It’s launch day plus one for Going Dark.

Yesterday afternoon, instead of annoying my Twitter stream with “Hey, my book is out!” messages, I decided to go hiking on Haleakala’s Skyline Trail. This is an amazing route that starts at the summit and descends along the southwest rift zone into the forest at Polipoli State Park.

The complication with this hike is that you need someone to drop you off at the top and pick you up at the bottom. Luckily, my son had his day off, so we drafted him for that purpose. It turned into a fun afternoon, as well as a successful distraction from the stress of book launch.

Below: I call this “the road on the edge of the world.” This old road, which runs past the observatories and communications facilities at Haleakala’s summit, is the beginning of Skyline Trail:

Here’s the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope under construction:

Once past Science City, the pavement ends and the real trail begins:

And here’s an amazing view across the channel to the Big Island, where the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa can be seen above the clouds:

The trail descends from alpine cinder into shrubland, and then into a forest of introduced evergreens. We started late, and took a lot of time along the way for photos, so it was dark by the time we reached our pick up point.

Posted on: Wednesday, November 4th, 2015 at 9:59 am
Categories: Hawaii, Hiking.
Tags: Hiking Maui, Skyline Trail