An astonishing place you must see at least once before you die. Fortunately I made it while I was still conscious enough to be blown away. Thankfully, this is also not a difficult hike for someone conditioned for leisurely 10 mile hikes.

We parked the car at Halemau'u trailhead at 8000 feet. Then hitchhiked up to the summit at 9744 feet, and began hiking at 8:00 AM on the Sliding Sands trail. You hike mostly downhill about 3,300 feet to the crater floor at 6,600 feet and walk up and down across the floor to cliffs and then the trail switch-backs up the crater wall back to the car parked at 8,000 feet.

Total hiking distance: 11 miles. Not much climbing but the hike was at elevations I wasn't used to and so the going was slow. Total hiking time: exactly 9 hours and 45 minutes. A huge scenic value per effort ratio, one of my biggest of all time. Spectacular and unusual scenery.

It was so cold and overcast that I didn't see a need for sunscreen. Big mistake! Both Christopher and I were fried, thanks to the high elevation.

Christopher helped me identify quite a few particularly interesting compositions that I would have otherwise missed, thanks to his familiarity with the territory and keen eye.

Took 391 photos of which 221 made the cut.