layers, I kid you not. Vanessa in particular had snowpants, a parka, as well as a fleece layer... the works. They were all -quite- cold on the way up, and at the start of the hike.

I was in shorts and a t shirt, still quite acclimated to Madison and Chicago.

The hike was down into the crater's barren, desert -ike terrain formed by the extinct volcano Haleakala. As I had neglected to pack proper shoes of any kind, we had to stop off at WalMart where I picked up state of the art footgear. For $11.95. Ozark Trail brand, made no doubt by high skilled 13 year olds in Malaysia, receiving amazing compensation for the practice of their craft.

Anyway, the trail down was easy. I was all chatter, talking about school and interests and whatever else. I was in Pete Form. At the end ( where we stopped, more precisely ) Vanessa and Kathy hiked even a bit more the Charles and I, going around the ring of a cinder cone while Charles and I simply stood and took on the view, admiring the women for their go-get-em spirit and showing them our hairy asses in a moon.

: )

The hike up was... a bit different then the hike down.

At no point was I ever under any illusion that it was going to be easy, but I didn't expect it to be quite as hard as it was. The hike down was four miles down a fairly steep grade.

The hike back, as it happens, was about four miles-up- a fairly steep grade. A little less then your average stairway, but along a path aptly named “Sliding Sands”. Also, mind you, we were at about 10k, where there are considerably fewer oxygen molecules bouncing around in the air.

Charles, Kathy and Vanessa were all former triatheletes... in admirable shape, for their ages : )~

I, however, am not a triathelete. Not at the moment, anyway.

So, instead of relying on my fitness and body to get me back up, I had to rely on my mental stamina. I'm glad I have plenty of this; it came in handy.

I pushed myself pretty hard, and in that way the hike was a good one. Everyone else in the group was very cool about my being slower. They went on ahead so I could focus and continue at my own pace up the mountain.

After finishing, I had the sense that I'd really accomplished something. I had Pushed myself harder then I had in a while.

On a side-note: my body is kind of silly, in some ways. I -hate- running... I used to be fine -at- it, when I was in the military, but not -with- it. It seems to me that whatever tools one needs to get past that wall in your head when you run, I seem to lack.

I can do it, but I definitely don't dig it.

Other high-impact, high intensity stuff affects me the same way. Contrast this to other things... hiking, biking, paddling. I can do those things all day long, without prep. I don't need to stretch, and my body won't ache a bit the next day. My theory is that these activities, the more long-term low impact ones, rely on a different kind of mental stamina, one I have in ready and mountainous ( no pun intended ) supply.

Still, as I get older, I'd like to get better at the high-impact things. Take up running?

Hmmmmmm.

Anyway, the cruise down the mountain was leisurely and enjoyable, all of us trading more stories about ourselves. We dropped Vanessa off, then hit a Mexican place called Pinatas in Kahului before heading back.

At the condo, it was an easy evening, filled with wine and guitar playing and singing. A very cool way to round out the day.

I had plenty on my mind, that evening. : )