Waimea Canyon Trail

We got up, smiled at the blue sky and sunshine, ate breakfast, packed lunch, and set out for Waimea Canyon. our plan today was to hike the Canyon Trail to the top of Waipo'o Falls. While I drove, Ken looked up the hike on Tripadvisor.

He came across a couple of suggestions that rather than starting the hike at the Halemanu 4wd road, it would be more scenic to start at the lookout 1/4 mile down. We stopped at what w thut was the recommended lookout and prepared to hike. A woman parked nearby ventured to suggest that this was not a good way to get to the Canyon Trail, that it was in fact not maintained and even dangerous. Fortunately we listened to her advice. The next lookout turned out to be the one we were actually looking for.

It was a steep downhill for the first bit, with roots and leaves and loose dirt to trip the unwary. We were extremely careful, especially after my fall a few days ago. Along the way we met a woman and her daughter who were from Brisbane, and they hiked with us and chatted along the way.

When we finally emerged from beneath the trees, the views were, as promised, quite breathtaking. As we looked around and ooh'ed and ahh'd, we heard the rushing waters of the falls below us. We continued down through some large boulders to a real gem--a double falls ending in a cold pool, where some brave folks were actually in the water. I took my shoes off and sat on a rock to dangle my feet in the refreshingly chilly pool.

We sat on one end of a log and enjoyed the falls while we ate our picnic lunch. The hike back out to the car was not as difficult as we had feared. We arrived at the parking lot tired but happy and headed home, where the first thing we did was shower. I soaked in the tub for a while, which helped my back soreness.

After supper we did a couple of loads of laundry, had some ice cream, and headed to bed.

[photos later]