lightspeed
Recycles dryer sheets
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- May 22, 2007
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Great trip report. I'm inspired.
PS: good to know there is another ex Navy diver on this board!
PS: good to know there is another ex Navy diver on this board!
Haleakala or bust...
- Thread starter Nords
- Start date
Thanks, but full disclosure: I was stationed at Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific 1997-2002, where part of my job involved "supervising"* the Pearl Harbor site of the submarine diver school and its dozen or so instructors. I [-]survived[/-] attended two weeks of the four-week "short" course but dropped out to take care of an unrelated incident in another division (but to the mutual relief of all parties). So I'm not a Navy diver and I never earned the pin or got the pay. Made a lot of great friends there, ate a lot of tako, was "awarded" one of their honorary fleece jackets, and was sorry to see the school get taken away by Panama City a few years later.
I have made nearly 100 SCUBA dives and been through the 1980s NAUI Assistant Instructor course.
Hohonu no ke kawa.
* The classic case of "Lead, follow, or get the hell out of the way, sir". We took good care of each other.
lightspeed
Recycles dryer sheets
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- May 22, 2007
- Messages
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We did our fair share in Monterey Bay with custom neoprene, but nothing like your hardcore drysuit territory!
ClifP, when the economy perks up we're going to have to take another look at that Chuuk trip...
Eight months later the swelling has gone down, our toenails have grown back, and we clearly must also be growing amnesiac. We just signed up to do it again in May with 10 of our closest friends.
The crater's cabins are in high demand and fill up about five minutes after the 90-day reservations window opens, so our hosts were actually apologizing that we'd be hiking "only" about five miles to the first cabin instead of going twice that distance to the "better" cabin. We're staying in Kapalaoa the first night, and only one night in Paliku the second night, and then over to Holua for the usual third night. Each one of the "short" 5-6 mile hikes has its different terrain and challenges but we should arrive at the cabins in better condition and a much perkier frame of mind, ready to explore the local area instead of just collapsing in exhaustion.
The hike was particularly hard on spouse because our borrowed/rental gear was sized for your average 5'10" 175-pound male instead of her frame. She spent a tremendous amount of time trying to get everything to stay put and not shift around as she was navigating the more treacherous parts of the trail. She's had a plebe year so she gutted through it but she was mostly more unhappy than me. However she took advantage of a recent Mainland trip to visit an REI store. They spent over an hour with her sizing a pack to her frame, showing her how to adjust all the straps & buckles, and locating other equipment. (It even has a space for a CamelBak.) Then they did the same for a pair of trekking poles so that she wouldn't have as much risk of stumbling and slicing her hand open on a lava outcrop. We now also each have 27-ounce warm-weather sleeping bags that are about the size of a half-gallon of milk. She also took advantage of a recent local sale to buy a serious pair of hiking shoes.
My legs are in much better shape than last year and I've been doing a lot more cardio, so the altitude won't bother me as much this year. Maybe I'll get a pair of hiking shoes too, but it's hard to balance "ventilation" with "won't let in lava dust". I might just stick with a sturdy pair of bouncy running shoes. Hopefully last year's horizontal rain was an anomaly, too, because I won't miss it one bit this year.
I doubt I'll get to an REI in the next few months (they're not in Hawaii) but we'll make the measurements from their website and buy my backpack online. I'm also going to have to find a good compact digital camera that operates on AA or AAA batteries so that I can get better photos of our smiling faces. No electricity in the crater.
Between the technology and our physical conditioning, to say nothing of having three months' warning, I don't think we'll feel that this is as much of a crucible as it was last year. I'm actually looking forward to it!
The crater's cabins are in high demand and fill up about five minutes after the 90-day reservations window opens, so our hosts were actually apologizing that we'd be hiking "only" about five miles to the first cabin instead of going twice that distance to the "better" cabin. We're staying in Kapalaoa the first night, and only one night in Paliku the second night, and then over to Holua for the usual third night. Each one of the "short" 5-6 mile hikes has its different terrain and challenges but we should arrive at the cabins in better condition and a much perkier frame of mind, ready to explore the local area instead of just collapsing in exhaustion.
The hike was particularly hard on spouse because our borrowed/rental gear was sized for your average 5'10" 175-pound male instead of her frame. She spent a tremendous amount of time trying to get everything to stay put and not shift around as she was navigating the more treacherous parts of the trail. She's had a plebe year so she gutted through it but she was mostly more unhappy than me. However she took advantage of a recent Mainland trip to visit an REI store. They spent over an hour with her sizing a pack to her frame, showing her how to adjust all the straps & buckles, and locating other equipment. (It even has a space for a CamelBak.) Then they did the same for a pair of trekking poles so that she wouldn't have as much risk of stumbling and slicing her hand open on a lava outcrop. We now also each have 27-ounce warm-weather sleeping bags that are about the size of a half-gallon of milk. She also took advantage of a recent local sale to buy a serious pair of hiking shoes.
My legs are in much better shape than last year and I've been doing a lot more cardio, so the altitude won't bother me as much this year. Maybe I'll get a pair of hiking shoes too, but it's hard to balance "ventilation" with "won't let in lava dust". I might just stick with a sturdy pair of bouncy running shoes. Hopefully last year's horizontal rain was an anomaly, too, because I won't miss it one bit this year.
I doubt I'll get to an REI in the next few months (they're not in Hawaii) but we'll make the measurements from their website and buy my backpack online. I'm also going to have to find a good compact digital camera that operates on AA or AAA batteries so that I can get better photos of our smiling faces. No electricity in the crater.
Between the technology and our physical conditioning, to say nothing of having three months' warning, I don't think we'll feel that this is as much of a crucible as it was last year. I'm actually looking forward to it!
GregLee
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
My wife and I hiked down into Haleakala a few years back. It was fun. Our most memorable moment was when we had camped where there was a lot of wind (Paliku?) and my wife had gone to considerable trouble to fix herself some split pea soup, the wind just scooped the soup right out of her bowl, before she had even a taste. Sad but funny.
Purron
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Nov 23, 2007
- Messages
- 5,596
And I'm looking forward to your pictures and hearing about the experience! DH and I did some extreme backpacking and hiking in our younger years. These days, my idea of "roughing it" is a hotel with no room service
Yeah, we're planning to bookend a couple nights at the Kula Lodge, too...These days, my idea of "roughing it" is a hotel with no room service
Ed_The_Gypsy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
I was three years in the Army. I was always disappointed that they gave no training on how to take care of our feet or our boots. All we got was, have two pair and rotate them each day. (Boots, not feet.) I hope that information comes with Advanced Infantry Training. By the way, I would be very interested in a good reference on either subject.
I'll ask my nephew the Army Ranger. I've heard him say before that clean, dry socks are the infantry's most powerful weapon.
Oh, sorry, maybe you meant Haleakala Crater or the Kula Lodge:
Haleakala National Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Haleakala National Park - Wilderness Cabins (U.S. National Park Service)
Just when you start to feel sorry for yourself in the cabin, you'll see someone camping nearby (having packed in their tent plus all of their fuel & cooking supplies) and you feel better about the rustic lodgings with their "padded" bunks. I'm hoping that there aren't any drought conditions-- if it doesn't rain then they don't fill the catchment tanks. Even then we have to pack in a day's water and boil the rest. They're already bringing in firewood/sawdust logs for the woodstoves by horse or by helicopter.
They say that Holua cabin is "only" 3.7 miles in, but that's an altitude change of at least 3000 feet (starting from 5000 or so) straight up countless switchbacks (maybe I'll keep better track this time). And when they say that Paliku cabin is a "strenuous" 10 miles, they ain't kidding. I think downhill was harder than uphill. Kapalaoa will be a very nice break from the Paliku marathon-- we'll arrive by 1-2 PM and be able to explore the area before sunset, and next day will be just a short jaunt down to Paliku. At Kapalaloa we'll also be high enough to stay above the evening mists and get a glimpse of the fabled night sky. And by the time we leave Holua on the fourth morning, my [-]pack will be almost empty[/-] leg muscles will be hard enough to scamper up that hillside.
Kula Lodge & Restaurant (Kula Maui) - Upcountry Maui Lodging, Dining & Shopping
That view from their diningroom is an elevation of about 5000-6000 feet, all the way to the ocean...
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toofrugalformycat
Full time employment: Posting here.
That's really scary that they didn't tell you how to take care of your feet. As a (nonmilitary) veteran of many long hikes in the wilderness (mostly when I was younger), here is a short summary.
Buy boots with room for two pair of socks, with room in the toebox for when you go down steep hills. Your shoe store should have someplace for you to test hiking downhill. Try several pairs until one fits you well, has room in the toebox, and doesn't slip around when you walk up or downhill. If your heel lifts up off the bottom of the boot, ask for instruction in how to tie the boots (seriously). If it still lifts, the boot does not fit you.
Two pairs of socks are best, a light liner and then a heavier sock over that, to decrease friction. Or just two pair of regular socks is good enough. Some socks (Smartwool is one brand) have two layers built in. Change socks when they get damp if possible. Try to get them dry overnight if you can. This applies to warm and cold temperature hiking.
If you feel a blister coming on (skin feels warm in one spot), take care of it right away if you can. The most effective thing to do in my experience is to put moleskin on it. I hope they still make it (I used to find it in drug stores in the foot section).
This from Wikipedia:
"Moleskin can be coated with an adhesive backing and used to prevent or treat friction injuries of the feet. In the case of a blister, the moleskin is cut into an "O" shape so the fabric does not adhere to the blister directly; the thickness of the surrounding moleskin protects the blister from further friction."
If you don't have moleskin, cover the hot spot with a bandaid. If you don't have a bandaid, make one out of duct tape. Do not go into the wilderness without duct tape.
Surely there is information out there on foot care for hikers?
Ed_The_Gypsy
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Thanks, toofrugal. I figured out the toe space myself long ago. I have to look into moleskin.
Sorry, Nords. Still on feet.
Sorry, Nords. Still on feet.
Wow - I missed this post last year - but hey, awesome on the redo this year! We've always wanted to hike the volcano - although I might do a day hike instead of what you guys did - Yes, gear makes a huge difference. When I went back to the states last time, I found an REI as well - I bought myself a pair of hiking 'boots' with Vibram so I wouldn't slip an fall on my a$$ all the time. I had a nice pair of REI brand before, but the soles were too slippery - the problem is finding a nice pair that is comfortable, stiff enough and yet grippy.
We did two days of hiking in the Tatras, Poland, last 4th of July - I don't know what it is, but we seem to pick trips for the 4th of July which are killers for us. The previous year it was bking around Bodensee - I remember lying on my hotel bed one night and asking myself why I signed up for that trip. Last year it was the hike - we ended up doing 30 km in one day up, down, up and down - it was 8 hours of hiking - sheesh. The next day we did an all down - that was worse - downhill always is - eccentric contractions rip up the muscles. We drove into Zakopane for dinner and had to take some stairs to a shopping area - both I and the other lady had to hold onto the rail and slowly go down the stairs....uggh. But hey, we keep doing it - have signed up for a three day Bike the Danube for this 4th of July.....sigh. I guess for me it's all about the experience as well as proving to myself I can still do it. I have ruptured both ACLs as well as two reconstructive surgeries to prove it (in skiing)
Off topic - got the stitches out today, no crutches, brace for four more weeks and I'm only 10 days post - op - PT says I'll sail through this - I hope so....
We did two days of hiking in the Tatras, Poland, last 4th of July - I don't know what it is, but we seem to pick trips for the 4th of July which are killers for us. The previous year it was bking around Bodensee - I remember lying on my hotel bed one night and asking myself why I signed up for that trip. Last year it was the hike - we ended up doing 30 km in one day up, down, up and down - it was 8 hours of hiking - sheesh. The next day we did an all down - that was worse - downhill always is - eccentric contractions rip up the muscles. We drove into Zakopane for dinner and had to take some stairs to a shopping area - both I and the other lady had to hold onto the rail and slowly go down the stairs....uggh. But hey, we keep doing it - have signed up for a three day Bike the Danube for this 4th of July.....sigh. I guess for me it's all about the experience as well as proving to myself I can still do it. I have ruptured both ACLs as well as two reconstructive surgeries to prove it (in skiing)
Off topic - got the stitches out today, no crutches, brace for four more weeks and I'm only 10 days post - op - PT says I'll sail through this - I hope so....
