Mo’ole and Waipuhia Falls

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.

Tagged as: blown water, Hiking, hillebrand glen, irrigation tunnel, moole falls, nuuanu, pali, upside down falls, waipuhia falls, waterfalls