Kaipapa’u Gulch – August 12, 2012

It was time to check off another hike on my checklist. Today I decided to join the HTMC on a hike which not too many people do. Talking with others in the hiking community, only a small percentage of hikers had done Kaipapa’u Gulch.

Leading the hike today was Thea. She has a full resume of hiking and is a well respected member of the hiking community. I was also happy to see David and Nate and his cousins along with many other familiar faces.

Kaipapa’u started on a private road, and then we entered the trail. The trail goes through a forest. The landscape looks manicured, however Thea pointed out that the water actually floods the area pushing away branches and debris.

Today the stream bed was dry as a bone. I was out of shape, not hiking for a while. One thing that helped was the minimal elevation change. After about 2 miles, we started going through the gulch. The trail went in and out. Kaipapa’u claims to be 8 miles, but according to my gps, the terminus point was at 4.7 miles, making the hike at least 9.4 miles.

As we neared the waterfall, I noticed that the walls were not as enclosed as Ma’akua Gulch. This made me feel safe as I get paranoid when the walls close in.

Although the waterfall was not spilling well today, it was spilling, making the hike worthwhile. What makes this hike so beautiful is the large swimming area. When the falls are flowing well, it would be majestic to swim in the pool and put your head under the falls.

After a short break, I went with Mike and Nate back through the gulch. The guys were so fast, and I fell behind. As the gulch splits, I must have taken a wrong turn because my gps showed me off pace. I tracked back to the line on my gps and completed the hike in about 5 hours.

Going during some recent rains would make this hike spectacular. It is dangerous however as the walls are not vertical, but near vertical creating a wider area debris can fall and hit the bottom floor.