Yes. All I do in Hawaii is hike apparently. But I have to say the opportunities are awesome! I love ridgeline hikes. The views at the end are spectacular and I love walking on a ridge feeling like you are … Continue reading
Kuli’ou’ou Ridge
Category Archives: hiking in hawaii
Mariner’s Ridge
This was a GREAT hike… It was Omar’s very first hike in Hawaii. We hadn’t had the chance before he deployed and I had hiked plenty while he was gone… but I finally got to drag him with me! This is … Continue reading
Waimea Valley
We hit up Waimea Valley two separate times while we had family here. The first time was just to go to the farmers market they have (Thursday afternoons). I really wish we had some farmer’s markets even closer to … Continue reading
Aiea Loop Trail
My friend Val and I were looking for a hike to do after plans to hike Kaena Point fell through (it’s about an hour and a half drive up there and we didn’t want to try to swing it on … Continue reading
Judd Trail and Ginger Jackass Pools
Do this. Seriously. If you live on this island you MUST do this. Let me show you why.
First off, super easy hike, a little muddy after some rain but still totally doable. Mckenna and I wear wearing slippers (flip-flops) I don’t know if that makes us seem more like locals or more like stupid tourists that I make fun of all the time when I see them wearing flip-flops/heels/sandals on hikes.
I do love walking through bamboo forest! Judd Memorial Trail is a great hike even on its own. It is a loop and is great for beginner hikers. It goes through groves of bamboo forest and Cook pines. Really lovely. When you first get there you can go left and loop around the long way or take a right and get right to the action (after a half mile or so of hiking that is) There is a stream crossing at the beginning of the hike that necessitates hopping from rock to rock or just jumping in and wading across. I jumped in and helped the kids climb across.
Oh yes we were hiking with kids, 1,2,3,4,5,7 and 11 year olds. No excuses!
You will be able to see the pools from the trail, it is a bit of an incline going down and was a bit slippery/muddy but we all made it. We weren’t 100% sure it was the right place because there was NO ONE else there. (Awesome right?!)
This is the upper pool, great for kids. Pretty shallow great for splashing.
This is the lower pool… Big and deep and absolutely wonderful to swim in.
The best part? The awesome natural waterslide that goes into the bottom pool. It is slick and covered with algae so you fly in there! I didn’t touch bottom at all, and later in the day some guys were jumping in off some of the taller rocks (10-15ft) so the pool is pretty deep in the part closest to the falls.
First things first, as I was poking around the water I slipped on a slick smooth rock and went ass over teakettle into the pool below. THANK GOD I didn’t hurt myself, I was more concerned with my dog as I was falling. Of course my friends, what is the first thing they do? Take a picture.
(Bowser is like ‘Oh hell no, I am not going down) The stuff in my backpack barely got wet because I stood up so fast and I even found my sunglasses later in the day.
I am so happy that I am here to entertain my friends.
My camera started not focusing for awhile so a lot of my pictures look like this. I am very irritated. Thankfully it didn’t last the entire day so I was able to pictures like this:
And this:
King Kamehameha’s Summer Palace Ruins Hike
Oh my goodness. This hike was killing us. This was our THIRD time trying to find the trailhead and thankfully this time we actually found it!
I cannot recommend this hike enough, it is a very short hike and leads to an amazing set of ruins. I would just caution to not walk on them or disturb them because the walls are crumbling.
First things first: How to get there. Once again this is another hike of Nu’uanu Pali Dr. off of Pali Highway. Park near the Water Supply building and head up the road just a bit. You should see a gap in the bushes like so:
Continue on the trail, do NOT take the first left at the big tree, that will loop you around and take you back to the road. Head straight until you see a large path to the left while you are in the bamboo forest. The trail should start to climb a bit. You should start seeing lovely stone walls around you… This is good, you are headed the right way!
All of a sudden you should see this beauty in front of you:
Ten thousand people here for a luau?! Can you even imagine? I would have LOVED to be at that party.
It’s sad to see these ruins so neglected. When I was looking online for information about them, it said by the 1870s, just 30 years after the famous luau, they were already ruins. The history of these islands and their rulers is fascinating to me… I keep joking that I am going to start sitting in on Hawaiian studies classes at the University so I can keep learning!
If you have a time to fit this hike it, I recommend it. It should take no more than 10-15 minutes to hike in and would make for a great picnic or photo background location. I think there may also be another waterfall tucked away in here, but that is another hike for another day!
Sink Or Swim 