To motivate myself to be more adventurous and explore the island more, I bought a copy of Maui: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone when I was at Barnes & Noble last night.
I've been wanting to do some more hiking, and more recently, I've been wanting to check out Upcountry. My girlfriend Ashley (more famously known as Bad Ash) has had the same desire, so we decided to check out the short hike at Waihou Spring Forest Reserve today.
Ashley swung by my house early this afternoon with her hound dog T-Bone cruising in the back of her red pick-up truck.
{me at the start of the trail}
To get to the Reserve, we had to drive though the tiny Maui cowboy town of Makawao and turn right on Olinda Road. Olinda winds further uphill through the ranch lands of Upcountry. We passed beautiful farms with sprawling hilly fields dotted with goats and horses and cows. Then the fields turn into a forest, dense with trees.
The air is so much cooler up here than at sealevel in hot Lahaina. It even smells better up here too. Ashley kept saying that it "smelled like heaven."
About five miles up the road, we passed the Maui Bird Conservation Center. According to a sign, it is associated with the San Diego Zoo and there will be an open house on November 3rd and 4th. Note to self: explore this further.
[edited to add this tidbit from the Maui Bird Conservation Center's blog:
Although we occasionally host VIP tours at the Maui Bird Conservation Center (MBCC)—usually school students or other special interest groups—it is not often that we get the opportunity to open our doors. Being a non-public facility that focuses on captive breeding and reintroduction programs, we simply do not have the logistical capabilities to welcome visitors to MBCC throughout the year. However, our team is always delighted to introduce guests to our resident birds, as well as share stories and the successes of the San Diego Zoo Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program. Consequently, we are excited to announce two important dates coming up.
I am definitely interested in reserving a spot for a guided tour of the facility in November. Anyone want to join me?]
The trailhead is just a dusty pullout on the side of the road. The Waihou Spring Forest Reserve is an "experimental" forest planted with nonnative species where the state of pine tree growth is being monitored.
Kinda weird. But we appreciated how it suddenly felt like we weren't on Maui anymore.
{Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore}
It was dead quiet on the trails. On the rare occasion we heard faint bird cries or the haunting creak and whistle of tree branches rubbing against one another above us.
The trail is a 2.5 mile semi loop through the forest. At one point, the trail diverts and you can head way downhill to check out the Waihou Spring. Which is what we did.
{making our descent to the spring}
After carefully navigating the steep switchbacks (and definitely slipping and sliding once onto my ass), we made it down to Waihou Spring.
The spring was dry today, but the gulch was still an awesome sight.
The gulch walls shoot straight up from the boulders strewn at the base. When we looked up, we saw what looked like caves pocking the rock wall.
After looking it up in the trail book, we found out that they are water diversion tunnels which explains why the spring is usually dry.
We climbed up to one of the lower tunnels to take a peek.
Spooky.
Ashley said that she wished we had a brave boy with us--someone that we could talk into going into the tunnels and exploring.
As we clambered back down over the boulders, the sun peeked out through the clouds and illuminated the gulch in patches.
We gave T-Bone (such a good sport) some water and then started making our climb back up to the main trail.
{looking back at the tunnels. PS: my hair looks super shiny!}
{me and Bad Ash--I really must work on my smile. PS the welt on my arm is from an earlier wrestling match with a wild raspberry bush with malicious thorns}
Back on the trail, we came across this crazy thing:
Do you think someone tried sheltering here?
There's really only enough clearance to lay down under that thing. I guess someone got bored?
{the trail is littered with pine needles which muffles every step you take}
{Ashley walking through a corridor of pines}
{Ashley found a curvy tree}
{And I found this mysterious hanging plant ornament}
{Ashley found this dried out chameleon carcass}
{T-Bone leading the way}
{Bad Ash--who by the way is going to be my new neighbor!!}
{paths through the trees}
{Bad Ash and T-Bone}
After our hike, Ashley lowered the tailgate on her truck and we drank some water and munched on snacks. We reveled in the quiet and the cool.
Then we hopped back into the truck and headed back the way we came to check out teeny tiny Makawao Town.
{T-Bone and Toyota}
{Stoic. Ashley and her boyfriend Will call T-Bone "The Professor" because of his faraway looks}
Makawao is a tiny, rustic town that pretty much consists of one main street that is lined with boutiques and a few small general stores.
{The Dragon's Den: a little alleyway of natural medicine}
{Makawao Hair Saloon: do they serve shots with your haircut?}
{love the vintage barber's pole over the door}
{T-Bone enjoying some porch time while I browsed some of the boutiques}
{I didn't peek into this store, but I loved their logo}
{curious flowers outside the glass blowing studio and gallery}
{looking down Makawao Avenue}
{looking up Makawao Avenue}
{the Aloha Cowboy store with a genuine cowboy sitting outside on the bench}
{another curious flower}
{what is this?}
{hibiscus}
{designer jeans with my name all over them}
{hibiscus in a bird bath outside of a clothing store}
{Makawao street corner}
After browsing the stores and stocking up on pastries for later at the Komoda Store & Bakery, Ashley and I ducked into the tiny and fabulous Polli's for some Mexican food.
{chiles on the rafters}
{and a crowd at the bar}
We shared the Chile Relleno plate and ordered up some Happy Hour tacos on the side. This place is so epic. The last time I was here, I got a monstrously huge Chile Verde. I'm super happy that I went splitsies with Ashley.
We still left with full bellies, but not enough to make us fall asleep on the drive home!
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