Wailele Stream

We all met up at the town that used to be a sanctuary for fugitives until they were abolished in 1819.

The original plan was to ascend all 18 waterfalls until we reached the top of Laie Falls to celebrate Kenny’s birthday. However, a raft of issues such as anxiety, centipede or spider bite, gout, cyst, bad knee, bad foot and other issues literally forced a change in the direction of the hike to make it accommodating to all. For a minute, I thought I was working at Straub ER.

Hiking over the eroded path as we pushed our way to the grove of pine trees.

Chico literally going out on a limb.

Walking under the towering Norfolk pine trees that can live up to 200 years under the right conditions.

The timing was fortuitous as CB caught up to the group just as we were going off the trail to descend down to the stream.

Most of us went down the direct express way – on our butts, while others sensibly used the strawberry guava trees on their descent.

How’s that working out for you?

You guys okay?

Dropping down to the stream.

The others making their way down.

Smack dab in the middle of mangrove country. Fun. Fun. Fun.

The group going over, under and through the tangled branches.

Akira “walking” on water as he navigates his way downstream.

Looking for those waterfalls that Edgar mentioned that a couple of our friends had explored downstream on a prior hike.

Chico taking the Polar Bear Plunge. Hawaii version.

Rock hopping our way down the perennial stream which measures 12.5 miles from top to bottom.

Sighting of the elusive strawberry fungi tree. Found only at mid-elevations with inconsistent water flow.

Cristy and Allison hiking their way through the stream whose name literally means waterfall. Speaking of that.

Remind me again why I don’t really care for waterfall hikes? Well I guess this doesn’t really count, as we have yet to see one.

Alexis and Kenny still searching.

Maybe it’s under this tree? Maybe not. The waterfalls downstream are like unicorns.

Cristy pulling leaves from her butt that got stuck there during our slide down the hill from the trail above us.

Happy Birthday Kenny! Many happy returns. Where did that cupcake come from? Cristy?

Chico substituting happy birthday punches with water squirts. Better for the skin. Moisturizing and not bruising.

Time to blow this waterfall-less stream and make our way back to the ridge line above us.

Pulling ourselves up through the thicket of strawberry guava trees.

Bushwhacking our way up the trail. What trail?

CB enjoying a brief respite from the cloying overgrowth.

Allison enjoying her decision to wear long pants instead of shorts on this hike.

Chico flashbacking to his Army days as he low crawled through the uluhe ferns.

The birthday boy probably thinking he should wished for a different hike.

You can see Edgar’s shakas somewhere in that hot mess of a jungle.

Forced smiles. We are smiling on the inside.

Pushing through this insufferable overgrowth was taxing to say the least.

Somebody was muttering about mechanical extraction and threatening assault or something worse on some green-yellow shirted person. Must be the jungle talking.

Alexis fighting the overgrowth or was it the overgrowth fighting Alexis?

Tessa and Akira looked like they were enjoying themselves. Immensely.

Cristy leaving the painful memories behind her.

Enjoying our well deserved relaxation amongst the pine trees. While it may have seemed like we spent an eternity in overgrowth hell, the elapsed time from the first person up the hill until the last person gained the ridge line was roughly a little less than an hour.

Hanging upside down from a tree where gravity won and my phone fell to the ground. No insurance needed.

My phone wasn’t the only thing that fell from the tree. Even monkeys fall from trees.

CB and Chico ran up the hill to nowhere with their boundless energy.

Two way traffic on the trail constructed in 1935.

Kenny got one more birthday gift in the form of 40 pine cones that were pelted at him while hiding behind the sign. Our birthday bushwhacking and waterfall-less hike covered 6.33 miles with awesome friends. Post hike meal at Saito and Pho where house condiments were used on outside food. The 100000000000 % annoying church slut skipped lunch as well. That explains the number.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrHd4J4TzV4

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our bushwhacking birthday hike.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Alexis Catarina, Allison Banks, Chico Cantu, Chris Bautista, Cristy CM, Edgar Gamiao, Kenny Lui, Marilyn Bermudez, Tessa Bugay and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

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. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Tagged as: kahawainui gulch, laie trail, wailele stream