New park rule makes it hard for locals to gather
As a high school student, my friends and I would often decide on a whim to drive up to Haleakala to see the sunrise. When we would all be back during winter and summer vacations, this tradition was something that kept our friendship together.
While I do understand the need for the new reservation system (overcrowding, parking problems, endangerment of native species and fauna, etc.), it’s disheartening to think that Maui residents will no longer be able to see one of the most beautiful parts of our ‘aina “just because.”
I am now a teacher, my friends are bartenders and concierges; we do not know when our schedules line up until the last minute. How many other friend groups are like this on Maui? I would wager a lot.
How many locals will be pushed out of seeing sunrise because they did not make reservations early enough? It is sad, but it seems like Maui is losing a piece of its spontaneity with this new rule.
Monica Collias
Kihei