Waimano Falls - February 13th, 2011

Waimano Falls

Two hikes in one week! It felt good to get out there on the trails two times in one week, since I was going on a month since we did the Haiku Stairs. Originally, we were looking at doing the Wahiawa Hills, but with needing a permit, and the parking being kind of weird, we decided to not, so I was looking up hikes (that were actually not over an hour drive away) in my awesome book "The Hikers Guide to O'ahu, by Staurt Ball, JR., I love it! I use that, and I also the internet a lot to research all the hikes I do and want to do, kaleolancaster.blogspot.com, is AMAZING, he's my secret boyfriend, HAHA, also the Hawaii Trail & Mountain club is a good resource!

So our hike today consisted of Matthew, Jenna, and I, glad to have her along for sure! Matthew goes so fast, and my little legs and heart can't keep up!!! I decided I did not want to wake up early today, so we met at the trail at 10:45 A.M., it worked out nice, since it wasn't SUPER hot, and wasn't raining which is always a plus!! We started at the top of Komo Mai Drive, in Pearl City, and the trail start the Na Ala Hele maintains a trail called the Manana Trail, it's a 12 mile ridge hike, and then there is also the Waimano Pools hike that braches of to the right.

Awful roots!!

Alright to begin, we weren't really sure what to expect, so unfortunately we did not go down to the right where it was a little easier to navigate, we went straight in for the crazy slippery, wet, and kind of muddy hill! By the time I realized we could just go to the right it was to late, we were already in the middle of the craziness! Matt had already made it down the hill, Jenna and I were a bit more cautious, so he just went off on his own, we just did our own thing. Now, I was not expecting what I got from this trail, the whole "cardiac hill" was no lie, I'm not sure why it didn't register in my head that it was going to be pretty rough. A constant straight down hike to the bottom to reach the falls, and a straight up hike on the way back, there weren't many flat traveling areas. Watch your stepping and take your time, that's my advice, I did both!! It is not easy to get lost, as long as you pay attention, there were a few spots before we got on the actual trail that we weren't sure of, even after reading my book I still couldn't figure it right away!

Ko'olau Mountain range

The water fall was gorgeous, it's said that in the summer it's dried up, so this hike is best to do between the months of November and April, the falls were flowing nicely, the water was a bit cloudy, but looked inviting, not that inviting though, still get a little bit weirded out by the diseases present in the water, especially one called, Leptospirosis, it's a bacterial disease that is found in freshwater ponds, and streams that is contaminated by small animals, from urine and feces, GROSS! Anyway on to the falls, the water flow was nice, there are two smaller pools that form after the falls, we climbed a rope down to the bottom of the falls, and sat for awhile of course took some pictures, before we headed back out, while leaving the smell of weed was so strong, these people that were there were having a bbq and just living it up I guess! Another reason I don't go  in the water is the super uncomfortable walk back! To finish this blog, this hike is awesome, the views are great, the workout is good, mosquitoes are crappy, the mud actually was minimal compared to some I have been on recently, and in about 2 1/2 hours we were in and out of the trail and on our way home!

The Waimano Pools

Elevation : 700 feet
Distance : 3 mile round trip
Difficulty : Intermediate (due to the climbing) Easy (for someone in decent shape)
Calorie burn : 1700 calories!! (CRAZY)

Directions : Wahiawa to Komo Mai Drive

Maunawili Falls - February 9th, 2011

Maunawili Falls

Lovely start to my day today, lets start with that for a heading! I woke up at 6 A.M., and had to leave the house by 7 A.M., at the latest, well of course I had been falling more and more behind getting motivated and ready for the day, I left at 7 A.M., of course the Army had started their damn PT already and were running down the middle of the damn road! So, half way down the road I realized I forgot my wedding rings, so I go back, leave again, get ALL the way down to the gate, and realize I forgot my hiking boots, I had to go back AGAIN! So finally, I get on H-2 freeway, and of course happens?!?! THERE IS A TON OF TRAFFIC! Not sure how after sitting in traffic, getting on the road 13 minutes late, I arrived only 5 minutes after I said I would. Unfortunately, the girls who were going to hike with Denise and I were also running late, even more late than I was, so therefore we had to start on the trail without them, I felt bad, but not much I could do, things had to be done.

Stream #1

The trail was easy to find, the directions given by the internet were very accurate, note the end of the blog for hiking directions! We parked in a little parking lot along side Kelewina Street in Kailua, and walked a few blocks down to the gate on the left that would lead us onto the Maunawili Falls trail.

Well to start, the trail started off fairly nice, a bit muddy, but rather clear of debris, and things were not at all clearly marked, I had to pull up on my phone how many and where we had to cross streams, which ended in a total of three streams, to start, the streams name is Maunawili stream, which I guess is fitting, HAHA, crossing the stream again for a second time heading up along the trail, and then head to the right, finally after hoping over a small channel and crossing over the stream for you guessed it! A THIRD TIME, which all three of these times included slippery rocks!

Shortly after you reach the sign that will indicate that the official start of the Maunawili Falls trail has begun, and you were now at the end of the Waimanalo Forest Reserve. Now the fun part begins, since neither me nor Denise are a fan of steps especially uneven steps, having short legs SUCKS! Up stairs, and going over trees that were fallen on the trail, we reached the top where it was level at about 450 feet in elevations, at this point there were awesome views of the Ko'olau Mountain Range, the views were amazing, you then continue to head Mauka (inland), I'm working on my Hawaiian, slow but surely!! So anyway, we headed DOWN stairs, lovely! I was sweating so ridiculously bad, by the time we reached the falls I was literally STEAMING! I had STEAM coming off of me! HAHA!  After heading back down the stairs, there is another sign stating that Maunawili Falls was straight ahead, we crossed over some MORE ROCKS, that were also slippery, up a little hill and back down to reach the falls, the water was FREEZING, and the smells weren't all that great, but we chilled for a few, got some pictures, the girls that were suppose to come with us, met up with us about 15 minutes after we got there, we chatted for a few, took some pictures, then headed back! A few notes about the falls, the fall itself is about 20 feet high, there are rocks that you can jump off of, but check the water first, definitely don't want to land on rocks! leptospirosis bacteria, is common in these waters, so keep your mouth closed, HAHA, unless you enjoy being SUPER sick!

Me and Denise!

A few points on the way back, Denise took a digger, it was funny! More sweat had built up, we saw a ton more people on the trail on our way back, I guess we just started super early for most people I guess!! There were some pretty exhausted people that's for sure! We had fun, lots of laughs, and girl talk, which is never lacking with Denise and I! I love that girl! She cracks me up!! HAHA!! We were in and out of the trail in about 2 1/2 hours!!

Elevation : 450 Feet
Distance : 3 miles round trip
Difficulty : Easy
Calorie Burn : 1500 Calories!! WOWZA!
Directions Via Wahiawa : Wahiawa to Maunawili Falls parking