Back in the Crater

Up at 4 this morning. Headed up to Haleakala at 5:30 for a quick 5 mile hike. On the trail in the chill pre-dawn. I headed out from Hosmer Grove going up the supply trail to Halemauu then to the rim of the crater. Frost on the trail crunched under my boots as the sky slowly lightened to a soft rosy glow. From a rest stop I watched ocean swells move in towards shore and spotted the Hana airstrip. Reaching the rim of the crater my breath is taken away even though I've seen it a hundred times. Stark, spectacular, striking colors and shadows of the sunrise. Cold wind rushing up from the floor of the crater, moonlike cindercones in the distance. I will never tire of this place. It is my cathedral. Training for Mont Blanc has begun.