Weeping Wall

Flew over to the Garden Isle with Analyn, Anne, Bill, Cisco, Claudia, Mia and Shirley to enjoy a birthday hike weekend. Make that plural and not singular. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

We are going to the Blow Hole! Depends on who’s saying it.

This hole would have gobbled up a regular car, unfortunately all the jeep rentals were sold out. Luckily we all had two legged drive for the hike today.

Wading through the ankle deep water to get to the other side.

Somebody either needed help taking her shoes off or didn’t want to get wet. Photo by Shirley.

What happens when you don’t take a 4×4 vehicle. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

We detoured around this stretch of flooded road to avoid getting wet. Did I mention not getting wet? Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

When you try to help out a friend cross the muddy ditch, you get pulled in as well. What are friends for? Photo by Bill Yogi.

Company in the form of a jeep chased the girls up the road … Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

… to the cement posts that remain from the dinosaur movie. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Group photo at the dam, left to right: Shirley, Analyn, Anne, Bill, myself, Mia, Cisco and Claudia.

Analyn making her way through the emerald grasses.

We soon caught up with the jeep occupants and passed them going up the river.

Anne making her way across one of many stream crossings. Lucky for us, it wasn’t that deep and fast moving.

There’s always time on a trail to stop and smell the orchids.

Soon to be banned – texting while hiking in a stream.

Why does Analyn have such a terrified look on her face? Is it because a) she realized she forgot her swimsuit at home b) an inchworm was creeping up her arm or c) all her waterfall photos were accidentally deleted. Photo by Anne Fai.

Your heart is as cold as mountain water. Photo by Anne Fai.

Approaching the junction where three streams meet.

The group was only interested in the main two that cascaded down into a small pool below.

In case you didn’t get the picture.

Rock hopping our way up Wailua River.

Analyn standing next to the pristine waters of the mountain stream.

The girls preening and prancing underneath a fern tree. Photo by Bill Yogi.

Did I really lose seven pounds?

Shirley and Mia crossing over the stream bank.

Anne climbing up the slick rocks to the ridge.

Aquaman entering his domain. Unfortunately, Cisco and Claudia elected to remain at this spot to conserve energy for the return hike.

We crossed over the fence as we glanced at the numerous chutes, occupied and unoccupied, that ribboned down from the mountain.

Mia going down the slippery mud soaked hill.

Thar she blows! Again, depends on who’s saying it.

Making our way down and over a small stream in the verdant valley.

Meanwhile, Cisco had ample time to perfect his silky shots down at the multiple tiered waterfalls. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

It was worth waiting three years. Every single dripping day.

Drone view by Bill Yogi.

Everybody had to have their 15 minutes of photographic posterity. Some had to get another 15 minutes. And, you get the picture(s).

GROUP PICTURE! GROUP PICTURE! GROUP PICTURE!

Bill’s drone was no match for the constant influx of tour helicopters buzzing the area, that interrupted the surreal solitude of the area.

The colorful convoy of hikers reluctantly leaving the wall of waterfalls fed by Mount Waialeale.

Couldn’t find a cupcake, so a 7-11 musubi had to do. Maligayang kaarawan to Anne and Mia. Many more happy returns to this place. Photo by Shirley.

Making our way down the slippery bank.

Dropping and contouring our way back down to another photoshoot, despite claims to the contrary.

Somebody got off to a late start.

Playing follow the leader back down the river.

We got back to the weir to wash our spikes and some of us soaked our bodies. We still had that long stretch of road to walk back to our cars to finish our 16.3 mile hike.

When the restaurant “borrows” your name, the least they can do is give you a 10% discount on your meal. We had to fuel up for our long loop hike tomorrow. Wait, scratch that. All in all, a fun day that was filled with soaring waterfalls and good company. Photo by Bill Yogi.

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.

Tagged as: blue hole, guardian falls, mount waialeale, wailua headwaters, waterfalls, weeping wall