Kaapoko Tunnel Hike (part 1)

October 11, 2007 | In Hiking, Waterfalls | 7 Comments

Earlier this summer, Kris wrote to ask:

On January 10 you blogged about Kalalau and mentioned in passing to ‘remind me to blog about the “tunnels” hike someday’. I hope that day is soon - I’d love to hear your thoughts about that hike.

Ahhh, the “Secret Tunnel to the North Shore,” sooner or later, everyone asks me about that one. The Ultimate Guide revealed this hike to the world, but somehow their three-page description fails to capture the difficulty. Frankly, it is the hardest trail on Kauai, and one of the most difficult I have ever done, period (your mileage may vary, as they say).

You do reach some wild and beautiful places, but the trail just to get the first tunnel is a 2.25-mile (3.5 km) slog through mud and brush. There are rivers to cross, mud bogs to go through, branches to duck, slippery slopes, and lots of humidity and frequent rain. It can be very frustrating, and if you’re not ready for it, you won’t have fun at all.

My own wife who has done some crazy things with me won’t go on the Tunnels because she just doesn’t think it sounds worth it. There are other more accessible waterfalls just as spectacular, for example Hanakapiai, though that can be a mud bath too. The inaccessibility and remoteness of the tunnels is an appeal to some people, mostly guys it seems, but I also just like tunnels.

Lastly, the Ultimate Guide has an unfortunate tendency to rename hikes, so I would like to reinstate the original name. Ka’apoko is the name of the stream after the second tunnel, and after reading around on the internet, it seems this is what hunters called the trail.

After an important message, I give you my photo-description of the trail.

WARNING: hiking off-trail, crossing rivers, and entering abandoned tunnels are dangerous activities. Unmaintained use-trails have many hazards including eye-level sticks, slippery mud, drop-offs concealed by vegetation. Rivers can flood quickly to trap you on the other side. Waterfalls sometimes carry rocks with fatal consequences. Never free-climb volcanic rock because it is unstable. Take plenty of water (or a water filter), don’t forget your flashlight, and turn around to return before dark. Exercise caution and proceed at your own risk.

This is the trailhead, consider the shoe stuck in the mud to be a warning. You start walking on this muddy road to the river, and to my great surprise, I have seen hunters drive on it.

Cross the two branches of the river just above where they come together and head into the bamboo forest. There might be pink trail markers to follow, but don’t rely on them.

Instead, follow the old log trail. You know you’re on the right path when you see these logs buried in the mud. It’s also frustrating to see how the once-maintained trail is grown over.

The first half of the hike also goes by old telephone poles, or the stumps thereof. These are near to tops of hills and usually provide the only views out of the thick forest cover. I assume they once carried the wire for a stream gauge signal.

Get used to the mud. Most of the time, it’s easier just to go right through the middle while looking for submerged rocks and logs. If you do have hiking boots, it’s best to avoid overtopping them.

Some parts of the trail are idyllic, this is near a small stream crossing. I like to think this is what the rain-forest would look like without the invasive guava choking out the native plants.

The second half of the hike is a little bit more open, though the ferns are more scratchy. Note that it is still muddy.

This picture is straight, the trail is slanted. This creates many places where you slide down 3 feet (1 meter) and climb back up.

After paralleling then crossing a large stream (the north branch of the North Fork of the Wailua River), you climb uphill a while and finally see this wooden bridge over the ditch 15-20 (5-6m) below. Cross the bridge and follow the ditch to the left. Don’t go straight, which drops you into a gully.

Soon you will see the entrance to the first tunnel, but remember, the mud is deepest right before the tunnel. The shack for the stream gauge is lying in the ditch now, it used to stand on the platform to the right of the tunnel. If you came in hiking boots, you’ll need to leave them here and put on water shoes.

The first tunnel is about 6 feet (1,80 m) high on average, with some low spots so most people have to walk hunched over just to be safe. The water is 1-9 inches (3-22 cm) deep and the bottom is rough and rocky. The second half of the tunnel also has submerged railroad tracks, so watch your toes if you have open sandals.

What’s reassuring is that the 0.9 mile-long (1.5 km) tunnel is perfectly straight and you can see the light at the other end the whole way. It takes 20-30 minutes to reach that light. When you get there it is like a door onto another world.

In fact, there is just a little waterfall outside, but still very pretty. Unlike some hike reports, do not leave the tunnel here to follow a steep little trail. Instead, turn left just before the exit and follow the tunnel around to a second opening with a second waterfall (this photo).

Do not exit there either, but turn left again to go through another leg of the tunnel that begins with these wooden braces. Unlike those other reports, they seem solid to me, but please step over them, not on them. All these turns in the tunnel are actually a second tunnel dug to avoid a section that collapsed long ago.

Soon you’ll be out of the tunnel and staring at the old ditch that used to be filled with water. Some descriptions have you climb over the wall and go down to the river.

When I went, the pink flags led in the ditch, through a short bonus tunnel, and then down a stream to the Hanalei river at the point in this photo. If you climbed the wall, you’ll end up downstream of the house-sized boulder.

The first time I went through the tunnels, it was a gray and rainy day. This trip was much more sunny, ideal even. I went downstream a ways and climbed on another huge boulder and was rewarded with a view up into the headwaters of the Hanalei River:

I believe the point half-obscured by a cloud is the north face of Pohakupele (Pele’s Rock), and further to the right above the waterfall (click photo to enlarge) is the seldom-seen north-east face of Waialeale (or more precisely, of the ridge that extends northwards from Waialeale). It had rained hard the night before I went, and while that made the trail extra muddy, it also made for more waterfalls in the mountains.

In part 2, we go through the second tunnel and beyond…

Preparation

This hike has two distinct parts, which adds to the difficulty if you’re not prepared. The forest is usually hot and humid and requires sturdy shoes. The tunnels are cool and humid, requiring water shoes of some sort. Here is what I took:

• Because of the humidity and effort, you’ll sweat a lot, so take plenty of water. I carry a 1.5-liter bottle and a water filter (with purifying drops). I had to refill twice during the day, which means I drank over a gallon of water.
• Long pants and long sleeves are helpful against the scratchy bushes and ferns. Your clothes will get soaked from puddles and from dew or rain on the plants. A non-cotton micro-fiber shirt really helps to keep you from getting cold once you go in the tunnel. Against all fashion sense, I also wore zip-off pants that worked well since I could take off the wet legs before going in the tunnel. Alternatively, you could pack a bathing suit or board shorts for the tunnels.

  Your clothes will be wet and dirty throughout the hike, and you’ll probably have to put them back on when you hike out, so get used to it.

• I took gloves this time and found them useful to avoid thorns (from invasive lantana) when grabbing for the bushes and branches, as you will inevitably do when you slip. Tight-fitting canvas work gloves are probably best, leather will get ruined by the water, and open fingertips are not necessarily better.
• Shoes are a matter of personal experience. I prefer good ankle support and protection, so I hike the muddy trail in full waterproof hiking boots. I managed to keep the mud out, but water will still drip in the top, so be sure to take precautions such as sock layers if you’re subject to blisters.
• The water in the tunnel is too deep for boots, so I always bring Japanese tabis, which are felt-soled water socks. They worked great for crossing the Hanalei River and walking in the muck of the second tunnel, but the soles are too thin for the rocks of the first tunnel. Closed-toe water sandals would perhaps be best for the first tunnel, but you’ll have to put up with mud between your toes in the second. I need to look around for some thick soled tabis.
• My favorite flashlights are the tiny LED headlights. They’re not very bright, but they take up no space and they last forever. The bulbs can’t break, and they stay lit enough to walk even when the batteries are discharged.
• I’ve hiked this trail with and without a stick. In some places it really helps to balance yourself in a mud puddle or vault over a slippery area. In some of the more frustrating places, it’ll get caught on the branches and be in your way. But it is useful in the tunnel to walk hunched over and take some weight off your feet. Make sure the stick is sturdy and short, 3-4 feet (1-1,30m), to avoid get caught in tight places.
• Don’t forget to leave a change of clothes and shoes in your car at the trailhead, along with some water.

More Kalalau Questions

January 10, 2007 | In Hiking, Beaches, Waterfalls | 4 Comments

First a couple of announcements:

• We’ve had a week of off-and-on heavy rain showers, and the newspaper reported today that the State Parks have stopped issuing the remaining permits for Hanakapiai and Kalalau campgrounds. The trail itself is not officially closed, though it is sure to be muddy, so existing permit holders may come and go. However, all hikers should weigh the conditions against their abilities and be ready to cancel their hike. The article mentions hazards such as rising streams, flash floods, and trees falling across the trail.
• I have found a few more accounts and descriptions of the Kalalau trail online. I will continue to add them to my existing post titled Kalalau Trip Reports as I find them.

My first post about the Kalalau trail has generated the most comments of any so far. It is after all the highlight of any trip to Kauai for the physically inclined. But from the emails I keep receiving, it seems like details are scarce. The discussion in that post has turned to the “hippies” who “inhabit” Kalalau valley, so I’ll start a second post with another set of questions. Rachel asks:

Q: I am determined to make it to Honopu Beach, what is the best way to get there, some places say you can walk along the rocks, while others say to swim. We will be there the second week in June ‘07. How hard is it really?

A: You must have been reading the “Ultimate” Kauai Guidebook where Honopu beach is called “the most beautiful beach in all the islands, maybe in all the Pacific.” Now I have a lot of respect for the guidebook authors, with all the places they’ve revealed and all the great photos they’ve published, but they do have a tendency to hype (and brag about) the most deserted and most difficult places to access (remind me to blog about the “tunnels” hike someday). What you should know about Honopu beach is that although it is beautiful and unique, sitting at the base of sheer cliffs and bisected by a towering arch, I don’t find it as aesthetic as Kalalau beach (see the first two photos in that other post). At Honopu, the cliffs are a bit foreboding, the arch is massive and asymetrical, the waterfall is mostly hidden and the beach itself has no trees, no shade and only a few dunes to add interest.

But the attraction of Honopu is undeniable: a deserted beach whose isolation almost guarantees you’ll be alone (though not unseen from kayakers and helicopters), and exploring it gives you a good adrenaline rush. There is only one legal way to reach Honopu beach, and that is to swim there. Landing a craft of any sort at Honopu is illegal, even a surfboard I believe. Be aware that the swim involves choppy waves, currents and unpredictable conditions, even in the summer when the ocean is relatively calmer. You should not even consider this swim outside the summer months.

During the summer, the relatively calmer seas bring sand onto Kalalau beach, making it walkable for almost a half mile past the campground. You will go past several sea caves on the beach, some with small lagoons trapped inside by the enlarged beach. The last cave opens where the rock face blocks the beach, but you can go through the cave (usually dry) out to a small beach on the other side. There seems to have been some sort of rockslide that opened up this beach from the cave, and there are huge boulders strewn on the beach. When I went, I swam from here:

You might be able to hike a bit further along the rock face, but I believe you will reach a point where it will be impossible to pass. Anyways, you would be battered by waves, even small ones, making it safer to be swimming in the water. So, if the seas are not rough, if you feel confident in your ability to swim in the ocean, and if you agree to not hold me liable, here is where you start swimming. From that last beach, you cannot see Honopu beach, it is around the corner of the cliff. I estimate it’s about 150 yards to the corner, and another 150 around to the beach. That’s 3 laps in an olympic pool (50 meters in length), so I recommend you be able to swim 10 laps to give yourself a large margin of safety. Also, you will be swimming against the current when you return, so you should be prepared to swim about 15 minutes continuously. Please do not attempt this if you have no experience swimming in the ocean.

Two suggestions: if you are determined to make it, bring a snorkel and mask or at least some fins. That should make the swim easier though you will curse the extra weight on the Kalalau trail. I suppose you could also bring a small inflatable device (children’s floats or camping pillow) for safety. If you collect sea shells, bring a small ziplock bag and make sure you have closable pockets to put it in, because deserted beaches are your best chance to find sunrise shells.

A friend here on Kauai has written about his adventures in Honopu, sometimes known as the Valley of the Lost Tribe. It’s the only other account I’ve found on the web about swimming to Honopu, and I do not recommend you follow his lead and climb into the valley. Remember that the main reason for going to Honopu is to explore further off the beaten path, but that involves further risk. So if conditions are not favorable or you are unsure of your ability, it is best to just stay and enjoy Kalalau Beach.

Update: I just found another account of swimming to Honopu on a new blog. It pretty much confirms what I say here.

Q: I am trying to fill out my camping permit, but am not sure what campsites we will be staying at each night. We plan to backpack for 5 nights and really enjoy the trail, do you have a suggested itinerary for me?

A: In the other post, I gave my ideal schedule for 4 nights and would just extend that with an extra day and night in Kalalau. But that supposes you are a strong hiker (hiking every week, backpacking every month), so if you feel you can’t hike out in one day, reserve the last night at Hanakapiai Hanakoa again. Or even if you are a strong hiker, you might want to add the side trips to Hanakapiai falls the very first day and Hanakoa falls on the way out, and thus plan to stop at Hanakapiai both ways.

Update July 2007: camping restrictions have changed, and permits are now given for Hanakoa instead of Hanakapiai. I had previously heard camping was restricted at Hanakoa to preserve the archeological sites (rock walls and terraces), but Hanakapiai was becoming so overused that the park managers decided its sites were now more at risk. Hanakoa is the more logical half-way point to camp, and people were camping there anyways, but I still find it to be too muddy, muggy, and buggy.

See the official Na Pali permit procedures webpage if you haven’t already. Hanakoa camp at the 6-mile marker is closed, and so Hanakapiai is your only legal option. In case of an emergency, and that would include getting caught by darkness, I think you would be justified in bivouacking at Hanakoa Hanakapiai. There is also a heliport near the 8-mile marker, with small terraces on the other side of the trail where you could set up an emergency bivouac. The section of trail beyond that point is the worst eroded, so you really don’t want to do it in the dark even if you have head-lamps or flashlights.

As long as you have a paid permit for a given night, you will most likely be forgiven if you camp in the wrong place and get caught by a ranger (let me know if that’s not the case). That means that if you plan to hike out in one day, but then realize after the hike in that you’d rather not, it’s better to leave a day early and spend that night in Hanakapiai rather than make an unpermitted stop there.

Personally, we don’t camp at Hanakapiai when hiking out because by then we just want to get back to our home. But those last two miles are hard after the first nine, and the throngs of day hikers returning from Hanakapiai don’t make it easy to maneuver a large pack. So you should really evaluate how you handled the hike going in and decide if you’d gain anything by pushing yourself to get out in one day.

Q: Are there any places along the way we should make it a point to stray off the trail for that the books don’t tell you about?

A: The major side trails are Hanakapiai and Hanakoa falls, which are in the guidebooks, but I’ll mention them here as part of a Kalalau trip. As nice as they are, I usually don’t recommend them for people only going for 2-4 days. However, you will have extra time, so you could fit them in. Hanakapiai falls are 4 miles roundtrip from the beach, on a muddy trail and rock-hopping a bit in the stream. That’s a good half-day hike in itself, so I recommend you do on the first day if you leave early and camp at Hanakapiai afterwards. You could always go on your last day if you camp at Hanakapiai, but like I said, you might just want to hike out and rest by then.

Hanakoa falls are only a half-mile (less than 1 km) from the main trail and well worth the detour (see photo on the right below). The problem is that you may not have time for that extra hour if you’re behind schedule going in or trying to get out in one day. My recommendation is to skip it on the way in, to make sure you reach Kalalau before dark (not only for safety but also for the views), and do it on the way out if you have time (based on your schedule going in). The trail begins near the shelter on the SW (Kalalau) side of Hanakoa stream. You can go through the shelter and out the back to the left, but I think the real trail starts one or two terraces below the shelter. The trail is unnmarked and faint, but it’s the only way to go (it crosses a side stream but stays on the left bank of the main stream). At one point near the falls, the trail is eroded on a ledge high above the stream, so step carefully.

Hanakoa valley also has two viewpoints that reward the adventurous hiker. At both points where the trail turns to go into and out of the valley, there is a small ridge that continues toward the ocean. Leave your pack by the trail, grab your camera, and scramble through the bushes onto these rocky outcrops. You can’t go too far until it gets steep, narrow, and dangerous, but that extra perspective gives you great views up and down the Na Pali coast and into the valley. I believe the photo on the left above is from the NE ridge, and you can see my wife hiking further down the trail towards Kee, itself visible at the end of the cliffs.

In the original post, I mentioned Space Rock, which I call the Gate because that’s more what it looks like. It’s where the trail squeezes between a large boulder and the cliff face, around the 3.5 mile-mark, after leaving Hanakapiai and just before entering the first major valley of Hoolulu. This is the highest point on the trail at over 700 feet (over 200m), and if you are not subject to vertigo, you can walk around the rock and look straight down into the ocean.

In Kalalau valley, I’ve also described how to get to Big Pool. Several sources mention Davis Falls, which are the major falls on the N wall of the valley that you can see from the Kalalau lookout and from one point on the trail to Big Pool. The Boy Scouts actually built a trail to the falls but it was cut off by damage from the hurricanes, and then lack of use made it disappear. I have explored some other trails in the valley, and people have told me where to find that one, but I’ve never really looked for it. Maybe some of the “resident” hippies can tell you, and then you can share it with us here.

One place to find those “residents” and more views of the Na Pali is on the bluff between Red Hill and the stream crossing. The easiest way to find it is to walk back to the base of the eroded Red Hill you descend on into the valley and then cross the grassy bluff to the cliff edge. You can get down to a boulder beach to the right, and there is a faint trail that loops around to left on the bluff, joining the main trail just above the stream.

Finally, there are many views from the trail itself, just look up and look back often to see them. There are also some possibilities for exploring elsewhere off the trail, but I don’t know many of those and none lead to new viewpoints. If you do feel like exploring off trail, please walk carefully to avoid causing erosion and killing plants that prevent erosion, and do not disturb any ancient rock walls you might find.

Q: Is catching fish a feasible feat? We obviously don’t intend to base our food supply on that, but something sounds cool about catching a fish for dinner while on the trail.

A: The only places you reach the ocean are at Hanakapiai and Kalalau Beaches, so you’d most likely be fishing from your base camp in Kalalau. Shore casting is practiced widely throughout Hawaii, from both rocky shores and sandy beaches, and I suppose Kalalau would be as good a place as any. I am not a fisherman in any way, so I have no idea what fish would be worth catching, nor how you would go about it. I do see that most have long poles and weighted lines, neither of which are practical for backpacking, and to be honest, I’ve never seen a shore-caster catch anything (in Hawaii, night fishing is legal but sleeping on a beach is not, so I think that catching something is not always the goal). Come to think of it, I did see someone taking a pole into Kalalau, but I have no idea if they were successful. Another option if you snorkel is to go spear-fishing, but I don’t know anything about that either.

Food for long backpacking trips is always a problem. The two hiking stores in Hanalei, Peddle and Paddle and Kayak Kauai, both carry freeze dried meals, though it will be cheaper to bring from the mainland I imagine. Because those are usually bland and oversalted, we have moved towards other calorie-dense foods. The organic food store in Kapaa (Papaya’s, near Safeway) has powdered soups, hummus, and refried beans in bulk (be sure to pack them in stronger bags before hiking). Mix those with filtered or boiled water and some olive oil, and roll inside tortillas, for a hearty and healthy meal. We also take ramen soup packets and add garlic, peanut butter, and oil to the cooked noodles.

Q: How busy is the trail at this time of the year?

A: The trail between Hanakapiai and Kalalau is never busy. I think there are 60 permits per night in the summer, but many are kayakers. So you probably only have 10-15 people going each way beyond Hanakapiai each day. It’s enough to make you feel secure knowing that if you have a problem, someone will be along in a few hours, but not so much that you loose that sense of getting away from it all. If you stop at the places I mention above, you will most likely have them all to yourself for a while. The rest of the year, there are even fewer people on the trail, but between all the people I hear from and the “hippies” who hike it regularly, I doubt you’ll ever be all alone.

I have mentioned the throngs of day-hikers between Kee and Hanakapiai above, probably 100-200 on a sunny day. Between 10am and noon, most are hiking in, and from 2pm to sunset, they all hike out. You probably can’t avoid them, so it’s best to know you won’t be making good time on that section, either getting behind slow people or having to stop when crossing large groups. After the splendid solitude on the rest of the trail, it can be annoying, but you can see it as a preparation for getting back to “civilization” and feel a little smug knowing that those 2 miles are what 95% of the tourists consider the Kalalau trail experience.

Q: I keep seeing over and over that the beaches along the trail are not safe and not to go in them, is there any good swimming/snorkeling along the way?

A: Again, the trail reaches sea level only at Hanakapiai beach and Kalalau Beach. Anywhere else in between there are dangerous cliffs below the trail, and the coast inaccessible for all intents and purposes. Hanakapiai is the treacherous beach with the most drownings on Kauai, so no one will suggest you go swimming there. It is a tiny bay between large cliffs, and the offshore currents combine with the large stream to create unpredictable rip currents in the bay. People die because they get swept out to the open ocean, not back to shore, and even if they do reach the rocky shore there is no way for a weakened person to climb onto the wave-battered cliff.

Kalalau is a different story. It is a long sandy beach where you can see up and down the coast. There is still a current going left as you face the ocean, but it will take you down the beach before carrying you offshore. I’m sure rip currents are possible with any size wave, but I have swum here when the waves weren’t too big, 2-3 foot (up to 1 m) face max. I am a medium swimmer, and although i could feel some currents and some churning, I was able to handle it.

If you want to go in the water, watch the waves for a while, throw a stick in the water, see if others are swimming, go in slowly to get a feel for the currents, and stay alert at all times for drift and undertow. One rule of thumb is that a steep slope on the beach indicates a steep slope in the water, so go in the water where the beach has the gentlest slope to avoid deep water. But once you’re comfortable with the conditions, jumping and bodysurfing in the waves is a blast. Again, bringing fins could give you an added margin of safety.

As far as snorkeling, Kalalau isn’t known as a great destination. It lacks a fringing reef, so there is no shallow lagoon where fish frolic. I’ve noticed two areas with potential fish habitat: the rocky bottom of the beach towards the Kalalau stream and the boulders and cliff-face on the swim to Honopu. Of the two, the rocky bottom around the stream is shallower and has calmer waves, but it will be murky after rains due to run-off. The rest of the beach is all sandy and drops off relatively quickly, so I don’t think there is much to see (but let me know if you try it).

In the end, the best swimming and snorkeling along the Kalalau trail is Kee beach at the trailhead. It gets “crowded” on summer afternoons, but there’s a reason.

NTBG After Hours

June 9, 2006 | In Hiking, Waterfalls | 2 Comments

Yesterday evening we went on a cool hike with the Sierra Club. One of the hike leaders works at the National Tropical Botanical Gardens (NTBG) on the south shore and can give private tours. So we got to walk around both the Allerton and the McBryde gardens after hours and see parts of the property you don’t usually see on the daytime tours. Both gardens are in Lawai valley between Poipu and Kalaheo, but even locals don’t always know the difference:

• The McBryde Garden is up in the valley and contains the various collections of plants. Plant lovers will be amazed at all the different varieties, some extremely rare and all well marked with tags. The paths are mostly service roads, except for the pretty trail along the stream. There are also a few theme paths: one displays the canoe plants that the Polynesians brought to Hawaii, the other presents various spice plants to your sight and smell.
• The Allerton Garden is located in the lower valley and goes all the way down to Lawai beach. It is more formal with walkways, fountains and pools, yet follows the natural contours of the valley. It also contains many types of plants, but here they are chosen for their aesthetic rather than their botanical merit. Beneath the palms by the beach is the Allerton house which can only be visited through special paying tours.

On this hike, we went further up the valley on a closed trail to a little waterfall. Palms from the gardens have spread naturally around the pool at the base of the falls, making a unique setting. I don’t know of any other natural palm-tree ringed pool on the island.

The Sierra Club offers this hike several times per year, and I highly recommend it. They are timed to coincide with the full moon, but you’ll probably still want a flashlight. If you’re visiting Kaua’i, be sure to check out their schedule of hikes to see if there is one while you’re on the island. Because it is a private tour, you do have to be a member, but it’s worth joining just to go.

Wailapa Dam Break Photos 2

April 12, 2006 | In Journalism, Waterfalls | No Comments

Floods are thought of as acts of nature and many of the people affected by this tragedy want it to be known that its origin is man made, so it is now being called a “dam break” or “dam breach.” However you look at it, the effects are impressive. Wailapa Road just east of the stream is reopened, and I was finally able to go back in the area for some more photos. This is the Wailapa stream bed further downstream of my previous photos, next to the dirt road to Rock Quarry Beach (Kahili Beach). Here, the stream leaves the flat agricultural (now residential) land and cascades down 200 feet (60 meters) to Kilauea Stream near sea level.

The picture above is the stream seen from the road. It arrives from the upper-left through a wide area that I believe is a man-made pond, curves around out of sight to the lower left, and then crosses right to some falls in the next pictures. During the flood, much water went straight over at the top of the picture, washing away a driveway that used to be behind the trunk in the center. You can see branches piled up in front a tree that withstood the flow and some building material washed up in the trees in the foreground.

There were some homemade signs and some printed Dam Mad signs posted in this area asking for an independant investigation of the disaster.

Source: Matt Reifslager via Julian Miller

These photos show the waterfall, from the road-side above, and after crossing where the driveway used to be below. I never knew this waterfall was here, or even the stream for that matter. It was a small stream before the dam broke, and the vegetation hid the terrain. A friend refers to it as Bette Midler’s falls, so maybe she owns the property around here. In additions to all the erosion, there is a lot of re-bar in the middle of the falls and you can see a cement and stone wall below. I wonder if there was some sort of construction here that was totally destroyed. I’d be interested in seeing photos of this area before.

These photos show the extent of the erosion all down the stream bed. Above is looking down from the falls. Below is from another place on the bluff looking at where Wailapa stream meets Kilauea stream. It’s hard to get a sense of scale on this last one, the current stream is the brown flow at the right of the alluvial deposits, and those are tree trunks on the opposite bank.

There are more photos of the devastation on The Garden Island website: page 1, page 2. They have some pictures of the reservoirs from helicopters, which I will probably never get to fly in.

Wetter Than Waialeale

March 23, 2006 | In Weather, Waterfalls | 1 Comment

After several days that each received more than 4 inches (10 cm) of rain last week, everyone was waiting for the sunshine to come back. Finally, the weather forecast called for a break in the clouds over the weekend. But before the storm was done, it had the final say: 7 inches (18 cm) of rain at my house from noon to 7 pm on Thursday (March 16th).

I looked up the rain gauge records online and found we received more than Waialeale that day, indeed all of Kapaa got drenched with more than 6 inches (15cm):

Source: National Weather Service Honolulu Forecast Office

Nounou once again had its temporary waterfalls, and with the clouds blowing over, looked like a misty Chinese mountain painting (well, not quite):