• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

* * *

GOING DOWNHILL

It was once one of Maui’s most popular tourist activities: get a van ride to Haleakalā summit for the sunrise and then hop on a bicycle and cruise 38 miles down the 10,000ft mountain, snaking along winding roads all the way to the coast. What a rush. No pedaling involved. Whooo-ooo.

Except that over the years it became too popular. Downhill bicycle tour companies multiplied. Some mornings as many as 1000 cyclists huddled at the crater overlooks jostling for space to watch the sun rise. Then, group by group, they’d get on their bikes and take off.

Residents who needed to use the Upcountry roads for more mundane reasons, such as getting to work, were forced to slow to a crawl, waiting for a gaggle of cyclists and their support van to pull over to let them pass. The narrow roads have few shoulders, so the wait was often a long one. And, once one group of cyclists had passed, there was the next one. ‘Road rage’ finally made it into the vernacular in the otherwise mellow Upcountry.

Then there were the accidents. They often involved people who hadn’t been on a bicycle in years, or scarcely knew how to ride. Sometimes the weather was bad, with fog cutting visibility to near zero. Whatever the reasons, ambulance calls for injured downhill cyclists became weekly occurrences. After two cyclist fatalities in 2007, Haleakalā National Park suspended all bicycle tour operations. Studies are still underway to determine if commercial cycle tours can return and operate safely. Considering the track record, and the road issues, this appears to be one park activity doomed to extinction.

* * *

Perched atop Pu′u′ula′ula, Maui’s highest point, is the summit building providing a top-of-the-world panorama from its wraparound windows. On a clear day you can see the Big Island, Lana′i, Moloka′i and even O′ahu. When the light’s right, the colors of the crater from the summit are nothing short of spectacular, with an array of grays, greens, reds and browns. A garden of silversword has been planted at the overlook, making this the best place to see these luminous silver-leafed plants in various stages of growth.

MAGNETIC PEAK

The iron-rich cinders in this flat-top hill, which lies immediately southeast of the summit in the direction of the Big Island, pack enough magnetism to play havoc with your compass. Modest looking as it is, it’s also – at 10,008ft – the second-highest point on Maui.

Science City

On the Big Island’s Mauna Kea, scientists study the night sky. At Haleakalā, appropriately enough, they study the sun. Off-limits to visitors, Science City, which lies just beyond the summit, is under the jurisdiction of the University of Hawai′i. The university owns some of the domes, and leases other land for a variety of research projects.

Department of Defense–related projects here include laser technology associated with the ‘Star Wars’ project, satellite tracking and identification, and a deep-space surveillance system. The Air Force’s Maui Space Surveillance System, an electro-optical state-of-the-art facility used for satellite tracking, is the largest telescope anywhere in use by the Department of Defense. The system is capable of identifying a basketball-size object in space 22,000 miles away. The Faulkes Telescope, a joint University of Hawai′i and UK operation, is dedicated to raising interest in astronomy among students, with a fully robotic telescope that can be controlled in real time via the internet from classrooms in both Britain and Hawaii.

ACTIVITIES

Be sure to stop at the Park Headquarters Visitor Center to see what’s happening during your visit. All park programs offered by the National Park Service are free. Ranger talks on Haleakalā’s unique natural history and Hawaiian culture are given at the Haleakalā Visitor Center and the Pu′u′ula′ula (Red Hill) Overlook; the schedule varies, but they typically take place between 7am and 1pm and there’s usually half a dozen to choose from daily.