Maunawili Falls

This past Sunday, we met up with some friends early to do our second (their first) Hawaii hike. Our first hike was Waimea Falls last Labor Day, which is a paved road and a pretty easy hike. This time, we wanted to jump in and see some of what makes Hawaii's rainforest so beautiful, so we set of for Likeke Falls.

Upon arriving at the trailhead, we noticed a lot of traffic in the parking lot. I had read that the lot where you park is used for church parking on Sundays, and sure enough everyone was arriving for service just as we were arriving to hike. We considered parking in a far corner and hoped we would go unnoticed, but there were people patrolling in golf carts, asking hikers to not park in the lot. So we quickly Googled another hike, and nearby was a 3-mile hike called Maunawili Falls. People wrote that the hike was muddy, but we were game for a little adventure. We applied our sunscreen (of course), bug spray, and set out.

Trailhead

Most of Hawaii's waterfalls have the Leptospirosis warning and it's a "swim-at-your-own-risk" sort of thing. We didn't plan on swimming, just seeing nature's beauty. At first the trail was easy- some mud, some roots, a few downed limbs we had to duck under. Nothing we couldn't handle. But soon (and unfortunately, too late into our trek) we realized that the mud and exposed roots were only getting worse. It was about this time that Evie decided she did NOT like being in the hiking pack and started fussing.

When we weren't looking down to avoid falling face-first into mud, we saw some neat things like the tree above. There were lots of mangoes and bamboo, and fortunately not much wildlife. Many people had their dogs on the trail but we noticed only one other couple who was babywearing. After at least an hour of walking, we came to a hilltop that had a great view of Kailua and the Pacific. We stopped for some water and family pics.

It was SO HOT at the top of the mountain, and it became obvious that our decision to hike close to noon was a bad one. Evie was happy when the pack was on the ground, but once Jay put it back on her fussing began. Our friend's daughter was having a great time, even sleeping at one point! We plowed on and soon began a descent toward the falls. After a second stream crossing we arrived at our destination. People were cliff diving, some from as high as 30-feet! We enjoyed resting for a few minutes, getting some water and snacks. It was pretty crowded and difficult to find a shaded spot for the girls. We were all dreading the return trip, so we decided not to linger.

Well, by this time Evie had had enough. She wailed pretty much the entire way up and then back down the mountain. Going back was much faster since we were more familiar with the trail and were dying to get out of there. We stopped a few times for water because we were all so hot, and poor Jay had a throbbing headache from Evie's screaming. When we found the trailhead, I don't know who was happier- the parents for having survived or the girls for being able to get out and walk. We got back to the car, cleaned up as best we could, and headed into Kailua for some brunch.

View from our car

We ate at a cute diner called Moke's Bread and Breakfast. They didn't have booze but they did allow BYOB and told us of a store a few blocks down that sold wine and champagne. We decided we had worked off so many calories on our crazy hike that we should treat ourselves to some mimosas. I had POG for the first time- pineapple (or passion fruit, I forget), orange, and guava juice. It was delicious with the Prosecco we picked up! I also had lilikoi sauce on my pancakes- passion fruit sauce, which looks creamy but is actually very light and delicious.

All in all, it was a lousy, muddy situation that we made the best of and now have a fun tale to tell. Everything I've read says Maunawili Falls is considered a moderate to hard trail, so hiking can only get better from here. Right?