Hana Hiking: Pipiwai Trail

On Thursday morning, we woke up to the light smattering of rain.  We waited out the rain, and by the time we had finished breakfast and packed our hiking packs, the weather had cleared and the sun was lighting up the whole yard around the house.

We took the Green Monster past Hana and into the Haleakala National Park.  At the visitor's center there you pay $10 per car.  The entry fee is good for access to the park at the summit as well.  We probably won't be making it up into the crater within the next few days--but if you can when you visit, make sure to hang onto that receipt.

{Wailua Falls on the way to Oheo Gulch aka Seven Sacred Pools}

{our route from the park's visitor center to Waimoku Falls}

{look up!}

The Pipiwai Trail above the Seven Sacred Pools at Oheo Gulch is about 2 miles each way.  The beginning of the hike has the steepest grade, but the hike doesn't feel all that strenuous since there is so much to take in.

The first major diversion is the Makahiku Falls overlook about a half mile into the hike.

{The Makahiku Falls is about a 200 foot drop}

There's a side trail leading off to the right that brings you closer to the waterfall--much closer.  It has been blocked off by the park, but hikers before us have gone and blazed the trail--and bent back the wire fence.

{Bryan and Carolyn adventuring}

{at the top}

{the photos don't give this waterfall enough justice, but the video does a little better}

You have to do a small amount of rock scrambling to get down to the waterfall's edge.  On calmer days, I've been told that you can safely get in and lounge in the natural "infinity pool" at the top of the 200 foot waterfall.  On the side closest to the trail, a thick rock edge would keep you safely inside...supposedly.

{another video at the top of Makahiku Falls.  Sorry, Mom and Dad.  I know this looks scary!}

{Bryan and Carolyn at the Infinity Pool on top of Makahiku Falls--the waterfall is behind me}

After our diversion at the Infinity Pool, we continued along the designated trail until we reached this small gate:

{the gate prevents the travel of wild pigs and domesticated animals into the park}

Shortly after we passed through the gate and climbed a little further uphill, we came into a clearing dominated by this huge banyan tree.

A little later, a sign pointing out a stream overlook took us down to this waterfall:

We crossed Pipiwai Stream via two metal bridges, both of which had some awesome views of small waterfalls below us and groves of bamboo all around us.

{starting to climb into the bamboo}

At this point, we took another small diversion trail to hike up along the stream bed so Bryan could play explorer:

After playing by the water, we began to hike into the bamboo in earnest.

The boardwalk begins when the ground gets marshy from never completely drying out from the regular rainfall this side of Haleakala receives.  Hint: bug spray is a great ally here.

{a not-so great quality video of the bamboo boardwalk, but worth viewing to get some scope of what we were hiking through}

{Carolyn in the jungle of bamboo}

Once we exit the bamboo, you have to pass through two major stream crossings.  I was determined not to get my sneakers wet, so I tip toed and leapt across the rocks to reach the other side.

{stream crossing traffic jam}

This is your reward for crossing the streams and not breaking your neck:

{the 400 foot drop of Waimoku Falls}

{made it!}

As you can see from the video, there is water sluicing down the entire rock face, although the main waterfall is the most impressive detail of the entire scene.  It's amazing to stand at the bottom of this bowl and watch water cascade down from an astonishing height.

{a trio of happy hikers}

Waimoku Falls is your turnaround point.  As far as I know, it's the end of the trail and there are no further diversions.  

The three of us got our photos, took photos of others and then hightailed it back down the trail.  The hike back was swift and easy.  We didn't stop often, so our hike down took us about an hour while the hike up took us about two.

Once we arrived back at the Visitor Center, we took a snack break (almonds and beef jerky), drank water (from my new dearly beloved stainless steel insulated water bottle I had bought the day before at Mana Foods grocery store in Paia) and then went down through Oheo Gulch along a half mile loop.

The rangers had closed the Seven Sacred Pools to swimmers because of a high water advisory, so we could only look longingly at all the gorgeous pools from afar.

{The bottom of the falls cascading under the highway and down through Oheo Gulch where the Pipiwai Stream finally reaches the ocean}

After our epic hike, we piled back into the Green Monster and headed back towards Hana town to check out Hamoa Beach.  More on that to come.

Stay tuned for photos and more Hana stories soon!