All week long, people have been asking me,
"Jeff, what did…read moreyou do to your leg?"
"Oh, well, hell, I took a little spill while hiking."
"Where were you hiking?"
"Out in Ka'a'awa (North Shore)."
"Yeah, but where?"
"You know what? I don't remember the name? And, it really doesn't matter, cause I wouldn't recommend it anyway."
I must have said that a hundred times this week.
And here's why:
With any great hike, at some point, there has to be a payoff.
A "Wow" moment when that the little voice in your head says, "Yeah, that's why."
That never happened for me here.
Was it a great work out? Hell yeah, the best. My muscles hurt from my delts to my quads and hammies. Not the kind of pain you get from gym works, but the kind from physical labor.
It was a educational hike. I saw things, and figured out things that I had never thought of before (and learning is fun! Knowledge is power!).
Large pockets of fresh water house an abundance of Tahitian prawns. Their slender bodies and spindly claws showing easily through the waters surface.
Wild guava are in abundance, and beautiful red Hawaiian ginger is sprouting around every corner.
Sadly, my brain never clicked and said "wow" (not even a lower case wow).
To get to the Falls you have to traverse dried river bed, and being that it's dry?
That's right...no Falls.
The 30-40 foot rope climb, up a moss covered wall was exhilarating, but coming down was nerve-racking.
It was here that I slipped, and, trust me, spiked shoes are the worst? Ever walk on smooth tile in golf shoes?
The location is marked perfectly on the Yelp map. Parking is side of the road only, and the entrance is right at the end of the dead end road.
Use common sense.
Look, I'm not one to tell you what to do. You wanna go? Go. I just don't see the point, there are better hikes with more value just up the road.
That being said? Fresh Guava jam dose sound delicious? Right? And Tahitian prawns in shoyu and wasabi, fresh off the bbq?
Well...we'll see.
Aloha :)
