August 14, 2008 On Tuesday August 12, 2008 Kim and took an excursion while vacationing in Maui and traveled on horseback down into the crater of the Haleakala Volcano on the island of Maui. What a fantastic trip that was. Even though it was a nose to but ride with nothing but walking involved it was a great ride. The scenery was spectacular!
That's us just after lunch at the bottom of the crater.
The ride starts out at the 10,000 foot elevation and you can certainly tell the difference in the oxygen level at that height. Our guide, Ra, who works for Pony Express Tours was fantastic. The ride descends 2,500 feet down Sliding Sands Trail to the crater floor below. Round trip it's about 7.5 miles but with a nice lunch break in the middle. I's so glad I packed my Ariat Cowboy Boots from home for this ride as the ride lasted close to 5 hours.
If you want to take this ride it's best to make reservations prior to leaving for the island as it usually sells out a week or two in advance. It's pretty costly but well worth the money.