Day 2: Pali Lookout + Maunawili Falls
Sunday April 18th
A little more altitude, a little less attitude
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Today’s agenda included a waterfall hike at Maunawili Falls and making our way to North Shore. We parked 1/4 mile down the road from Pali lookout (free parking) and walked up a hill to get to what we thought was the start of our hike. We quickly realized we drove to the wrong starting point but were only 12 mins away, so not too far off. In the meantime we checked out the overlook which was a beautiful panoramic view of the island. You could see everything from the mountains down to the greenway valleys all the way out to the ocean.
It was also insanely windy so while we attempted a photo op of the group it was a fail. Walking back from the lookout there was a trail that we saw someone climbing earlier so we decided to ignore the “do not go past this point sign” and attempted to climb up the hilly terrain. We were semi successful but it was definitely steep. I had to butt slide part of it on the way back down so I didn’t fall.
1st row: failed group photo at Pali lookout | selfie + some crazy wind
2nd row: hilly terrain that me, Amy, Luke & Travis attempted to hike…didn’t get very far. Shout out to Annie for staying on the ground and taking pics
Back to the car and on our way to Maunawili Falls Trail.
I was thankful for the All Trails app in helping us get to the right starting point this time, but the reviews were very mixed. Some said “moderate great hike, not too muddy” and “very muddy and slippery”. Definitely extremely muddy…RIP to my new Asics. If you know me it’s no surprise that Mud + Steph don’t mix. I like to hike, but in Jersey it’s all dirt and grass trails… maybe a little muddy after it rains. I don’t mind getting a little dirty but this stuff was thick and nasty. So I was struggling a bit while mostly trying not to slip and fall face forward into the mud.
The hike itself was very cool, it felt like a scene out of Skull Island with the extra large leaves and trees. At the end of the trail was a waterfall and people were cliff jumping. Some of the locals were daring and did back flips off of the higher rocks which was fun to watch. My shoes were soaked and I was in water shin deep. I had my bathing suit on but it felt too chilly to me in the Hawaiian forest with no sun beneath the trees to dive in. Most of all I was legit exhausted. I was running and working out so much before this trip – why did that hike tire me out so much? I guess the balancing act took a lot out of me. Anyway, I was lame and rested on the rocks, watching the others jump off the cliff a few times which was entertaining.
Maunawili Falls Hike
The hike was tough, but I’m glad I made it out with only my shoes to sacrifice. By the time we were done it was 3pm and the crew was hungry. We decided to grab a quick bite nearby, my lunch of choice was a grilled chicken taco salad. By the time we were done we decided to table North Shore and put it off for a full day later on in the trip. I think the whole group was pretty anxious about getting back early tonight since we have to wake up at 3am HT to start work the next morning.
Off to Sandy Beach instead.
This beach was more crowded than Lanikai but definitely less people than Waikiki. The surf was good and some guys were boogie-boarding doing spins and tricks riding waves in. Time to finally relax before the Sunday scaries hit and I have to catch up on my work emails before tomorrow.
After a few hours of beach time we started to pack up. On the way out a wild pig walked up to Luke on our way back to the car. The animals here are not scared of humans at all.
It’s their world, and we’re just living in it.
Driving back to Waikiki we made a pit-stop at Target to stock up on groceries for our work remote from Hawaii week. We jammed out to 2000s hits playlist on Spotify – oldies but goodies that always put me in a great mood.
It was a long day, and I had to mentally prepare for my 3am wake up call tomorrow. But before bed I spent 20 minutes trying to salvage my Asics shoes, scrubbing away with dish soap and paper towels because that’s all we had. I think they came out decent. If anyone has sneaker cleaning tips drop them in the comments below! 🙂
That’s all for now!
XO Steph