I got to the parking lot around 5:30 AM and was the first on the trail. I snapped a selfie and was off. I knocked down the hard work of about 1000 spiders who toiled through the night to create their webs across the trail. Sorry spiders! The trail goes up immediately and the views are stunning.
The sun was rising while I ran/hiked uphill and I loved the ever-changing views of the other islands and the ocean. The first 2.5 miles I mostly power hiked because the trail was rocky and the ascent was steep. I finally got to see the sun rising over Haleakala when I crested a ridge and the windmills came into view. Photo documentation ensued.
I reached the top and took a selfie with the windmills. There's a decently runnable section before the downhill begins, but I strayed off course up a four wheel jeep road briefly before I realized I wasn't on the trail anymore. There's a very clear sign that says "You're going the wrong way," that I obviously missed. Whoops. Checked AllTrails and quickly returned to the trail. Not sure how much time I lost, but not too much.
The downhill was super rocky and my brain and feet worked overtime to prevent myself from tripping on a lava rock, which fortunately did not happen. I didn't take any photos of the downhill portion because I was so focused on steady steps. I only saw one other group who had started the trail going the other direction so it wasn't crowded at all.I was in the shade of the mountain during the uphill portion, but in full sun during the downhill. Definitely recommend going early for these reasons.
My partner was waiting at the parking lot at the end and gave me a flower lei, but nobody ran with me and I packed my own water in a handheld bottle. Overall amazing experience on the Lahaina Pali trail!