The weather looked good for the day, but having said that,
we were heading into a rainforest area where it rains to some extent every day. We got an early start, at least by our
standards, and were at the trailhead by 8:15 AM. The sun was showing signs of
strength, but we were hiking the north slope for the first 2 miles or 3 km leg.
The trail started out rugged and dry. We were confident we'd complete the first
leg but uncertain about the second.
The first leg took us up over a scenic volcanic ridge then dropped
us back down to sea level to a beautiful beach.
Leg two was directly
up the Hanakapiai Stream. Thank goodness for the overgrowth which provided protection
from the sun. During the ascent, we weaved back and forth across the Stream.
The grade was mostly moderate with some steep slow sections.
Footing was tricky and slippery at times. At others, mother nature provided
some great foot holes in the lava rock just large enough to place the toe of
our hiking boot. But obviously, if things got wetter and muddy, the descent
would treacherous and slow.
Guava and Mountain Apple or sometimes called Plum Rose, were
plentiful, and ripe for the picking.
A couple of hours on the trail brought us to the foot of the
Falls. For the most part, the water was in free-fall for a couple of hundred
feet into a beautiful pool. The trail had been quite busy, and as expected, those
before us were swimming. We too headed into the pool to first cool off, but
also to experience the waterfall to its fullest. Being at the base of the Falls,
swimming in the cool pond, getting sprayed by water falling 300 feet was the
summit experience. The scene was magical, ferry-tale like. This was the
experience that those taking the helicopter version of Hanakapiai Falls would
never get.
Ah, but the adventure wasn't over. We dried, ate our trail
lunch, and by then the cloud cover had moved in. The clouds were not overhead,
we were in the clouds. This is common up on the Crater, and when it occurs, it
also rains. It was a beautiful soft summer rain, but it was our cue to head
back down the valley. Instantly, the trail became muddy. And then there was
blood, but fortunately not ours. We know we weren't far behind the incident, as
the rain hadn't yet washed the trail of blood
from the rocks.
We slithered along the trail, mindful that we too didn't want
to add to the trail of blood. Part way down the trail, the rain stopped and we
caught up to the accident victim and his wife. They were still making good
progress, him with a blood soaked cloth held against the left side of his face.
He was holding a couple of gashes closed, one high on his check and the other
across his nose. As the story went, he just slipped.
As we descended, looks over our shoulder raised concerns
that the posted warnings of flash floods would materialize. The rain was on our
heels as we descended the crater via the only trail down the valley. At each
stream crossing, we felt fortunate to be ahead of any significantly higher
water levels.
The trail ended without incident for us, though we were
tired and our footing less certain by the time we reached the car. When we
arrived back at the hotel, we were greeted with very polite directions to the
mud room. Memories flooded back of my mother doing the same when I was a child and
came from the creek at the end of the street, then again not so many years ago
when son Jason and I returned from some of our spring mountain bike rides. I
thought those times were history, but not today.
Hiking the Napali Coast
to the Hanakapiai Falls was a another treasure for the trove.
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2014/09/waimea-canyon-pictures-tell-story.html
Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2014/09/waimea-canyon-pictures-tell-story.html
