WAIHEE RIDGE TRAIL

Waiehu Ridge Trail was the destination. None of us had ever hiked it before. It had been years since either Anabelle or myself had gone hiking, and Damien had never been hiking before. None of us had any idea where it really was or what we were in store for. We leave my house and head to the store. We pick up some water and some ponchos since the clouds started to come in and the weather was getting to be a bit iffy. We drive in search for the trail and admire the pre-Kahakuloa coastline. The trail isnt well marked and had actually past it. I figured it may be best if i turn around just to be on the safe side just to make sure that little cutoff wasnt ours. Low and behold.. the trail. We drive higher and higher looking for the parking lot that i had read about. The road zigzagged up with cows grazing on the left of us.. now the right.. now the left.. now the right. The parking lot is in sight. Inventory check!! Shoes.. check.. camera.. check.. cell.. check.. water.. check.. okay.. let's go.

  THE JOURNEY BEGINS

Like a tourist, we also had to read the sign to make sure we're in the right spot. The beginning part was something else. The damn supposed "START" of the trail was mad grueling. It was basically walking up a 60 degree incline that made it feel like it was 75 degrees. I thought to myself, damn, if this is what the trail is gonna be like, i really misjudged my physical aptitude. to my delight, the incline only lasted for about 200 yards. I was cool with it. Damien handled it really well. Anabelle, unfortunately didt do so good. She started her whining which was fine. I mean, if i was her, i'd be whining too. But like a soldier, she did it, and i was very proud of her. Suddenly the trail becomes a trail and the incline dissipates. The scent of rainforest is abundant. Walking up we start seeing what youre supposed to see on hikes. Trees, fungi, plants, fruit, vegetation, etc. The camera is brought out and we start taking pictures like wild people. Damien takes the lead navigator position which made me happy because it gave him a sense of responsibility and leadership. Damien sees moss and ferns and is very intrigued by it .He asks us to stop and take pictures of him with it. it made me very happy that he was into it because normally he's such a stay at home kind of kid. We could see the mist billowing through the trees which was quite a site. As we entered the elevation the mist was at, we realized that the mist was actually clouds. Literally, we were all on cloud 9. We tried taking pictures but the flash kept bouncing back from the mist which ended up whiting out all of us. i shared a kiss with Anabelle knowing that we were in the heavens. We both smiled from ear to ear. Rock after rock, root after root, branch after branch, we battled against the trail at times whining. And at times it seemed to be too much but we battled through it. ironically, we took so many pictures and walked at sucha a leisurely pace that our whining ws all done before the 1/2 mile marker. when we seen that, our faces were absolutely priceless.

Within the next 2 miles, many things were seen. And even more was experienced. We walked and walked and walked. The views were incredible. It gave us a whole new glimpse of the island we call home. No noise outside of the wind chiming the leaves, the birds chirping, and the crickets "cricketing", was out there. For a lot of the hike, we were about less than 24 inches from a several hundred foot fall. Several hikers had passed us on the way down and it game me much pleasure as Damien greeted them before they greeted us. There were 2 couples that we had run into that took the cake. As the last gentleman was coming down a pretty steep, muddy step, he slipped. He tried grabbing a branch which of course snapped and sent him sliding down about 2 feet of mud. HIL-A-RI-OUS!! Once they were out of sight and sound we started laughing so hard. We came upon a few benches which gave Anabelle a few minutes to recuperate. On the way to the 3rd bench, i had found a guava that we all ended up trying. Anabelle being Anabelle didnt want us to eat it as if it was poison. there was a stream that was a distance away but was within sight. The name was Makamaka'ole Falls.

For some of the walk, i realy felt like i was in a page of Jurassic Park when the guys are walking through the 6 feet tall brush as the raptors are on its way to kill them. It was just like that. Damien really liked the moss and the ferns. He also was in search for mushrooms, guavas, and mountain apples. Anabelle fell in love with this one violet colored plant. The stem was the usual but the top/tip of it was curly like a snail shell. It was pretty cool. I just like the fact that they were both very interested in something more than the end. They really took the time and made effort to search things out. I'm very proud of them.

After about 2 1/2 - 3 hours, the end of the trail was in sight. Damien being the leader, is ecstatic as if he'd just found the fountain of youth. Anabelle and I both follow taking in the fact that we had just conquered the mountain. At the summit we take pictures with both the camera and our phones. I send it to my facebook as she sends it to her friends. She instantly gets messages back of her friends expressing their joy and jealousy to her. We were all happy. Damien tested Anabelle's patience as he wanted to see what was beyond the fenced area, as if he didn't know. The sight of the island below was breathtaking. Wailuku was to the left, Lahaina to the right, unseen Maui was in front, and the bright blue pacific was behind us. We were all hit with a sense of accomplishment and fervor. It was so beautiful. We savored the moment before we made the journey down.

In about half the time we made it to the bottom. The entire trail had taken us somewhere along 4 hours. It was a beautiful 4 hours at that. We were all still running high on accomplishment adrenaline. Damien seemed to be in his own world relishing the physicality that he just showed. Anabelle, though tired, was still in semi-shock that her body did what her mind thought it couldn't do. I was just very proud that we all did this. WE went hiking. WE did a 5 mile hike. WE climbed an elevation of about 2,500 feet. And WE did it..

AS A FAMILY