After checking out the petroglyphs in Olowalu, we continued north through Lahaina and past the resorts of Kaanapali and Kapalua – our goal was to start at the northernmost tip of Maui at Nakalele Point and do several hikes, each one successively closer to Lahaina on the west coast. The road past Kapalua narrows to two lanes and closely follows the shoreline – beautiful cliffs and coves below became more common the further we drove. We found a turnout with a homemade sign indicating that the lighthouse at Nakalele Point could be reached from here, but that the Nakalele Blowhole – a natural feature through which air and water are forced up through the lava formations by wave action – was served by a trailhead further up the road. Our guidebook had both points of interest on the same map, so we decided to hike to both from here. We made our way north via a network of use paths atop the cliffs – they seemed to funnel us along a narrowing system of ledges high above the water, at one point only a few feet wide with a sheer dropoff maybe 60′ high to our left. We scrambled through that section to the “lighthouse”, really a beacon, perched atop a promontory just southwest of the point proper. Views were fantastic – Molokai to the northwest, east along the rugged coastline, and north to Nakalele Point jutting assertively into the Pacific. We picked our way through the rocks ever northward, Chris scrambling up to the high point of the Nakalele structure. The lava formations were immense, honeycombed masses whose hollow insides have been exposed by wind and water erosion. We searched this area in vain for the blowhole, which the map had located along the east side of the point – seeing other people making their way down the rocks to the southeast, evidently from the other trailhead, we headed in that direction, eventually finding a sizeable group of folks gathered around a relatively small hole in the lava plateau. Whereas the others had come by the low road, so to speak, our vantage point was higher, and we had an unblocked view to where water spray erupted through the hole every other minute or so. Apparently, the blowhole is best viewed at high tide – it was mid-morning, and the eruptions were probably less than their full potential. Wanting to move on to other locations, we picked our way southwest, first up a gentle canyon and then up a steep slope, arriving at a grassy knoll a few hundred yards south of the lighthouse. From here, it was easy cross-country and use trails back to the car. Not a long hike but a beatiful way to be introduced to the craggy northwest coast of Maui.