Shoreline Daimondhead

The new Otani Hotel Kaimana Beach

Below Daimondhead
San Sui's waikz
Makalei Beach Park




Futher down from Wong's
Yay Mz in the marathon


A famous spot for nude tanning , I had to shut my video off a couple times because I would be taping and out of nowhere someone would pop out. This is not a good place for children


Theres a beautiful pool where we love to jump into from the rock wall, its all sand and beautiful at night with a fullmoon. There are lights along side the wall which light the area to swim
I love this house, if I was rich these people would have to sell
Yup Jim you'd have to sell me your house
My friend use to live here
Atop Daimondhead lookout

Daimondhead lighthouse

It was Thanksgiving morning and waking up in Waikiki only motivated me to slap on my running shoes and do my thing. So I set off at about 6:30 am and as I exited the building we were staying at I was shocked at the amount of people that would be up so early doing the exact same thing as me in Waikiki. Yes, there just so happen to be a special Thanksgiving Marathon so I decided to play the health freak for the morning and fell in with hundreds of people heading in the same direction as me. I ended up doing a straight run with the group from the Otani Hotel past Daimondhead & triangle park and decided to fall out right by the "Old FortRuger Market" located in Kapahulu. I wanted to buy some poke and call for someone to pick me up but to my surprise everything was sold out. I know the poke here is pretty pricey at sometimes $14.99 per lb. but it is the best poke on the island truely. So no poke , I headed back to the hotel. What a wonderful morning stroll along the shoreline of Waikiki. And I was able to catch some really nice pix for my blog.

Laie Waterfall Hike 11/2009

Righteous Lefts cracking , so glassy dude !!!
WORLD CUP SERIES PIPELINE
COMMON GUYS FOR ONE DAY ... NOOOO FOOTBALL PLEASE !!!





How this sign? Wow Lau Lau ?





Just imagine we climbed 1500 feet ... My little Yuri is a pro already
Walking thru the graveled driveway which seem like forever heading to the trailhead
Follow the trail behind this sign it will lead you thru a yellow gate ~ dont go straight turn here at this sign
Kyle at the trailhead



We were wondering what this hanging thing was





















My trail partner, thank you Myron for watching out for your aunty, such a good boy ...

A beautiful view just before the hike down the slope to the waterfall











Troy Cruising taking a break

Malila heading back up to the top before the sun goes down
Trying to hurry out, we were loosing light FAST
Oh my, which way to go ??? Its so dark where is the moon ?
The darkness in front of us , we were using the flash on the cam to find the trail.





Located up in the lush valley area above the quiet little town of Laie is a pine filled ridge trail that leads to a beautiful hidden waterfall.

We started out from Ewa at about 12:am with the hui. Adam, Troy, Myron, DJ, Kyle, Yuri, Malila & yours truely. On our long ride out to the North Shore district we passed Sunset beach where I stopped for a little photosnap as we observed the World Cup Series Pro Surf Comps with photographers and surfers from all over the world here on our little rock compete for the ultimate thrill ride of a life time that can be found here on the Pipeline.

We sat in traffic for a little while watching the awesome lefts cracking. Sunset beach a favorite pasttime in my youthful days when the hubby would often surf out backdoors here, I can still remember the days when I actually rocked in a two peice. But nowadays ya girl is in search for the perfect hike. Ill leave the water to my future ridah Yuri.

We arrived at the Mormon temple at about 2:15 pm and hoping after our quick stop to McDonalds that everyone wasnt burgered out on me. We parked along side Laie Field and proceeded in to the trailhead.

Enroute there we stumbled across a driveway filled with nasty signs to graphic for me to take pictures of and thought to myself what kind of people would write things like this when theres a public trailhead where children often come to hike "PILAU" I tell you. Signs like " No pick the coconut or you going get shot" or " You will die if you enter " or even " You like see blood try enter " common now seriously ??? What exactly are we trying to prove here? Anyways I found it to be a bit humorous although some of the children with me did not find it funny at all. Besides come on now , this is suppose to be a church town right?

Anyways ... we continued on to the trailhead and just remember at the sign to go left into the yellow gate area. Its so easy right at the beginning to get mixed up.

The trail itself offers beautiful panaromic views of the entire coastline from the summit up top and you will pass thru about three areas of forest pine before getting to your destination. The area has alot of open red dirt dunes which I can only imagine during the summertime you'd probably bake like a potatoe atop these dunes.

Some areas call for jumping left to right quickly shifting your legs under you to get across cracks in the hills.

Right before the decent to the waterfall theres a roped area to help you get down and after a heavy rainfall you will appreciate these ropes being in place.

Timing ourselves we arrived at Laie Field at 1:45 pm and did not reach the waterfalls til about 5:20 pm. So it took us about 3.5 hours just to get there. After such a long hike everyone wanted to feel the ice cold water on their skin. So refreshing this waterfall pouring in all its beauty ... we relaxed for a bit, swam, had musubi's and watched as Kyle & DJ jumpped from the falls.

Okay its time to pack up and Malila & Adam are rushing us out in fear of nightfall. And as the old saying goes ... "Once you loose your path , you might as well call it a night ". Our boys werent having any of that. With the overgrowth of the forest closing in on us and the light from the sun vanishing before our very eyes. We stood in the shadows of darkness with our faith and one cellphone to show us the way to victory. We were still 2 1/2 miles in and in complete darkness as we sang kumbaya and listening to each others voices we knew ... somehow, someway we would find our way back to the warmth of my SUV waiting in the town far below. With my partner Yuri loosing grips to reality and Malila & Troy busting their toes on roots that were poping out of the ground Myron & I had to stay focused. There were times we thought we took the right trail and found out we had to turn around because we had actually walked off into some bushes. Adam and Don trail guiding us out with flashes from our dying camera and dim light from the cellphone screen they continued on ... not knowing which way to go.

I prayed " Dear heavenly father , we have no light ... please we ask for your glorious light to show ... us your humble people the way out " and standing there in complete darkness we were lost and confused and before our very eyes we looked to our feet and stood in amazement as the darkness turn to light. I gazed up from behind me over my shoulder and behold the beautiful moon had made her way over the mountain to shine on our backs. "Thank You Jesus we all praised " ...

We found our way out and reached my SUV at approximently 7:50 pm. Wow ! What an adventure. We took a little rest and laughed to each other about our night in the mountains checking for wounds and catching our breath. We headed home stopping at a little superette in Laie Town for some cold refreshments and snack before heading back to Ewa. The lady at the counter was giggling as we told her of our adventure and admired our young brave mountaineers.

All in all a wonderful family adventure with a great group of hikers and mother nature. I will return to complete this hike one day and will continue on to the Koolau Summit trail with a possible overnighter.

Recomendations: Pack atleast 2 litters of bottled water per hiker and a heavy lunch and snack. Wear proper hiking shoes with grips and carry a stick to help you grade the slippery slopped areas. Bring plastic bags to throw your dirty muddy shoes in after the hike. And always pack couple of flashlights when unsure of trail coverage time.

Directions : Off Kamehameha highway if heading east towards Kaneohe turn into Naniloa Loop Circle you will then need to park along Laie Field and proceed by foot into the yellow gated area that heads up into a paved driveway. You will need to walk in about five - ten minutes before hitting the actual trailhead sign. If ever in doubt just stop for directions the locals here are very nice people. Thank You Laie ...