America's St. Patrick's Day is celebrated with lots of drinking and the color green. We opted for the color green for this year's celebration. We kept the day mellow, as we've done the bar hopping thing in past years. Instead we decided to keep the theme GREEN. We went on a hike along the Pali that has been the greenest it has been in YEARS due to all of the rain. Another free adventure to partake in on Maui.
The Pali Coast is the stretch of highway that overlooks the ocean along the cliffs. Above that highway is a trail. This trail's high vantage point results in an almost 360 degree view of the turquoise blue ocean with the completion of the green mountains alongside the trail. We had done this trail 3 years ago when we first moved to Maui, and WOW what a difference. This winter has been the wettest, rainiest winter Maui has seen in a very long time. It's been colder than most locals appreciate, but with rain comes rainbows... and green mountains!
First here are a few photos to show a comparison from the first time we went on this Pali hike:
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To be honest... I thought once was enough for this hike. The dry dead grass that surrounds the trail is kind of a bummer when there are hundreds of other places on Maui to be with green lush surroundings. We drove along the Pali highway countless times during the last few rainy months, shocked (as everyone else was) at how beautifully green it all was. So finally we strapped on our hiking shoes and headed to the top. 
The Pali hike is done in a few ways. The full trail is 5.5 miles one way and the full hike takes an approximate 4 hours. Most people just hike one way, unless you are interested in an 8 hour hike. This creates a dilemma because the parking for both ends of the trail are small little pull offs on the side of the road. There are no bus services from the end of the trails so you are on your own to get back to your car.
Some people caravan two cars to the end and drop a car off. Then they drive to the beginning trail head, that way there is a car at both ends.
To do as the locals do, you take one car to the beginning trail head, and at the end of the trail hitch hike your way back to the car.
And yet we do it our own way. Once you get to the windmills, the half-way point, the trail looks basically the same the rest of the way as the first half of the trail does. So we just hike back the way we came to where our car is parked :D
The elevation gets up to 1600 feet, and with the positioning of this trail along a point of the island, the wind hits hard! If this GIF/photo plays correctly you can see my hair attacking me because of the wind!
These windmills are 30+ feet tall. The first time we went on this hike there were only 20. In 2012, 14 more went up and the windmills now generate electricity for 18,700 Maui homes! This was our first time up close and personal with the windmills because these closer ones were not built yet. Being up there made me realise just how much wind flows through this side of the island and it makes me so proud that Maui County and the Hawaii government are pushing towards renewable resources. Sun and wind are so prevalent and available, Hawaii could save so much money and energy by using these natural resources. Hawaii's goal is to get 40% of its energy from renewable resources by 2030! (MauiHawaii.org)
Overall it was a pretty successful St. Patrick's Day. In the end we had to at least be a little festive with a round of Guinness at our favorite restaurant Honu, and a little snack at Star Noodle.
Maui No Ka Oi
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