(day 3 continued)… so much for letting the sounds of the ocean lull me to sleep. I could not fall a sleep. It rained like crazy and the howling wind and rustling tree above me kept me awake most of the night… well mostly my mind was playing tricks on me because I was afraid my tent was going to fly away. The wind was that strong. Then I remembered a sign I saw earlier, “warning. flash flood area.” Then I dreamt there was a flash flood that swept me out to sea. I remembered my mantra from yesterday, “don’t lose my breath in challenging situations but find things that take your breath away.” A few deep ujaii breaths got me centered again and instead of letting my fears prevent me from sleeping, I let the sounds of the ocean soothe me to sleep because I was gonna need some energy to hike up to the water fall.
it's a very very very long drop
Every area of the rainforest was jaw dropping gorgeous.
a small water fall tempting my eyes
I’m so glad I didn’t continue the hike last night because the bamboo forest was very dense and little light shown thru the thick layers.
The bridge into the bamboo forest
It's so thick you can feel the weight of the air and the mositure from last night's rain
A path where light came thru and I needed oxygen to my head
climbing between bamboo sticks is as much fun as climbing a door frame
You just can't help but feel zen when surrounded by bamboo
I got eaten alive by mosquitos and had to cross several streams and muddy areas but it was worth every itch to encounter this moment that took my breath away:
Getting close to Waimoku
and closer... she's in sight
ohhhhh my! one more stream to cross
and here she is... I feel so free to at her foot steps
I was on such a happy high that I didn’t mind the down pour of rain on the way back down the trail, more mosquito bites, and even more muddy puddles.
On the way back down the trail.. saying good bye to the Seven Sacred Pools.
I can’t imagine anything else I see on the road back from Hana to the north side would be any better. Next stop is Wai’anapana campsite for the 2nd night of camping. It’s not as beautiful as Kipahulu but the view is just as amazing. I got finally see what a black sand beach is all about. I would describe it as black rocky beach. The black sand is coarse and there’s a lot of black lava rock. It looked beautiful from a high view, but as I hiked down to the beach, it was kinda scary. It’s drab. The waves are rough and mean. The cliffs look mysterious with their dark caves under neath. I felt like something was gonna jump out at me so off I go to set up home base for the night.
Black Sand Beach at Wai'anapanapa
The waves roar here
blow hole from underneath the black lava tubes
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