Maui Trip - Day 5 (Part 3 of 3)

 

I took one last picture and headed towards the top for some more punishment.  The smile here is really hiding quite a lot of pain and suffering that was going on.  Up here, it was also a lot cooler, and you can see I put on my vest to try to keep a bit warmer.  Truth be told, though, I climbed about another mile or two and started to do some assessment on how I was really doing.  I had been climbing for just over four hours straight, had covered about 8200 vertical feet, and probably had another three to four miles to still go.  It doesn't seem like much, but at my current pace it would have taken about 30-45 more minutes.  That would have put me at close to 4:30-4:45 for the ascent and then I would have to deal with the full descent.

I ultimately (and wisely) decided to turn back just a bit short of the summit.  Part of me looks back at the decision and wishes I pushed through, but it's better to live to ride another day and I wanted to be a functioning part of the family for the days to come on the trip.  Truth be told, that was an absolutely punishing climb that was everything I had hoped it would be and more.  The descent was wild, as well as you just rip down this road the descends seemingly forever.  I did stop at this store about half-way down and consumed an entire bag of potato chips and a huge bottle of coke to try to get some more calories in my body.  All in all, the total ride time was 4:48 minutes with 8200 vertical and a 217 estimated TSS.  Besides the regret of not getting to the top, my other regret was not having my power meter to capture my power averages.  I am sure it would have been some of my best power output for that duration that I have put out.  I think this just means I need to come back for a 2nd attempt at some point.

After returning back to the family and taking a short nap, we were on a mission to test out Maui's legendary shave ice.  This is Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice in Kihei.  The line was long, so that is usually a good sign of things to come.

It was actually so long that we were getting nervous that we wouldn't make the cut before they closed for the evening, but we did in the end.  The shave ice is kind of weird.  It's like a nice soft, fine snow that is packed into a ball and then topped with tons of sugary flavors.  I will say it was quite amazing and do recommend it for anyone visiting!

Maui Trip - Day 5 (Part 2 of 3)

 

As the miles tick by, so does the altitude.  Some cruel soul placed an altitude marker on the road for every 1000 feet of altitude gain which serves as a gentle reminder of how far you have come and how far you have to still go.  The climb itself takes you through a series of different environments and almost separate climate zones.  It is quite amazing to experience!  The lower slopes start with grassy fields and then you progress into pine forested zones, more grass fields, some eucalyptus forests, and then progressing to more of a shrub zone up top of the volcano.

After miles and miles of many hours of climbing, the last push starts at the Haleakala National Park entrance.  This truly is just a battle of endurance at this point.

Once through the gates, there are these sweeping switchbacks that are about a mile in length for each leg, but still just continue to push upwards at a crazy pace.

About a mile into the last push, there is the Headquarters Visitor station.  I stopped to refill some water bottles and contemplated life.  It's a pretty crazy view and several people in cars that were at the station were giving me some funny looks as I rolled away in my bike.

Maui Trip - Day 5 (Part 1 of 3)

 

After several days of snorkeling, hiking, and exploring, I had this idea to look into renting a bike to get in some riding.  I also brought a bike kit just in case the opportunity arose.  Thankfully, there are a few shops around the island that rent bikes.  I also started reading about this legendary ride up Haleakala and I was sold!  I figured, how hard could it be...I am reasonably fit and from Colorado so it should all just be fine.  The formal route starts at the beach, as seen above, and climbs almost 10,000 ft to the top of the volcano.  Seems pretty epic!

I wasn't quite sure how long the ride would actually take, but this bike shop (Maui Sunriders Bike in Paia) opened at 8 am, so I showed up as their first customer for the day to get as early of a start as I could.  I knew it would take a bit to get the fit right and sorted to start riding.  The rental process was smooth and we discussed my route.  The guy setting up my bike was actually from Colorado, but the crew there seemed to be pretty skeptical of my biking skills as I inquired about the climb.  They said it would typically take people five to seven hours for the ride up, but I was hoping to be closer to the four-to-five-hour range.

Welp, this face from about 15 minutes into the climb basically tells the whole story of the day.  I started off at the beach, which was pretty neat and the climb immediate ramps to an 8-10% gradient that never, ever relents.  Couple that with the scorching heat of Maui and a nice 10-15 mph head wind and I quickly knew I was in for quite the adventure.

The lower slopes of the volcano (after you get out of town) are really pretty and there are tons of open grass fields as you wind your way up.  If you zoom in on picture all the way at the top of the mountain is where I am heading.  There are a bunch of observatory domes that you can just barely make out.

Maui Trip - Day 4 (Part 5 of 5)

The food or feast (Pa'ina Ahiahi) had a starter course with Chips, Ulu Hummus, Haupia, Julolo, Palaoa, and Guava-Honey Better.  This was followed by a traditional Hawaiian course with Imu Roasted Park, Lu'au Leaf Wrapped Park, Fresh Poke Ahi, Lomi Lomi Salmon and a Pohole Sald.  The main course as Grilled Flat Iron steak, Fresh Ahi Tuna with Garlic and Lemon, Pineapple Chicken, and Uala which was a sweet potato wrapped in banana leaf.  Later in the evening, we had a Pineapple Sponge Cake dessert which was amazing, as well.

After most of the food started done, we started to get into the heart of the Luau.  The Luau is actually somewhat of a history lesson and each of the dances progress through the history of Hawaii from the beginning of time through current events.  The first dance is the Ote'a which is about the early migration of the Polynesians across the Pacific to the "new islands of Hawai'i.

This progresses into the Kahiko which was an ancient way of communicating with the Gods.  This had lots of chanting, traditional implements and was performed with respect for the ancestors.

The third section was about Missionaries and the Merrie Monarch which illustrated changes brought through missionaries to the islands.  This also celebrated King Kalakaua.

Lastly, the 'Auana which was more of the modern hula influenced by immigrants and tourism.  The Hula dancers tell their stories through their moves, subtle eyes, and hula hands.  As the night progressed, it was truly amazing to see the different styles of dance and learn a bit about the traditional Hawaiian history.

The whole event probably lasted 3-4 hours and, though expensive, was truly a unique experience and the boys had a great time.  Highly recommend this to anyone who is going over to Maui!

Maui Trip - Day 4 (Part 4 of 5)

 After the smoked meat ceremony, we returned back to our table.  We had great seats and were happy to have chairs, though the more traditional (and closer) way to see the Luau is to sit on the ground and this short tables.  The first part of the Luau had these dancers up leading us through how to do some proper Hawaiian dancing.

Everyone had to get out of their seats, and we all tried our best to sway like the trees, though it seems some of us were better at it than others.

As the numerous courses of food came out, Tara and I took the opportunity to get a picture in front of the beautiful sunset.  We couldn't have asked for a better night for this view!

In following up with Gavin on how he was liking the food, hopefully you can tell by the response you see above.  I think this means it's super tasty!  These guys were grinning ear to ear the whole night.

Maui Trip - Day 4 (Part 3 of 5)

Before the actual Luau starts, there is this almost ceremonial unburying of the traditional roasted meat.  Apparently, it is smoked for almost 12 hours in this pit under a bunch of layers.  The top layer being coals/dirt.

After scraping away the top layer, there was this thick layer of banana leaves and some other coverage that protected things below.

This layer was slowly peeled off to reveal the meat of the animal below.

Here they are taking the meat from out of the cooking pit and into the tray for carving.  Gavin was quite impressed with the muscles on these guys, even the older ones were fairly built up.  While this was happening, we had some drinks as we watched and there was also a sales area for traditional Hawaiian wood carvings and other art creations.  All really neat but our luggage wouldn't accommodate much on the return journey, unfortunately. 

Maui Trip - Day 4 (Part 2 of 5)

 

After snorkeling in the morning, we cleaned up a bit and headed all the way to the far west coast of Maui up to Lahaina and Kaanapali for what is advertised as the "Best Luau on the Island".  What is also pretty crazy is that Lahaina was the location of a tragic fire that burned down almost the entire city about a year before this.  There is almost nothing standing left within the city and it is mostly closed, however part of this historic Luau is specifically called out to help with the recovery effort, and I think this is viewed as something helpful rather than a distraction for the community.

Once you arrive, they give you each these real flower necklaces which went great with our mostly Hawaiian and floral garb.

Here is another picture of us trying to get the early sunset behind us.

We were led to our private table, and the guys were definitely feeling the vibe of this place.  They were super excited for the full night's festivities.