…..perhaps we should have worked up to it.
Waipio valley, up on the northeast coast of BI is a lush valley, formed eons ago after a huge land-drop (must have been a hell of a tsunami caused by that!!). It has sheer vertical walls which extend 2000 feet from the valley floor.
We had driven to Waipio overlook many times, but on our prior vacations, never had the time to actually go down into the valley…….
….so today we did. See that beach down there?
It is 2000 feet down. The only access is by 4wd (ONLY) or walking. Our 4WD is still in Nevada. So we….DH, puppies and I….walked in.
The grade is 25%. A bit tough on the knees going down, but we did so in 45 minutes from parking lot to black sand beach–the road has few turns and drops the 2000 feet in about 3/4 of a mile. We enjoyed exploring the valley……hiking to the waterfall, letting the dogs play in the river, sunning on the black sand beach.
We met a man from Minnesota….(ya, sure is perty here, eh? You betcha!) and a doctor and her husband from Waimea (a town at the top of the cliffs)
At 2:30pm, it was time to face the music……the LOOOOONG climb back out (the same 2000 foot climb in 3/4 of a mile, now needed to be done….uphill). The trip down seemed SO much shorter than the trip out. The old dogs were happy to mosey at my speed (slower than molasses in a Minnesota winter…..), unlike their usual energetic pulling at the leashes.
We met another couple who were climbing….they had neglected to bring water, and DH was happy to share one of his extra bottles with them (please refer to February blog about passing a helping hand forward……).
I tried so not to grouse. It was, after all, my idea to do the trip. But I don’t do well climbing hills. In the sun. When it’s humid. I was near the end of my endurance when I spied the white painted gate which signaled the parking area was near.
I collapsed onto the moist greenery next to the car. The dogs collapsed nearly on top of me.
Perhaps a few nice flat land hikes prior to the next attempt……
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