 |
| Loading up at the summit, kind of like Mars! |
The famous Skyline Trail, one of the world’s highest
downhill mountain bike trails, descends from the summit of The Haleakala
Crater, elevation 10,023 feet, on the Hawaiian island of Maui.
I rode this trail about twelve years ago on a prior visit
after being lucky enough to find a mechanic at a local shop who acted as my guide and
rented me his wife's dual crowned DH bike.
Even though the bike was too small and had too much travel for this ride
I had a blast and vowed to return someday.
Fast forward this many years and it's amazing to see the leap in
technology that now offers long legged trail bikes that brake and pedal well so
I really wanted to do this ride on a modern trail bike.
In doing my research for the trip I found there are several
tour companies that provide shuttle service to the top of Haleakala and guided
bicycle tours down the paved road, but that's not really my bag. I was not able to find any guided tours for
the Skyline Trail, so my next option was to find a good bike and do the ride
myself.
The biggest challenge was finding a shop where I could rent
a decent trail bike. Plenty of shops rent hard tail XC bikes and road bikes, but
this ride called for a six-inch trail bike, much like my Santa Cruz Nomad. Being an avid mountain biker with a bent
toward the gravity side of the sport, I
had no desire to ride the Skyline on a hard tail or shoddy bike and I wouldn't
recommend it just for the safety factor alone.
After some web searches, some phone calls and emails I found
the only shop on Maui that rents top notch full squish mountain bikes, CraterCycles in Kahului, owned and operated by Neal Cain, They have a full line of Brand new 2013 Giant
Reigns and happened to even have a size XL to suit my 6'4" frame. I was also surprised to find he had a Trek
Remedy, Intense 951 and Commencal DH in the stable as well. It turns out that most other bike shops on
Maui cater to road bikers and beach cruisers, not the gravity set. Craig has made a commitment to provide these
very capable trail bikes to be used on the Skyline downhill, but are also very
versatile XC steeds as well. I called
the morning of my ride and spoke to their mechanic, Galen, who enthusiastically
prepped the bike for me before my arrival.
Kahului is the perfect place to pick up a bike for this ride because the
road to Haleakala leads through it anyway (all roads on Maui lead to Kahului we
soon discovered).
 |
| The stable of new trail bikes at Crater Cycles |
My wife, Misty, volunteered to shuttle me in our rented
Jeep. When I arrived Galen switched out
my pedals and customized the suspension and tire pressure to suit my
needs. The amazing thing was that this
bike even had a telescopic seat post and components newer than my bike at
home...clearly not your average rental.
Craig made sure I had the right gear, including tubes, pump, helmet and
tools and took the time to explain the route and provided maps. One of the keys to Craig's brilliant plan to promote the
Skyline Trail is the location of his recommended post ride pick up point, but
more on that later.
Misty and I loaded up and made the 90 minute drive to the
top of Haleakala Crater, which is actually located within the Haleakala
National Park ($10.00 entry fee). The
summit has a visitors center, bathrooms and hiking trail heads for the hundreds
of miles of epic hiking trails in the park.
We had great weather with clear sunny skies at the summit, with the
ubiquitous ring of clouds that hovered around the mountain about 7,000 feet. It is usually quite cold at the summit,
requiring some kind of jacket for the first half of the descent. (Keep a sharp eye out for the occasional
Silversword plant or the endangered NeNe bird, the high-altitude Hawaiian
goose). She dropped me off near the
observatory, which had a sign clearly marking the trail, and I was on my
way. Ironically, there are also signs
posting it as a no trespass zone, but I understand this to mean the observatory
at the top of the hill, not the trail down.
By the way, I don't normally do rides like this solo. I was aware of the risk I was taking on this
remote ride without the safety of a partner, and at least others knew my route
and expected arrival time and place. I
kept this in mind and tried to stay a few steps away from the ragged edge of
control...easier said than done under the influence of gravity.
The first couple of miles consisted of double track road
which is the last vestige of the original summit road. It is made up of cinder sand and is a bit
loose, so it pays to stay on the "track" laid down by bicycle traffic
and keep a light front wheel. One of the greatest thrills of riding this top
section is the amazing exposure above the cloud line with occasional views of
open ocean and the neighboring Big Island of Hawaii, for hundreds of miles in
many directions. I would describe the
experience here as riding on Mars with a view, with a thousand shades of red
cinder rocks, which adds to the surreal vibe. The road firms up quite a bit
with more descending and eventually I was able to lay off the brakes and turn
up the speed, catching a little air on the occasional erosion diverter. With the descent there is an increasing
amount of vegetation, which at some point resembles chaparral scrub. I would liken this section of the ride to the
Kamikaze Downhill at Mammoth Mountain, CA...in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
I then reached the junction of the Mamane Trail, a right
turn, a very tasty single track through the forested zone of the mountain. This multiple use trail is part of the
Hawai'i Trail 6 Access system, however I did not encounter hikers or
equestrians on my ride. The trail did
switch back quite a few times and certainly had a particular mountain bike flow
(sometimes uncommon on multiple use trails).
There were several sections with rocks and roots which tested the Reigns
very capable suspension. The trail
continued for several miles, and through the cloud band, then ended with a
right turn on a double track road. I
then began a gentle climb for a few miles on double track through deciduous
trees until I reached the final section of the ride, the paved road.
 |
| Winding through wooded single track |
If you have the eye for it there are several short, single
track short cuts that run between sections of the paved road. These range from mild to steep and tricky
ruts and I chose to take as many of these as I could find, turning out to be
rewarding and fun. The terrain here in
Maui's Upcountry consists of wooded foothills with natural grassy meadows with
its infamous red, tacky dirt.
I ended the ride at our pre-determined pick up point at the
Alii Kula Lavender Farm and gardens at about 4,000 feet of elevation, after 90
minutes on the trail. I had covered over
sixteen miles of trail and had dropped a massive 6,000 vertical feet of decent,
explaining why my ears “popped” twice.
Misty had just arrived about five minutes before me after
lingering at the top of the Crater for a bit to take in some of the amazing
sights at the summit. It's a $3.00 entry
fee into the gardens, and I would suggest a quick change into a fresh shirt and
flip flops if you don't want to stand out too bad (most of the visitors here
are older couples looking to sip tea and look at flowers, not exactly what most
downhillers do after a ride). Misty and
I enjoyed a cup of Lavender Tea with toasted scones while seated on the
veranda, overlooking the ocean; the perfect ending of a great ride. As the designated shuttle driver, it just
worked out so nice for her to have something to enjoy after the ride other than
the usual funky shorts, lawn chairs and PBR's from an ice chest.
 |
| Misty at the Lavender Farm |
 |
| A pretty cool place to visit |
One might not have to end the ride here, but this part of the Upcountry is inhabited by many farms and ranches on private lands, making trail access difficult. The ride could continue on the paved road to rack up several more miles of asphalt descending if you cared to do so. If you were feeling particularly motivated, It might be kind of cool to ride all the way to the nearest beach, probably in Kahului, just to say you descended all 10,023 feet.
Also, for the XC oriented rider, Neal suggested the Makawao
Forest Reserve area, which boasts a seven mile loop and also has a gulley jump
line for free riders. Plans are also in
the works to include more stunts, jumps and a pump track and I plan on riding
here on our next visit to this amazing island.
I would describe the Skyline Trail as a must do for any
skilled mountain biker visiting Maui.
The experience of descending through so many climate zones in one ride
just isn't possible in most other places on earth. It is quite an amazing experience that I will
be doing again someday. If you want to
rent a top-quality trail bike and get great service, make sure to check see
Craig at Crater Cycles in Kahului...Mahalo!
 |
| Neal Cain, owner/operator Crater Cycles |
 |
| Been there, done that, got the t-shirt! |
