Backpacking from Waipio to Waimanu Valley (August 19 – 21, 2011)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Photo Gallery] [Mapped Photos]

Waimanu Valley is located in the Kohala Forest Reserve on the northern coast of Hawaii Island. To access the valley, you either have to helicopter, kayak or hike it in. On foot, it’s approximately 9 miles from Waipio Valley to Waimanu via the Muliwai Trail. A permit is required to camp here, which often needs to be reserved months in advance, especially if optimal campsites are desired. Honored to receive an invitation from Kaleo Lancaster (Island Trails) and crew (Brian Bautista, Ryan Chang, Lei Yamasaki); Lost Trailblazers David Chatsuthiphan (Unreal Hawaii), Reanne Solomon, Justin Ugalino and I, were eager to hike the trail and check this trip off of our bucket-lists.

Kaleo, Ryan, Lei and Brian met us at Waipio Valley Artworks, an art gallery near the Waipio Valley Lookout. We could park our rental car there for set nightly fee, which was far more favorable than parking the car at the lookout. We were also fortunate to receive a ride from Gary Rubio, who drove a 4-door Tacoma, which was ideal to drop 8 of us (and full packs) off in Waipio Valley.

After gearing up at Waipio Park, we were immediately getting our feet wet by crossing Wailoa Stream. The stream was shallow near near the ocean, though the algae covered rocks and high-discharge made the stream slightly challenging to cross. A few of us took off our shoes and went barefoot, while others wore neoprene socks to help grip the slick rocks while wading across (Ryan, Brian, Kaleo, David, Lei and Justin; left to right).

Once across and getting our shoes back on, we followed a trail adjacent the ocean to reach the bottom of the notorious, “Z-Trail” (Ryan, Lei and Kaleo above)

The Z-trail is a series of moderately steep switchbacks, of which top out at > 1300 ft from sea level. It is also the start of the Muliwai Trail to Waimanu Valley (Brian left; Brian Kaleo and Reanne, right).

There is little to no shade relief for most of the switchbacks, however, this also provides excellent panoramic views… if you’re into that sort of thing, haha (Ryan and David above).

We reached the top in ~ 1 hour and were welcomed with shade and several logs to sit on (Lei, Kaleo, Ryan, Brian, Justin, Reanne and David; left to right).

A few minutes away was the first emergency helipad landing zone (LZ), which also indicated that Waimanu was 6.25 miles away (Lei, Ryan and Brian above).

We wove in and out of several valleys and crossed at least a half-dozen streams and gulches… most of which were barely flowing (Ryan, Lei and Reanne above).

I was extremely surprised to how wide and well-kept the trail was; it somewhat reminded me of Kuliouou Trail on Oahu. “Compared to Kalalau“, which the Lost Trailblazers did just a month earlier, this trail was much easier… not to discredit it as being an easy backpacking trail in general (Reanne, Ryan, Lei and Justin above).

An elevated shelter at ~ 6 mile mark provides and excellent rest stop for those wanting to grub or air out their feet (Ryan, Justin, David, Brian, Kaleo, Lei and Reanne, Left). We only stopped here on our return trip since we wanted to dump (consume/deposit) as much of our unwanted food as possible.

Some hunters we met at the rest stop had told us that when we reached a large forest of ironwood trees, we’d be ~ 3 gullies or small valleys away from Waimanu… which definitely lifted our spirits and my 48 lb pack… slightly, lol (Lei, Ryan and Reanne above).

The fourth emergency helipad LZ was also uplifting as it indicated we were 0.9 mi from Waimanu (Left). The other sign was somewhat ambiguous to it’s meaning (Right).

A small bridge and series of steps made of compressed, plastic planks, were also a surprise on such a remote trail (Kaleo, Left)… This is another landmark for, “Waimanu Valley can be seen right around the corner” (Lei and Kaleo, Right).

… which was a site for sore feet (Lei and Kaleo, above).

As we descended further, we were able to see Waiilikahi step falls (Reanne, Lei and Ryan; Above).

… which is one of the “must-see’s” while camping in Waimanu Valley

The number of falls visible while descending may depend on the frequency and duration of rain prior to your arrival.

Fortunately, we were able to see six amazing falls on when packed out since we were hit by the remnants of tropical depression “Fernanda,” the night before we left (David, Kaleo, Lei and Brian appreciate the view above).

At the bottom of the trail, you will need to cross Waimanu Stream to reach the campsites. The stream can be shallow or deep, again due to inclement weather conditions. Upon arrival, the stream crossing was knee/thigh deep with very little velocity (Lei center; Kaleo and Ryan, right).

On the day we left, the intense rains from the storm caused the stream to increase in height to a point where we couldn’t touch bottom… or at least safely cross while keeping our packs dry (David, Kaleo and Brian on Left). We were lucky there was a suspended rope and “deflating” rubber dingy to help shuttle our gear back, as the water velocity was fairly strong (David traversing using rope, right).

… Once across, the view from our campsite (No. 2) was AMAZING. Then again, there are several benefits to having the other campsites, e.g. nearness to water source and firewood (explained the next post).

…and the first thing to do upon arrival??? Of course, victory toast with a Boddingtons pub ale (Me and Justin, above).

Please note this is a two-part series of blog write-ups. The link to the second part, “Waimanu Valley and Camping”, can be found at the top of the page. If you plan to hike to Waimanu via the Muliwai Trail, you should prepare similarly to that of Kalalau Trail preparation. The link to the blog entry and PDF download can be found HERE. The 9-mile trek for us took ~ 5 hours to reach Waimanu, and ~ 4.5 hours to get back to Waipio at a moderate pace. In addition to the supplies mentioned on the list, I more strongly emphasize using trekking poles / walking sticks for the switchback in / out of Waipio and Waimanu Valley. You can probably get by with drinking < 3L on the trail, but you may want to bring extra as the main freshwater source is a spring 20 minutes past the mouth of Waimanu Stream. Be prepared to get your feet and gear wet in the case of the height and velocity of the streams are high.

Mahalo nui loa to Kaleo, Brian, Ryan and Lei for letting us come along on this epic backpacking trip. Much appreciation also to Mark and Gary Rubio for shuttling us up and down Waipio Valley.

To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts and “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery. Also make sure to visit Waimanu trip write-ups posted on David’s website, Unreal Hawaii and Kaleo’s Blogspot, Island Trails.