We left the middle of the head to drive to the back of the head for our last hike of the weekend. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
Trailhead
It was late in the day, as we had streams to cross and waterfalls to climb, so off we went through the towering buffalo grass.
Crossing #1
Time to start counting to see if the trail lives up to its name.
Makamakaole Stream
Matt on the lushly vegetated stream bank that helps to retard erosion and brakes the rushing waters when the stream gets swollen.
Crossing #3
Is that 3 or 6? Seeing double.
Trail
Passing the dining room.
Crossing #4
Rock hopping our way across the stream. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
Trail
Making our way through the upper gulch that is part of the sprawling West Maui Forest Reserve.
Crossing #6
Matt about to enter …
Bamboo Forest
… the creaking bamboo forest.
Crossing #7
Jasmin back out.
Trail
Matt passing the living room.
Crossing #11
Up to double digits in our crossings. We must be close. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
Trail
Passing a stack of ti leaf wrapped rocks, that was most likely wrapped in ignorance.
Crossing #12
Mere minutes separated our multiple crossings.
Crossing #13
We most likely lost our way around the supposed final crossing and instead continued left when we were supposed to go right that would have lead us to three waterfalls.
Crossing #14
More stream crossings builds character and keeps your feet wet. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
Trail
The stream water was crystal clear and filled with darting prawns. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Crossing #17
When you don’t have enough fingers and you have to improvise with what Mother Nature has at hand.
Crossing #18
We can stop counting now. Waterfall country ahead of us.
Waterfall #1
Matt climbing up the other side of the waterfall. The dry side.
Waterfall #1
The wet side with ropes. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
Waterfall #1
Jasmin decided to park herself at the base and wait for our return trip. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #2
Wading through the chest deep pool to climb up our second waterfall.
Waterfall #3
Matt making the transition from the first set of ropes to the second set of ropes to get to the top.
Waterfall #3
Is this the last waterfall? Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Trail
There’s only one way to find out. Follow the stream. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #4
We had to duck under a lodged boulder and make our way up the ice cold flowing water. Quite possibly, the most fun waterfall of the day.
Waterfall #1
Meanwhile, back at the base waterfall. What do you do when you have too much time on your hands? You take lots of selfie photo shoots. One of the few that could be published.
Waterfall #5
Matt climbing up the waterfall when a loose rock sent him plunging back into the deep bottomed pool. Talk of turning around was quickly dismissed, as we came this far, so we might as well see it to the end. He got right back on the wall and scrambled to the top.
Waterfall #5
My turn crawling up the wall. Halfway up, I lost that lovin’ feeling, so I had to pass Matt my webbing so he could throw it back down to me. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #6
One more waterfall to go before the big show. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #6
Skirting the edge of the ice cold pool to gain the waterfall. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #7
End game. It was worth it. Daylight was drawing to a close, so we turned around hustled back down the waterfalls.
Waterfall #5
I decided to take the express plunge into the pool coming down. Notice at no time do my feet make contact with the wall. Note to self: Don’t leave my spikes behind, especially when chasing waterfalls. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #3
Thankfully I did not repeat the plunge on this waterfall. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #2
Hugging a slippery rock coming down is as hard as it sounds. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Waterfall #1
The last fall of the day. Luckily, my butt is not that bony after all. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.
All pau
We made it back to the car under the cover of twilight, wet and tired. The ride back to the airport was more terrifying than today’s hike. We made our return flight with half an hour plus change to spare. Thanks again to Matt and Jasmin for the terrific company and fun over the weekend. Maui No Ka ‘Oi.
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.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Stream crossings! Your favorite!!
Aloha Ben,
Hey, luckily I rescued your comment from the spam bucket! LOL. Yah, my favorite activity and without spikes. Meh. LOL.
Mahalo
Great photos. We did the 13 crossings hike today. Going up, at the fork in the river, we went right and managed to climb up to a few different falls. From my reading of your description, you went left. Is that correct? That is a spectacular final falls. Overall distance? (If you can remember)
Aloha Ryan,
Thanks. Glad you had fun as well. Yup we went left and the total mileage was roughly under three miles.
Mahalo