Hawaii - Jeff Campbell [346]
SLEEPING
To spend the night at Haleakalā is to commune with nature. The camping options are primitive: no electricity or showers. Backcountry campgrounds have pit toilets and limited nonpotable water supplies that are shared with the crater cabins. Water needs to be filtered or chemically treated before drinking; conserve it, as water tanks occasionally run dry. Fires are allowed only in grills, and in times of drought are prohibited entirely. You must pack in all your food and supplies and pack out all your trash. Keep in mind that sleeping at an elevation of 7000ft isn’t like camping on the beach. You need to be well equipped – without a waterproof tent and a winter-rated sleeping bag, forget it.
Camping
The park has just one drive-up camping area: Hosmer Grove campground. Surrounded by lofty trees and adjacent to one of Maui’s best birding trails, this campground at an elevation of 6800ft tends to be cloudy but a covered picnic pavilion offers shelter if it starts to rain. Facilities include grills, toilets and running water. Camping is free on a first-come, first-served basis. No permit is required, though there’s a three-day camping limit per month. It’s busier in summer than in winter and is often full on holiday weekends. The campground is just after the park entrance booth.
For hikers, two backcountry campgrounds lie on the floor of Haleakalā Crater. The easiest to reach is at Holua, 3.7 miles down the Halemau′u Trail. The other is at Paliku, below a rain-forest ridge at the end of Halemau′u Trail. Weather can be unpredictable at both. Holua is typically dry with clouds rolling in during the late afternoon. Paliku is in a grassy meadow, with skies overhead alternating between stormy and sunny. Wasps are present at both campsites, so take precautions if you’re allergic to stings.
Permits (free) are required for crater camping. They’re issued at the Park Headquarters Visitor Center on a first-come, first-served basis between 8am and 3pm on the day of the hike. Camping is limited to three nights in the crater each month, with no more than two consecutive nights at either campground. Only 25 campers are allowed at each site, so permits can go quickly when large parties show up, a situation more likely to occur in summer.
Cabins
Three rustic cabins (per cabin with 1-12 people $75) dating from the 1930s lie along trails on the crater floor at Holua, Kapalaoa and Paliku. Each has a wood-burning stove, two propane burners, cooking utensils, 12 bunks with sleeping pads (but no bedding), pit toilets, and a limited supply of water and firewood.
Hiking distances to the cabins from the crater rim range from 4 to 9 miles. The driest conditions are at Kapalaoa, in the middle of the cinder desert off Sliding Sands Trail. Those craving lush rain forest will find Paliku serene. Holua has unparalleled sunrise views. There’s a three-day limit per month, with no more than two consecutive nights in any cabin. Each cabin is rented to only one group at a time.
The demand is so high that the National Park Service holds a monthly lottery to award reservations! To enter, your reservation request must be received two months prior to the first day of the month of your proposed stay (eg requests for cabins on any date in July must arrive before May 1). Your chances increase if you list alternate dates within the same calendar month and choose weekdays rather than weekends. Only written (no phone) reservation requests (Haleakalā National Park, PO Box 369, Makawao, HI 96768, Attn: Cabins) are accepted for the lottery. Include your name, address, phone number, specific dates and cabins requested. Only winners are notified.
If you miss the lottery, don’t write the cabins off. Cancellations often result in last-minute vacancies, and occasionally occur a few weeks in advance as well. You can check for vacancies