This hike has been on my 101 list since I moved back and it was worth the wait as I ended up getting to watch one of the most amazing sunsets I have ever seen from the top of the West Maui Mountains! The best part was being able to look over to Lahaina then turn around and see the colors over Haleakala as well. I can't think of another place to get both views.  We started off on the Ma'alaea side, leaving one car on the Lahaina side and the hike was a good 3 hours. And out of a 1-10 on the huffing and puffing scale, I was blowing that house down. It is not forgiving on the lungs going up or the knees going down. But the views are, to sound very 'tourist bus guidey', unparalleled.

Meet Cristina, my friend and accountant. Though we danced together growing up we lost contact after high school. And as fate would we found ourselves living in the same little town of Phoenixville, Pa, by literally running into each other outside of my workplace. Come to found out we both had been living there for about six years. And a year later we both moved back to Maui within a month of each other. Needless to say I think without a doubt we are supposed to stay friends!

The weather was impeccable. This hike has the potential to be very hot and very windy, but was neither of those.  Another reason why this day was so sweet.

The hike takes you right through the construction zone for the new windmills going up.

Within a matter a 5 minutes the sky when from this jaw dropping warmth to a pink that seemed other worldly.

And the show did not stop with pink, but continued into this yummy twilight.

In the future I may not always choose not to do the entire hike, I just might do 20 minutes in from the Lahaina side and just watch the sunset or watch the whales.