I am a big fan of the film Jurassic Park. While many people love the movie because of the dinosaurs in it, I love it for the adventure and scenery (definitely a defining factor for why we visited Kauai before any of the other Hawaiian islands). When I started planning our trip back to Kauai, I did a search for where to find the famous waterfall where the helicopter lands in the beginning of the movie. That search led me to another waterfall named Waipoo Falls, and when I saw the pictures online I immediately knew it was the waterfall Derik and I had spotted in Waimea Canyon the year before. While reading about it I learned that there was a trail that leads to the top of the falls and it seemed within our limits, so onto our itinerary it went.
It was day 3 on the island that we chose to hike to the top of 800-foot Waipoo Falls. We found the trailhead right next to the sign for Koke'e State Park between mile markers 14 and 15, parked the car, and onto the trail we went. You can watch this week's episode on the 'Videos' page for an actual look at where we set out if you're looking for more information on how to find this trail.
I'm not sure how much I can talk about walking a trail for several hours, nor do I want to bore you with that! What I will say about the hike is that it is rated 'moderate' online, and the information I found said it was a popular hike for families who visited the island. Our experience was a little more than we had anticipated. The way into the canyon was a lot of downhill walking which can be tiring in its own way. Every step we took going in meant a step uphill coming back out. There were signs along the trail every so often, but many of them were fairly worn and difficult to discern which fork we needed to take to get to the falls. We made one wrong turn which turned out to be a good thing because we got a view of Waimea Canyon from down inside the canyon, a viewpoint most people won't see unless they take this hike.
After a short bit of backtracking from our scenic viewpoint, we were back on the trail and getting closer to the falls. The hike got much more vertical and tricky as we went along. We had to find our footing among large rocks and tree roots that were covered in fine dirt that made it slippery. The trail was very steep and nothing but loose dirt as I carefully made my way down. Then it happened. I fell.
I landed on my knee and also the ball of my foot when I felt a pop. I was terrified I had broken my leg at first, but I realized it wasn't hurting so it must have been a joint that popped or something. I quickly jumped to my feet to carry on (slightly embarrassed), took a few more steps, and felt my feet slip out from under me again. This time I managed to stay upright and ride the sliding dirt down a ways until it stopped. I paused for a moment to catch my breath when a couple of hikers came up the path and told us that we were almost there.
Into the jungle we went, following the trail to yet another fork. We went left first, climbing over a few boulders and emerging right onto the beach of upper Waipoo Falls. It was a small drop into the pool at our feet, but the amount of water rushing over and into it was incredible! We rested for a few minutes here, watching the falls and taking pictures.
Now we headed back to the fork in the trail and went right this time. After a moment of walking we were standing on the edge of the big drop of the falls! It was insanely loud as the water rushed out and over the cliff. When viewing Waipoo Falls from across the canyon, there are two main tiers that are visible. We were standing at the top of the upper tier! We stood in awe watching the water go over the edge, knowing it would fall 800 feet to the floor of the canyon below. Derik spotted a way to get down the falls even further and disappeared into the foliage below me. I stayed put since my leg was feeling tender after my fall. When he came back up he said he was able to see the water fall about two hundred feet (the first tier) to a shelf below where it traveled along flat land until the massive drop to the valley floor (the second tier).
The sun was getting low in the sky, so we knew it was time to head back. We trudged all the way back up the trail and made it to the car just before sunset. As I climbed into the car, sweaty, smelly, and sore, I couldn't help but be filled with absolute joy. I was trying to find words to convey the beauty, majesty, and power of what we had seen, but all I had was a smile. The hidden beauty of the earth had been ours for the taking, and we took it. We walked, trudged, climbed, slipped, and fell, but we could say that we conquered the trail to stand atop 800-foot Waipoo Falls.
These are two exhausted, but happy faces.
Cheers!
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