Waterfall Exploration in Waimea Canyon, Kauai

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Hike Map]

The day after we arrived at Lonomea, the crew decided to hike up Koaie Stream to look for a waterfall marked on the topographical map Baron had on his smartphone. Unfortunately, the mapping application malfunctioned, so we would not know how close (or far away) we were from the falls while hiking. We ended up probably going > 3x the distance than we expected, as the one we intended to see was bone dry. So glad we stuck out the grueling journey to find an unexpected, 200 foot waterfall, as well as several smaller ones along the way.

There weren’t any marked trails past Lonomea, so we decided to start the journey by rock-hopping on giant boulders in the stream bed.

…and when I said giant, I actually meant massive.

Some probably large as living rooms.

However, some were much more manageable to navigate…

while others still required a bit of scrambling and traversing.

Roughly 4 hours into the exhausting hike, we came to a prominent ridge, which caused a sharp meander in the river.

Since hiking back would take us approximately the same length of time as it took to get this far, we agreed to turn back if nothing was around the bend.

Up in front, I saw a thin white ribbon of water in the distance (the top of a enormous waterfall)… and right at the last possible moment!

However, reaching the huge falls was still technically challenging, as there were several smaller, waterfalls that needed to ascended.

Six hours from camp and exhausted, we finally made it to the ~200 ft waterfall we had seen from afar. So glad we stuck it out, but it would still be a ridiculously long journey before we would be back at camp. Good thing we started early in the morning.

Although the landscape here may appear epic, getting to this waterfall was challenging. Anyone trying to get to the falls should be prepared for 10+ hours of rock hopping from Lonomea. In addition, the rocks were slick from periodic rain. Felt-bottomed footwear helped with this challenge, though not everyone in our group had tabis. There was plenty of fresh water to drink, so we could minimize our pack loads by just bringing a water filter and steripen. More questions? Make sure to do your research and study your topo-maps first (the falls is unnamed/unmarked, at least on the USGS 1:24000 quads). Remember to know your limits (and the limits of your crew members), and know when to turn back. There’s no cell reception here, so calling for help won’t be an option. Hike safely folks and watch out for each other.

Aloha and mahalo nui for visiting… Come back again soon!