We all met up to do a birthday hike for Edgar and explore upstream like so many migrating and spawning salmon.

Kalihi Valley

Thanks to Matt, the grounded paraglider, for picking us up by the church founded by Felix Manalo, whose views and practices widely diverge from mainstream Catholicism.

Kalihi Valley

Warming up with pseudo tai chi where superficiality is emphasized over practicality.

Likelike Highway

Miles of paved paradise melted in mere minutes as Matt soon dropped us off on the side of the highway.

Kalihi Valley

Plunging into the forest on an obviously used trail.

Kalihi Valley

Walking down on a service road that has seen better times and where I took a spill that was not recorded for posterity purposes.

Kalihi Valley

Climbing down the slippery slope that was heavily roped for assistance.

Kalihi Valley

Zip ties and duct tape seem to be able to fix anything on the trail.

Kalihi Valley

The rest of the group making their way down.

Naohia Falls

Group photo in front of the first tier of falls known for its ice cold water. Nobody wanted to take the temperature by plunging into the water.

Naohia Falls

Edgar droning us as we engaged in my favorite pastime.

Naohia Falls

Climbing our way up to the top of the first waterfall.

Naohia Falls

Leaving the stagnant pool and mosquitoes behind us.

Naohia Falls

Approaching the splattering second tier.

Naohia Falls

The group keeping high and dry.

Naohia Falls

I decided on the more direct and wet route approach to the third waterfall.

Naohia Falls

Some of the group decided to follow in my wet footsteps, while the others stayed high and dry.

Naohia Falls

Climbing up the slippery rocks, better than a slippery slope.

Naohia Falls

Waiting for something? Elevator service perhaps?

Naohia Falls

Drone service in action.

Naohia Falls

The rest of the group making their way down to the top of the third falls.

Naohia Falls

Edgar making his way up the wet rocks.

Kalihi Wai

Following the stream where we soon saw an abundance of santol or cotton fruit, native to Malesia and New Guinea, floating in the stream and hanging off the branches. Take your pick.

Kalihi Wai

Does this count as a waterfall?

Kalihi Wai

Where the horizontal meets the vertical is the place to be.

Kalihi Wai

Rock hopping our way upstream.

Kalihi Wai

Making our way along the stream bank.

Kalihi Wai

Can you see Alexis for the giant ferns?

Kalihi Wai

They say that mud is good for the exterior of your body, how about the interior of your body?

Kalihi Wai

The dancing queens and king of the stream.

Kalihi Wai

Group photo at the pool with the small waterfall.

Kalihi Wai

Happy Birthday Edgar! Many happy returns!

Kalihi Wai

The dancing depicted here is not an ringing endorsement of the current political situation, but rather a resounding rejection of bad moves.

Kalihi Wai

Sloshing our way through the stream and the myriad of little waterfalls feeding the flow.

Kalihi Wai

The black-shirted pua’a rustling through the California grass.

Kalihi Wai

Standing underneath a suspended load. The question of the day is who brought it up here and how and why? I heard back in the day it had wooden planks, ladder and Christmas lights. Now it’s a shell of its former self.

Kalihi Wai

Gecko’s eye view.

Kalihi Wai

Chico testing the WLL (Working Load Limit).

Kalihi Wai

Everybody finding their own path of least resistance.

Kalihi Wai

Getting wet and staying wet was the theme of the day.

Kalihi Wai

Lobster! I don’t know about Japan but in Hawaii, we call them Red Swamp Crayfish, which were introduced in the 1920s and established invasive homes in Hawaiian streams such as this one. Nobody brought their Jet Boil, so it was catch and release.

Kalihi Wai

Working and weaving our way through the tangled thicket of branches that kept us limber and the blood flowing through our extremeties.

Kalihi Wai

Group photo above the culverts that help to retard road erosion.

Kalihi Wai

Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Kalihi Wai

The tunnel(s)!

Kalihi Wai

Checking out the overgrown and sediment floored dual tunnels.

Kalihi Wai

Exploring the interior of the man-made structures that have not escaped the touch of graffiti, where the ongoing argument if it falls more within the definition of art or vandalism. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Kalihi Wai

Group photo in front of the water tunnels.

Kalihi Wai

Pushing through the overgrowth as we exited the tunnels.

Kalihi Wai

Looking for a more gradual grade to climb our way out of the ditch tunnel.

Kalihi Wai

Pushing and pulling is how we all got out.

Kalihi Valley

Scrambling our way up the last hill.

Kalihi Valley

We soon emerged onto another service road where we walked out to the highway.

All pau

Thanks to CB for giving us a ride back to our cars. Our exploratory birthday hike covered a scant 1.1 miles filled with adventure and good fun. Post hike meal at Tanaka Saimin where its lineage can be traced back to Boulevard and Dillingham Saimin. They just don’t have a table large enough for a party of 13. Great birthday hike with good company.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dzzj-FZsXU

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our stream hike.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Alexis Catarina, Allison Banks, Chico Cantu, Cristy CM, Edgar Gamiao, Kenny Lui, Mari Saito, Marilyn Bermudez, Tessa Bugay and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

I had always wanted to visit this popular watering hole, so to speak, tucked in the back of Kalihi Valley. Jasmin and Matt were my guides for today.

No Trespassing?

After crossing the wooden bridge at the end of Kalihi Street, we came across this “friendly” sign put up by Solomon Enos who took down the “No Trespassing” signs. His reasoning was that the land was “sentient” or alive and we need to treat and care for it as a family member.

Kapu

I guess other people don’t share his feelings.

Sagging lines

Walking down the road, we saw signs of fresh tree cuttings. Helps to prevent power outages.

Grafitti or art?

Call Bart! We found his Dad!

Water down the road

The road is susceptible to flash flooding as runoffs will easily cutoff the road and have stranded hikers in the past.

Same question

Some of the graffiti could be interpreted as being art, in my amateur eyes.

All downhill

We soon left the road to descend down this mosquito infested hill.

Kalihi Ice Ponds

Amazingly, we had the place all to ourselves. I heard it’s usually packed with folks enjoying themselves in the ice cold water. Hence, the falls are also known as Kalihi Ice Ponds. There is a Leptospirosis warning sign tacked onto the tree right before the climb down, the disease can be transmitted through cuts and orifices such as the mouth, eyes and nose. It can be fatal if not diagnosed and treated in time.

Climbing the first fall

Matt and I decided to climb up the falls to see how far she went.

Mosquitoes galore

Stagnant water = Lots of mosquitoes. Bring bug spray.

Second waterfall

The falls were flowing at a decent rate, manageable enough to climb up and down safely. However, if the falls were raging and there was pouring rain, out of the question. 

Third waterfall

We topped out at the third waterfall and saw the stream meandered further into the valley, so we turned around. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Need a ride?

Sorry Jasmin, no backseat. Looks like you’ll have to walk back down to the car while we roll in our tricked out convertible. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Nu’uanu Pali Lookout

Jasmin had Pali Puka on her bucket list of hikes, so off we went to the Pali Lookout. This rooster stopped in front of me after being chased by tourists.

Pali Notches and Olomana

The hike up to Pali Puka is short and sweet, punctuated by edgy and steep climbing. Watch out for the bees! Lucky for us, they were out pollinating flowers or making honey.

Kaneohe view

Windward and town views waited for us at the Puka.

The other side of the puka

Matt climbed on top of the Puka and stuck out my GoPro to capture this view. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kailua view

 Hike all pau. What’s for lunch?