Anyone here hiked Haleakala crater?
A friend has invited spouse & me to join his 12-person hiking group at a Haleakala cabin. He's been leading this for several decades but two of their group are dropping out due to injuries. My impression of the Haleakala lottery is that it's darn hard to win, and of course going with such an experienced group is probably the chance of a lifetime.
He's going to talk through everything before we go, but I'm trying tonot look like a complete idiot be ready to ask good questions. We're especially looking for a list of "lightweight things we wish we'd brought to Haleakala" for three nights of cabin camping. At the same time I'm hoping to avoid spending hundreds of dollars on gizmos.
The plan is to start with an overnight at a hotel in Kahului or Kula to meet the group and finish any last-minute shopping. Next morning we'll muster at the visitor center for the NPS' mandatory 8 AM indoctrination video... and then start marching. Nine miles to the east (and 3000 feet down) we'll arrive at the Paliku cabin, where we'll spend two nights. We're on our own for lunches & snacks but two of us will rotate cooking duties on the other meals for the whole group, so in addition to our own food we need to plan (and pack) a menu for one meal for 12. On crater day three we'll hike back six miles to the Holua cabin and next morning we'll hike four miles up the switchbacks to the park HQ. After hauling out of the crater, we dirty dozen will descend upon a group member's house for showers and a change of clothes before going to a local restaurant to celebrate. We'll fly home that night.
Our friend's probably been planning this trip for months (perhaps since he finished last year's hike) and he sounded tremendously relieved that we could go on short notice. He's much too polite to get into the details but I bet he made a lot of calls before he got to our names on the "D list". (I don't know if they have to fill a 12-person lottery group but losing a sixth of the hikers drives up everyone else's share of the costs.) He's in his 60s and I think everyone else is in their 50s/60s. Spouse and I have talked casually about taking up hiking again when we're empty nesters but we sure didn't expect to get back into it like this. We're both camping & day-hiking veterans but for the last couple decades it's just been Diamond Head, Makapu'u Point, and Brownies. We've hiked at altitude and know what to expect for thin air & sunshine. I backpacked for a couple weeks in the 1970s but I suspect that technology has changed a bit since then. We're both skinny and in good shape (taekwondo & walking), and above all else we are extraordinarily [-]stubborn[/-] persistent. I'm hoping that what's left of my knee cartilage doesn't mind carrying an extra 25-30 pounds but we're also gonna carry plenty of ibuprofen & sports creme. We've endured plenty of environmental misery during our Navy years. We're pretty confident that we can do this, but we're hoping to avoid blissful ignorance.
I've read the NPS & Haleakala websites. The cabins appear to have 12 bunks, outhouses, rainwater, propane kitchens, and utensils. (Water has to be boiled or dosed.) We have to provide pretty much everything else, including sleeping bags & food and probably toilet paper. I'm not sure that there's heat, and this time of year it gets down to the 40s at night. The weather includes mist & rain. No bathing facilities-- baby wipes or a solar-shower bag. We're going to rent backpacks/frames and bring most of our camping gear but we want to travel light. For example I wouldn't mind having a set of binoculars but I don't think I'm gonna be humping around my Navy 7x50s. I'll carry a digital camera but I'm hoping not to have to carry a bunch of spare batteries. At least we don't have to carry four days of drinking water or firewood.
Any other websites, checklists, or suggestions that'll help us avoid newbie mistakes? If you've been there before, is there anything you wish you'd done differently?
A friend has invited spouse & me to join his 12-person hiking group at a Haleakala cabin. He's been leading this for several decades but two of their group are dropping out due to injuries. My impression of the Haleakala lottery is that it's darn hard to win, and of course going with such an experienced group is probably the chance of a lifetime.
He's going to talk through everything before we go, but I'm trying to
The plan is to start with an overnight at a hotel in Kahului or Kula to meet the group and finish any last-minute shopping. Next morning we'll muster at the visitor center for the NPS' mandatory 8 AM indoctrination video... and then start marching. Nine miles to the east (and 3000 feet down) we'll arrive at the Paliku cabin, where we'll spend two nights. We're on our own for lunches & snacks but two of us will rotate cooking duties on the other meals for the whole group, so in addition to our own food we need to plan (and pack) a menu for one meal for 12. On crater day three we'll hike back six miles to the Holua cabin and next morning we'll hike four miles up the switchbacks to the park HQ. After hauling out of the crater, we dirty dozen will descend upon a group member's house for showers and a change of clothes before going to a local restaurant to celebrate. We'll fly home that night.
Our friend's probably been planning this trip for months (perhaps since he finished last year's hike) and he sounded tremendously relieved that we could go on short notice. He's much too polite to get into the details but I bet he made a lot of calls before he got to our names on the "D list". (I don't know if they have to fill a 12-person lottery group but losing a sixth of the hikers drives up everyone else's share of the costs.) He's in his 60s and I think everyone else is in their 50s/60s. Spouse and I have talked casually about taking up hiking again when we're empty nesters but we sure didn't expect to get back into it like this. We're both camping & day-hiking veterans but for the last couple decades it's just been Diamond Head, Makapu'u Point, and Brownies. We've hiked at altitude and know what to expect for thin air & sunshine. I backpacked for a couple weeks in the 1970s but I suspect that technology has changed a bit since then. We're both skinny and in good shape (taekwondo & walking), and above all else we are extraordinarily [-]stubborn[/-] persistent. I'm hoping that what's left of my knee cartilage doesn't mind carrying an extra 25-30 pounds but we're also gonna carry plenty of ibuprofen & sports creme. We've endured plenty of environmental misery during our Navy years. We're pretty confident that we can do this, but we're hoping to avoid blissful ignorance.
I've read the NPS & Haleakala websites. The cabins appear to have 12 bunks, outhouses, rainwater, propane kitchens, and utensils. (Water has to be boiled or dosed.) We have to provide pretty much everything else, including sleeping bags & food and probably toilet paper. I'm not sure that there's heat, and this time of year it gets down to the 40s at night. The weather includes mist & rain. No bathing facilities-- baby wipes or a solar-shower bag. We're going to rent backpacks/frames and bring most of our camping gear but we want to travel light. For example I wouldn't mind having a set of binoculars but I don't think I'm gonna be humping around my Navy 7x50s. I'll carry a digital camera but I'm hoping not to have to carry a bunch of spare batteries. At least we don't have to carry four days of drinking water or firewood.
Any other websites, checklists, or suggestions that'll help us avoid newbie mistakes? If you've been there before, is there anything you wish you'd done differently?
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