We took care of the one thing I really wanted to do in Hawaii right off the bat this morning, as Aimee and I rose at 3 am and drove 90 minutes to the summit of Haleakala, in the eastern half of Maui. We arrived just before 5 am, just as the sky was beginning to go from pitch black to dark blue, looking out from our vantage point above the clouds. The colors in the sky were just spectacular, and when the sun finally began to burn the top edges of the clouds as it rose at 5:41, and audible gasp went up among the 100+ people gathered at the edge of the overlook. The sun rose remarkably quickly after that, a searing red line, then blob, then semi-circle, and finally fully formed, a brilliant yellow.

After the sunrise, I took off on a 12-mile run through the crater (or rather, erosional valley) that was absolutely breathtaking. I felt like I was on another planet, running down hills of black sand and through plains of lava formations and silverswords. Pictures and more description to follow; needless to say, it was well worth it, even the three miles at the end, where I gained a thousand feet of elevation in an endless series of switchbacks. Now it’s time for a nap.