by: Matt Johnson

Maui, Hawaii is an island of diverse environments excellent for hiking exploration. Maui offers hikes for all ages and ability levels. Each hike, no matter the ability level, is rich with history of the islands and their creation. The island is crawling with life waiting to be discovered. No time to waste, off to the ‘Iao Valley.

‘Iao Valley is a beautiful lush green valley. The valley is the home of one of the most famous battles in Hawaiian history. In 1970 King Kamehameha I defeated the Maui army in hopes of uniting the Hawaiian Islands. Today, ‘Iao Valley is an extremely easy yet educational hike on Maui. Follow Highway 32 (‘Iao Valley Road) to the end for easy access to the ‘Iao Valley State Park parking lot. Lined with paved pathways, this state park is designed for the young and old. This is the hike grandma can take her jazzy scooter on with no problems. Rolling around the park you will see the ‘Iao Needle standing tall at 2,250 feet tall. The ‘Iao Needle rock formation gives the ‘Iao Valley its own unique landmark.

Although the valley is safe and beautiful, its time to take the road less travelled. Leaving the state park we head northwest hugging the rugged coastline. Highway 340 is a stretch of tight single lane road filled with hairpins and switchbacks barely hanging above the vicious Pacific looming below. Not a trip for the faint of heart. If you can make it you will be rewarded with “The Best Banana Bread on the Planet” at Julia’s Best Banana Bread, a roadside stand in Old Kahakuloa Village. Your rental car company will actually forbid you to go on this stretch of sketchy highway. This hardly stops the majority of renters, as well as us, as we approach our first destination.

Pulling off onto a dirt strip on the side of the road we grab our gear for the hike down to the Olivine Pools. Go past the sign that reads, “Do not pass this point” and hike down the moderately steep cliff side to the beautiful naturally formed ocean water pools. Found stretching along the coast on a shelf of lava, the Olivine Pools are a great place to relax on a sunny afternoon. Swimming, wading and jumping off lava rocks while the Pacific slams into the coastline spraying water everywhere constantly filling and draining the pools above. The Olivine Pools are not to be missed when visiting Maui.

Hiking back up from the pools we get the car and continue west on Highway 30 (Hwy. 340 becomes Hwy. 30) for the Nakalele Blowhole. This feat of nature is also worth the moderately sketchy 200 foot decent down. During the hike down all attention is drawn to the lowest lava shelf where a salt-water geyser blows. The force of the ocean slamming the coast propels the water up and out of a man sized hole in the lava shelf. With the right tide and a strong swell the Nakalele Blowhole can hit close to a hundred feet. Standing next to the blowhole and getting hammered with water can be dangerous, but who can resist. Just don’t get too close and fall down the hole. The consequences for a wrong move are fatal; common sense goes a long way. Fun can still be had standing back and letting the water come to you.

No more kids stuff. Time to take the long road to the east coast of Maui. To explore our next destination we travel along the famous Road To Hana (Highway 36). This scenic drive has roadside waterfalls and unbelievable ocean views. The drive is a spiritual experience that can take your breath away with each hairpin turn. Passing through the historic town of Hana we continue on through the cow pastures and decided to stop for some cliff jumping at the Venus Pool.

After jumping a fence and hiking along a cow pasture we duck into the trees and arrive on top a cliff overlooking a giant crystal clear blue pool too deep to see the bottom. Our tour guide Ron, who we acquired as our expert for this part of the trip, decided it was deep enough for him and jumped from the 30-foot cliff where we stood. He survived the jump so we all followed our leader. Venus pool has cliffs lining the sides with a variety of jumps ranging in all heights.

We decided to keep moving to our final destination, Haleakala National Park. Ron knows his way around the park and is taking us on the upgraded, hands-on tour of the famous Seven Sacred Pools of O’heo Gulch. Contrary to the name, there are actually more then seven pools, and some are more accessible than others. As we hike through the jungle and slightly off the advised trail we can already hear the intensity of the nearby waterfall. Reaching a break in the brush we step out to a cliff to see a raging waterfall dropping 200 feet straight down. The recent frequent rain lately has caused a surge in the strength of the water flow. Not only does this make areas of the gulch inaccessible, it also ups the ante of danger involved in reaching our final location.

Traveling upstream we reach the top of the waterfall we had just watched from the cliff. Ron leads us on all fours across the river. As the river flows against you each step is important. Crossing the river we are presented our next task of climbing the slippery gulch walls using exposed roots as our footings. Climbing up, over, and around we reach a dead end and are forced to drop into the water below. We swim upstream to a large boulder and climb up to escape the current. As we look up stream we see another unbelievable waterfall and our destination. Jumping off the boulder and swimming upstream again we arrive at the last climb up to the pool.

The waterfall is raging just like the others before it but Ron doesn’t mind. He climbs the gulch walls to swing out on one of the many long tree roots hanging. The force of the waterfall kept us from swimming too close but not from having fun getting pulled back downstream by the current.

Taking the easy way back, we let the force of the water push us back to the trail. With everyone making it out of the water safely we get back on the trail. Passing through the bamboo forest cannot be missed when hiking Haleakala National Park. The trail becomes surrounded by millions of bamboo stalks so tall they block the sun. It is truly an amazing sight and a great way to end our Maui exploration. We approach the cliffs overlooking the ocean as the sun sets on another unique trip.