2021 Hike 5: Hosmer Grove (Haleakalā National Park)

One of the most amazing things to me about travelling on the Hawaiian islands, is that you can drive a few miles, and traverse entire climate zones. One example of this, was our Hosmer Grove hike. This hike was on the slopes of the Haleakalā volcano, where the climate more closely resembled back home in the Pacific Northwest. Rainy, and slightly chilly at 7500 feet in elevation, the weather was more reminiscent of an Autumn day in Seattle, than Spring in the tropics.

Brook and Patrick at the start of the trail

While the climate was like Seattle, the ecosystem surely wasn’t. A bizarre mix of Eucalyptus , and stunted, patterned firs and pines gave the land an eerie and dissonant feel to it. This odd ecology is not by accident; in 1908-1911 Ralph Hosmer was the chief forester and U.S. fire warden in Hawaii at the time. At this time, an experiment was conducted by introducing various species of tree to the slopes of Haleakalā volcano. The intent was to reforest land that had been altered by the introduction of cattle to the islands, and see which species thrived on the slopes. This was before we understood the consequences of invasive species on native ecosystems. The result is a breathtaking, but weirdly out-of-place environment.

Patrick next to the Eucalyptus for scale

We hiked in for a couple miles, then bailed…it was getting cold, and Brook was getting spooked. Her direct quote being “This is like the Blair Witch Project, let’s get outta here!”

Brook in front of the entrance to the grove