Last weekend my family and I traveled into Haleakala Crater for our second time. We decided to have our bags packed in ahead of our arrivel by mules and hiked in through sliding sands. It's an amazing experience to leave the modern world and venture into a windswept crater. You can see miles ahead in any direction and mist, rain, and fog can sweep through the crater in mere minutes. The landscape changes from desolate flatlands to dense plant growth as you hike towards the crater walls. The crater consists of three cabins, (Holua, Kapalaoa, and Paliku). We decided to spend the night at Holua and hiked out the next day through switch backs. If your interested in hiking into the crater it's at least a day trip and is best seen by spending the night at one or two of the cabins. Remember that you have to book your reservations for crater cabins well in advance and be able to hike long distances and in many conditions. Hike in fresh water and warm clothes (the cabins can get very cold at night). Overall we had a great time and took some beautiful photos in Haleakala Crater, (I'll post a slideshow soon).