PALI TRAIL HIKE February 11, 2006

In February, we joined the Mauna Ala hiking club. Our first hike with the club was the Pali Trail Hike, which crosses the West Maui mountains from Ma'alaea to the Lahaina side of the mountain. The trail is about 5 miles long. We started at the trailhead on the Ma'alaea side (About 300' above sea level) and it gains about 1300 ft in elevation half-way through the trail before it drops back to near sea level on the Lahaina side. The hike is moderate to strenuous with excellent views of the central valley, Ma'alaea, Haleakala, Kaho'olawe, Lanai and the coast along west Maui.

Here are some selected photos.

At the Ma'alaea Trailhead

Climbing on the Ma'alaea Side

Near the top of the trail, overlooking Ma'alaea Bay. Kihei and Haleakala are across the bay.

Near the summit. Pali Trail

View of Lanai from the Pali Trail

Coral Gardens Cove, as seen from the Pali Trail. Part of the old Lahaina Highway are visible on this photo. This road, built about 100 years ago, was abandoned when the new highway was built in 1951. The new highway is below the old highway, and it is not visible on this photo.

This is the same cove where we went snorkeling two weeks later on our Kayak trip. From this point on the trail, not only we could see humpback whales, we could also hear them exhale when they surfaced. This happens because the mountains shields the noise from the Pali Highway below.

Aloha.