Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Real Hawaii

Although I have had to work for a few hours over the last couple days (thankfully I can work remotely, so logging in for a couple hours in the mornings isn't terrible, especially when the hubby has to also work or is out surfing), Ryan and I have been determined to still make the most out of our Hawaiian Holiday.

A friend of his is working with the Reef team riders for the next six weeks, documenting real time life on the North Shore. His friend (also named Ryan) is an avid outdoorsman and amazing hiker/ climber (not to mention, self proclaimed billy goat and ridge reaper).

We had the afternoon off on Monday so asked Ryan if he wanted to go on a hike with us. Although he was tired at first, once we got on the road he started to perk up. You see, we were under flood advisories due to the rain and where we were going had a 600 foot waterfall. He had been there recently and it was flowing, but assumed that with all the rain we were getting it would be DUMPING. And, boy, was he right (but I am getting ahead of myself)!

I promised Ryan that I wouldn't spread the word on where we were as to not get it overrun with tons and tons of people (I guess he thinks lots of folks must read my blog ;)), so unfortunately for you, you will have to live vicariously through my pictures or befriend Ryan and have him take you, because you won't learn about the specifics of where we went here.

That's the only descriptor you will get from me ;)

So, Ryan and Ryan are both very outdoorsy guys. Don't get me wrong, I love being outside, but, normally, in a more controlled environment ;) With that being said, they are rough and rugged. I, on the other hand, am always up for an adventure but am like 5% as adventurous as they are. Our "tour guide" said that the hike would be moderate (but, come to find out, everyone jokes about "Mossy Moderate" and how gnarly it really ends up being).

The hike itself was probably 1.5 mile to the waterfall(s). It took us about 45 minutes to get there. And although it wasn't super long, it was LEGIT the most GNARLY hike I have ever been on! The majority of the trail is either alongside or through a riverbed (but, remember, we were in a flood warning, so at points the water was above my waist). The path was super slick and muddy, but AMAZINGLY beautiful. Picture Jurassic Park and you can get a glimpse of what it was like.

You can sort of see some of the falls in the far background

There were waterfalls upon waterfalls!

It was insanely gnarly, but we took the time to enjoy every
step of our adventure!

You can sort of see some of the "trail" to the right of the riverbed

And at this point you are hiking through the water itself

Oh yeah, and then we got to a wall... There was about a 15 foot waterfall and I looked at the hubby and said, "I think I'm just going to have to wait here". He told me that wouldn't be an option because you never know when the waters may rise and it might not be safe to just hang out there. Ryan was already at the top of it (he climbed it without any shoes - I swear he is part monkey). He yelled down to us and said that we were going to make a make-shift harness and I was going to scale the wall with the little rope that was attached to a tree - HA! But, I DID IT! (Not only that, I did it on the way back too!) It was really scary (for me), but I knew these guys wouldn't let me get hurt (and that the end game was going to be too amazing to miss).

So you can't see the waterfall below that I scaled, but this is a
picture of the guys putting away the ropes that we used to assist
me in scaling the wall (the guys were able to get up it like
rock climbers... I needed to clip in and get some help up {and down})

After my heart stopped racing and legs stopped wobbling, we were able to continue on and make it to the waterfall. The pictures don't do it justice and my words are so inadequate, but know that it was BEYOND! The hubby turned to me and said "This is real Hawaii". And I told him, "If I was the cussing type, now would be the time to drop the F bomb".

THIS IS MENTAL!

I wish the picture did God's creation justice, but it just never will!

So much power, so much beauty!





By the time we got back to the van we were soaked, caked in mud, but smiling from ear-to-ear and couldn't stop talking about how AMAZING a 600 foot water fall (especially during a flood advisory) could be.

We thanked the island for the experience and gave HUGE props to Ryan for taking us to see the majesty. (Like I said, I am not going to tell you exactly where we went, but if you were to find it, make sure you go with someone who knows the lay of the land and what they are doing. I never once felt in danger {even though I was scared poop-less at points}, but it can be a very dangerous place for people who don't know what they are doing.)

People leave gifts and offerings all along the trail as a way to
honor the island (mana)

It is ALWAYS worth stepping outside your comfort zone (and off the beaten path) - that's where the magic happens anyway!

Do you enjoy hiking?

3 comments:

SD Mom said...

AMAZING! Glad you are having a blast friend!

Scarabocchio Girl said...

What a beautiful place to hike! I truly believe that going out from our comfort zone makes us stronger and teaches us something new. ALWAYS.
When I run in the forest, I say out loud "thank you" to the forest itself. Maybe if somebody hears me think I'm crazy, but I'm really thankful for the nature, so I tell the nature!

Ange @ Cowgirl Runs said...

Jeepers, Carlee, that's amazing!
Although I pretty much live next door to the mountains, I'm much more of a nature walk gal, than a hiking/scaling mountains gal.
I miiiiight put on my big girl pants for a view like that, though!