Another week of rain kept me off the mountains again. That is why I found myself in the Pali lookout with Chris, Jose and Thessa to go waterfall hunting. Waipuilani Falls to be exact. Thanks to Ryan for the idea, who unfortunately had to go to work instead of playing in the forest.

Feed me?

One of the stray cats looking for a handout in the parking lot. You would think with all the chickens strutting around. . .?

Waipuilani Falls

Walking on the Pali Highway, we caught a brief glimpse of the falls.

Spartan flashbacks

We forgot our keys, so we had to jump the fence.

Nuuanu forest

Walking on the jeep road with no jeep.

Bamboo forest

We soon left the jeep road behind us as we headed deeper into the forest.

Tie a pink ribbon

The trail was pretty much defined, reinforced with pink and orange ribbons.

Follow the stream

We soon hit the stream and followed it to the source.

Trickling

Group photo left to right: Chris, myself, Thessa and Jose. The falls on the left are usually dry, but we had some flow due to the heavy rains from yesterday. We were expecting thunderstorm weather which would have fueled the waterfalls. Where is Guy Hagi when you need him?

Tunnel

We climbed between the waterfalls to check out the grotto looking tunnel. The only thing standing between us and the tunnel was a spider web. Guess who prevailed?

Rat!

Heading into the tunnel, I saw a small rodent aka rat, drop from the tunnel ceiling and scurry into the pipe. At least he didn’t land on my head.

End of the tunnel

The tunnel ran for about 50 feet before it ended. Shucks, I thought we were going to pop out somewhere in Manoa.

Somebody has been here

Walking towards the light.

Orchids

On the way back, sometimes you have to stop and smell the orchids.

Whose wall?

Remnants of a time long ago.

Spider #1

Checking out the numerous spiders that make their home on the edge of the Pali Highway.

Spider #2

Too bad we don’t have man-made spider webs to catch all the rubbish that people seem to throw from their cars. That’s right, we do. It’s called a garbage can. Chris started picking up the rubbish as we made our way back to the Pali Lookout. The rest of us started to pitch in, but we barely made a dent.

Spider #3

Spider snacking on his lunch.

Hitchhikers

Nobody picked us up. Guess we weren’t showing enough skin.

Kalihi Saddle

Walking down the Old Pali Road, looking at Kalihi Saddle, one of the hardest hikes I’ve done to date. Still have to complete the Bowman side. Just waiting for the weather to dry out.

Pali falls

I heard there is a plane wreckage above these falls. Have to check it out one day.

From the old to the new

Looking at the falls cascading down from the Old Pali Road to the current Pali Highway.

GPS Tracks

Despite the no-show of thunderstorm activity that would have greatly enhanced our waterfall viewing pleasure, it was a short and fun four mile hike.

I decided to stay at sea level elevation this week and went waterfall exploring with Chris and Jasmin. My body was still recovering from last week’s extreme hike.

A well traveled trail

We found parking on Nuuanu Pali Drive and entered the opening in the bamboo forest.

Follow the source

Hopping over the water pipe, the upper falls gurgling with fresh water soon greeted us.

Cascading waterfall

Looking down from the top of the falls. Don’t stand too close!

Going down the hill

Chris picked up the trail to the left of the falls and we made our way down the mosquito infested hill.

Luakaha Falls

The grass surrounding the falls was nicely clipped as it’s supposed to be on private land.

GPS Tracks

The short walk to the falls was only .75 mile round trip. Not enough to make a day of it, we proceeded to the next stop – Likeke Falls.

Trailhead A or B?

Most people start from the Pali Lookout to get to Likeke Falls, Chris knew of a shorter way from the Ko’olau Golf Course. There was a large sign saying no parking for hikers until after 11:30am. Hmmm, I guess that meant us? Luckily Jasmin was able to squeeze her car into the last “open” space in front of the Old Pali Road gate.

Old Pali Road

We walked up the Old Pali Road, passing the golf course’s shop and soon made a right into the forest where Chris and Jasmin are standing. This took us to the top of the golf course’s parking lot where the trailhead starts. Security was there to thwart any hikers that chose to ignore the sign that was posted at the bottom.

Can you see the puka?

A graffitied water tank blocked further progress on the trail, the junction is actually to the left just before the tank. Can you spot Pali Puka?

Big Tree Junction

We picked up the Old Pali Road again, slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature, and took a right at where Chris is peeking out from.

Calathea lancifolia

Yellow and red rattlesnake plants lined the trail.

Likeke Falls

More mosquitoes greeted our arrival, fresh meat! These falls seemed to have become very popular recently, with more locals and tourists flooding the area. Today, we had the place all to ourselves.

Obligatory group shot

My camera has a 30 second timer, which comes in handy when scrambling up wet, mossy rocks.

Town view

Looking out towards town, one can actually follow the stream all the way back out to civilization.

Costus spicatus

Checking out the Indian Head plants on the way back out.

Walk down memory lane

Hard to imagine, that this used to be the main artery for folks to get to and from the Windward side.

GPS Tracks

The 1.45 mile hike led us to the second and last waterfall of the day.

Dark grey clouds and rain showers greeted us at the top of Alewa Drive. Rain was good at feeding the waterfalls but lousy at providing views at the top, as Marvin, Nani, Jade, Chris and myself were hiking from Mo’ole Falls to Lanihuli. After a good soaking, the rain passed and Will arrived to ferry us to the Pali Hunter Check In Station. Photo by Marvin Chandra.

Nuuanu doorman

Actually Will was supposed to have joined our crew today, but he had more pressing family matters – lunch with his mother-in-law. We thanked him for the ride and asked for any kalbi leftovers and crossed the Pali Highway to enter the lush forest.

Mudslide?

We came across this section that a mudslide had filled in the ditch and washed out the trail. Nature’s construction at work.

Headlamps?

Jade climbing into the ditch that leads to the irrigation tunnel. Headlamps and a lack of claustrophobia are highly recommended as the tunnel is about 5′  high and over 140′ long.

Coming out of the tunnel

Chris making his way to the light. Remember the tunnel height is about 5′ ? Chris who is about 6′, bumped his head as he sloshed his way through the muddy passage. Ouch!

Waterfall #1

After exiting the tunnel, we followed Mo’ole Stream to the first waterfall.

Watch your head

Jade and Nani ducking under some tree branches, at least it’s not rock!

Waterfall #2

Group photo at the largest waterfall, left to right: Marvin, Jade, Nani, Chris and myself. Notice Marvin’s expression.

Going up the trail

We backtracked a bit and regained the trail as we continued our waterfall exploration.

waterfall #3

Climbing down from the trail led us to the third waterfall.

Silk shot?

1/5 shutter speed was Marvin’s advice to best capture the moving water from the top of the third waterfall.

Rock hopping

Nani and Jade making their way to the next waterfall.

Waterfall #4

They should call this one the tree branches waterfall.

Waterfall #5

This one barely registers on the waterfall scale, a mere footnote.

Waterfall #6

Looking at the rather large boulder perched on the waterfall, I can only wonder how long before it rolls off?

Upstream

No slipping and sliding for me on this hike as I was using my spanking brand new tabis. I highly recommend them for waterfall hiking. Two toes up!

Waterfall #7

Having a timer speed of 25 seconds paid off for this group shot as I had to slowly make my way through muddy grass and slippery rocks. Notice Marvin’s expression.

On to the next waterfall

The group contoured to the right of the stream and dropped into the last waterfall we were going to see on this hike.

Waterfall #8?

We took our lunch break next to this gushing and roaring waterfall.

No more waterfalls

Waterfall time was over. Marvin, Jade, and Nani going up the ribboned trail on the left as we made our way out of the valley.

Coming out of the valley

Looking back at the views of town.

Pig trail?

Going up this steep pig trail, only saving grace was that somebody had cleared a path through the uluhe ferns. Thank you!

Lanihuli!

After pulling ourselves up the pig trail that finally connected to Alewa ridge, we started our climb towards Lanihuli.

Bowman trail to CCL

Looking at the Bowman trail to Haiku Stairs. Another hike that I still have to do.

View from the summit of Lanihuli

We reached the 2,700′ summit of Lanihuli to find it cloud free. Cheehoo!

Summit photo

Spoke too soon. A short while later, the cloud deck started dropping down. Quick! Take the group photo. Notice Marvin’s expression.

Going back down

After the clouds ended our viewing party at the summit, we descended back down the ridge. The views of Pali Hwy, Nuuanu Reservoir, Town and Likelike Hwy can be seen in this photo by Marvin Chandra.

Kalihi Saddle

Looking back at Kalihi Saddle, our hike to her had been postponed five times due to weather. Would the sixth time be the charm?

Tornado cloud?

Coming down the ridge, we spotted a tornado looking cloud.

The Nani lecture

Nani pointing her finger at Marvin and lecturing him to stay with the group. Chris had cut his back and developed leg cramps on the way down. But he was still glad that he made the hike!

Snacks

We enjoyed some refreshing strawberry guavas on the way down. Depending on the trail and time of year, one can find mountain apples, lilikoi (passion fruit) and strawberry guavas to fill your tummy.

It’s not the Ritz

We were almost at the end of the trail, when we stopped to take a group photo at this windbreak shelter. It has seen better days. Notice Marvin’s expression. I think he actually cracked a smile in this one!

Breaking out

The fenced gate is now padlocked, so we had to climb over the fence.

All pau!

The last group photo of the day at the top of Alewa Drive. A great hike with a great crew.

Cleaning in progress

Chris using a neighbor’s garden hose to wash himself off. That’s how hikers get a bad rap. Actually, we stopped at a co-worker’s house and politely asked if we could wash our dirty bodies. Request granted.

GPS Tracks

The 6.13 mile hike was filled with waterfalls, ridge hikes and summit views. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday.

Bonus map

Marvin made this neat picto-map of our hike. Quite the creative chap.

Taking a break from ridge hiking, I joined Nate, J, Tom and Glenn for some waterfall hiking in Nuuanu today.

I know that marker

We parked at the Pali Hunter’s Check-In Station and crossed the Pali Highway to enter an un-locked gate that took us into the lush forest. As we started on the trail, I recognized dirt ninja aka Chris’s tag tied on a tree, we eventually caught up with him before the irrigation tunnel.

Irrigation Tunnel

Soon we found ourselves at the entrance to the irrigation tunnel. Time to break out the head lamps, if you’re claustrophobic and don’t like stooping a lot, this tunnel is not for you. I heard there is a contour trail that goes around and above the tunnel.

Headlamps lead the way

Walking through the tunnel, we could feel the moisture above our heads and muddy puddles underneath our feet. This was a good sign. If the tunnel is bone dry, might as well turn around.

In Mo’ole Valley

After about 5 minutes, we emerged out of the tunnel and into Mo’ole Valley or Hillebrand Glen.

Waterfall #1

The first waterfall.

Tom the Swinger

Tom swinging on some tree roots.

Waterfall #2

The second waterfall is the largest and most impressive of the waterfalls to be found in Mo’ole Valley.

Waterfall #3

We had to backtrack a bit from the second waterfall and climbed down a trail to see the third waterfall.

Waterfall #4

The fourth waterfall had a lot of tree branches obscuring the view. A short while later, we came upon the fifth waterfall which was a footnote compared to the others.

Waterfall #6

The sixth waterfall.

A little climbing

We contoured and climbed to the right to continue to the next waterfall.

Going upstream

Walking upstream on sometimes slippery rocks. If you’re not sure-footed, it would be good to invest in a pair of tabi’s or reef walkers that provide a solid grip on wet rocks.

Waterfall #7

The seventh waterfall. I heard that there was an eight waterfall further ahead, but it was mentioned that it was nothing to look at. If one is feeling more adventurous, you can actually climb all the way to Lanihuli. Not today.

Back into the tunnel

Going back into the tunnel and coming out on the other side, we met Chris again who had stopped at the second waterfall before turning back.

GPS tracks of Mo’ole Falls

The entire hike was a little over 3 miles that was done in 3 hours.

Off the Pali Drive

We were not done yet! Still had another waterfall to explore – Waipuhia Falls. Armed with GPS tracks and information, since none of us had ever done this hike, we drove up to the Pali Lookout and parked on the road going to town.

Back in the forest

We followed the trail deep into the forest.

Today is Sunday

A leftover from this past Easter? I don’t know if somebody was trying to drag this huge cross to the falls, gave up and left it here?

Under trees, over trees

If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?

Waipuhia Falls

We arrived at the barely moist Waipuhia Falls or Upside Down Falls. It would have been something to see, if the falls were flowing and the wind was catching it and tossing it back upwards. Not today.

Going up…

We climbed up the hill to our right to check out more of the scenery.

…Going down

It’s always neat to see the contrast in terrain, the hill we had just gone up was carpeted with grass and low lying plants. The other side of the hill going down was mostly barren of grass but heavily forested with trees.

Upside down falls … not today

Being in the company of extreme hikers, the talk naturally turned into ” Is climbing up these waterfalls doable?”

What’s for dinner tonight?

Coming back, Tom under the expert advice of Nate, picked some wild mushrooms from the forest for his stir-fry dinner later tonight.

GPS tracks of Waipuhia Falls

The entire hike was under a mile and took us a little over an hour to complete. We had Thai for lunch and was going to cap the day with a short hike up the Pali Notches. Mother Nature decided otherwise as rain started falling on us as we parked at the Pali Lookout. It was still a good day.