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.
One of the stray cats looking for a handout in the parking lot. You would think with all the chickens strutting around. . .?
Walking on the Pali Highway, we caught a brief glimpse of the falls.
We forgot our keys, so we had to jump the fence.
Walking on the jeep road with no jeep.
We soon left the jeep road behind us as we headed deeper into the forest.
The trail was pretty much defined, reinforced with pink and orange ribbons.
We soon hit the stream and followed it to the source.
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?
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?
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.
The tunnel ran for about 50 feet before it ended. Shucks, I thought we were going to pop out somewhere in Manoa.
Walking towards the light.
On the way back, sometimes you have to stop and smell the orchids.
Remnants of a time long ago.
Checking out the numerous spiders that make their home on the edge of the Pali Highway.
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 snacking on his lunch.
Nobody picked us up. Guess we weren’t showing enough skin.
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.
I heard there is a plane wreckage above these falls. Have to check it out one day.
Looking at the falls cascading down from the Old Pali Road to the current Pali Highway.
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.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Any idea what the tunnel was dug out for?
Not the faintest. Perhaps drainage as there is a water pipe in the tunnel. Well, if you ever find out the definitive answer, let me know please.
Mahalo
So mysterious!
Indeed!