Hawaii, USA – May 1999

Today I’m going to let you in on a local secret. An awesome hike through some

of Hawai’i’s most beautiful scenery to an incredible one hundred yard

waterfall.

The Big Island gives up her treasures reluctantly. But when she

does, what a show!

The coolest thing is, the trail is blasted out of vertical rock, half-way up

the valley wall, going behind the falls. You can actually get your head wet

and see the pool at the bottom, over a hundred feet straight down.

Amazingly, I’ve hiked it a half dozen times and never seen another person on

the trail!

Preparation

Mosquitoes!, rain?, sun?, snack/lunch, water, boots optional, I do it

barefoot.

Don’t forget your camera, a tripod is good for group shots using

timer. The wider the lens the better. Waterproof disposables work well under

the falls.

How to get there

Drive or hitch to the end of Hwy. 270, you will end up in a parking lot with a

beautiful ocean/valley view, called Pololu.

Walk back up the road about five

hundred feet. On the left is a locked but low fence on a dirt road. Jump the

fence. It’s to keep the free roaming cattle inside.

Follow the dirt road to

the edge of the valley to your left. The road will end up at the trail-head

after 1 mile through the pastures.

The trail is wide, level and and well

maintained. Twenty minutes down the path and you’re there. You’ll never forget

it as you round the bend and see it with your own eyes, hear the roar and feel

the spray.

On the way, there are a couple of smaller waterfalls. Nice, but nothing like

the Big Kahuna.

Look for Kukui nuts (aka Candlenut), used in Hawai’ian leis; the black and white Jobs tears, another ornamental seed; wild Orchids; and Ohia-Lehua blossoms of a native tree associated with Pele, the goddess of the

volcano, because of the fiery red flowers resemble lava (also yellow, but

rare).

Koa is another native tree with beautiful but very expensive hardwood. You

can recognize it by the crescent pseudo-leaves, similar to a eucalyptus,

without the menthol smell.

Birdwatchers, keep an eye out for I’iwi, an all red honeycreeper with a curved beak.

If you don’t feel comfortable jumping fences, I’ve heard you can get

permission from the landowner, Chalon Inc. A Japanese owner, with an office in

Hawi, next to the post office, just off Hwy 270, up 250 a couple of hundred

feet. If you tell them you know how to get there, they’ll give you permission,

or so I’ve heard. I have always just gone for it!

Good hiking!!

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