i had such a great time this morning with Mr. and Mrs. Naganuma. i met them at the Love Hawaii Collection in Yokohama earlier this year. they fell in love with hawaii 3 years ago and think about hawaii everyday since. Mr. Naganuma hasn’t surfed in 21 years so today was a nervous day for him. but as soon as he stood up, everything came back. he surfed really well and i’m sure surfing is in the blood again. thank you for the wonderful day. keep on surfing and keep on hawaii!
the mountain behind my house is called Kaau Crater. it’s a popular hike but very dangerous. a young girl died while hiking yesterday. i hear search and rescue helicopters every week from my house. it’s a trail i wouldn’t recommend unless you want to risk your life. but the thing that keeps people coming back is the view. freakin awesome! i’ve hiked it a few times and no other trail has a better view from the top of this mountain.
this is the waterfall about an hour up the trail. very peaceful and very spiritual. after you pass the waterfall, the hike starts to get dangerous.
the last part is a super steep hike. going up is the easy part, coming down is the hard part. you actually have to slide down and hope you don’t fall off the side of the cliffs. but on the top of this mountain you can see the whole south, east, and west side of the island. a 360 degree magnificent view! it takes over 3.5 hours to get to the top and here’s my advise. when you drive up the valley and see clouds on the top of the mountain, forget it. you will be in the clouds and won’t see a thing. this is when people start getting lost. wait for a clear day, take lots of water, take your rubbish home, and make sure you tell somebody where you are because even advanced hikers get stranded. good luck!
