Are you tired of hearing about my hikes yet? Well, this one was definitely different….starting with the fact that we attempted it twice. It was a waterfall hike in Waipio Valley…this gorgeous section of the north part of the Big Island. The first day, the four of us set off looking for the supposed waterfall….bigger than any we had ever seen…according to the lady at the hostel, and some books we found. We first hiked down this rode that must have been around 2 miles long. straight down….very, very, steep. It took us a good 18 minutes to get to the bottom (I like to use my running watch to time all parts of our hikes….much to the annoyance of my traveling friends.) At times we would walk in diagonals just to take some of the pressure off of our “old people knees.” Once at the bottom, we continued along the path, that was more like a road than an actual trail. While on the trail we got a good taste of what Hawaiian life is like for the people living in the valley. We saw their taro farms, their small homes, their simple way of life…it was very eye opening, and I had a hard time figuring out how normal everyday was like for these people in the valley. On one hand I thought,
“how difficult”, but on the other hand, “how peaceful and simple” Oh, and during the hike we came across these stray horses who were so friendly…I got one to follow me for a bit, just like a little lost puppy…it was cute.

The tricky part of the hike was that parts of the trail were covered in water….the kind of water you couldn’t just hop over. I first tried just taking off my shoes for the wet parts, and then putting them back on, but then I realized just how much of the hike was through water so I gave up, and did a lot of the hike in my barefeet….like I said….every hike is a bit different :) We saw a lot of beautiful things while looking for the waterfall ( many of those things on private property) but never quite found it. On our way back out, we did spot the trail head, but by that time it had been 3 hours, and most of the group was spent….so we vowed to come back again, and finish what we started at a later date….besides we still had the grueling uphill climb to master.

The next morning, Jessica and I woke up early, determined to finish what we had started the day before…This time around we knew exactly where we had to go, unfortunately we had no clue how hard the actual hike was, or how long it would take us. We had gotten a lot of different responses from the people we had asked, so we were kind of going at it blind. The added challenge was a time limit. We had to be checked out of our place by 12:00..we were under the gun….This was not a leisurely stroll to a waterfall, this wasn’t some pansy hike, this was a serious endeavor, a race against the clock….we were on a mission….get there, and get back…no fluffy stuff. We took one bag, one camera, and this time I came prepared with both flip flops and shoes. Right from the start, I knew this would be a hike like no other. The trail was very overgrown, and it was super wet, so every rock was a chance to slip. Also, this trail required going through the water, not just ankle deep, but up to my chest. During one part of the trip I was literally holding our backpack above my head, as I waded in water up to my neck…I had to get passed my, “gross, what’s in the water/hope I don’t step on something nasty” fear. The trail was also extremely hard to follow. Many times we would loose the trail….cut our own path, and then find it again later. I guess you could call the setting “wet jungle” a bit like our IAO Valley hike, but with more stream crossings, and more upward rocky climbs. It was one of the hardest, if not the most difficult trail so far, and ironically I was forced to do most of it in my bikini and flipflops ( because of all the water). We did, surprisingly enough, meet up with a guy named Jeremy. Jeremy was a little different. Jess likes to refer to him as a cartoon character. He was on some type of spiritual quest, and ended up going with us the rest of the way to the falls. (He is also the reason I soaked my shoes- I won’t really hold it against him, but I was kind of pissed at the time, to say the least- maybe a story for later). I’ll admit when we actually made it to the falls, I was a little disappointed. Instead of rushing water, we got what amounted to a trickle of water falling from an enormous cliff…still impressive….the shear cliff walls alone were a sight, but I was hoping for a little more water. Regardless, Jessica and I went swimming in the cool waterfall pool for a quick minute, and then it was back to business. I don’t think I’ve ever hiked as quickly as I did that day….we were like professionals…minus the few slips we both took…. we made it back to the main road in a little over two hours….The final hike up, up , and more up…was the most challenging (26 minutes- thank you timex). It was quite the workout. We made it back to the hostel with 20 minutes to spare….not bad.