Laie 18 Hike
Laie 18 – December 26, 2011
Pioneered by Pete C., Laie 18 is one hike that offers expert hiking in a unique way. As the name states, you have to swim to and climb up almost 18 waterfalls. You need good climbing skills and good gear to tackle this hike. I didn’t have either today, but I did join one great crew headed by The Red Baron. The crew today included, Baron, Jeremy, Laura, Marga, Randy, and Ronda. These hikers I tell you have a solid resume and have attempted and succeeded doing Oahu’s most notorious trails.
We all met each other at Laie field at around 8:15 am, there I met the crew and had a chance to talk story. These short discussion really peak my interest as I gain an immense amount of knowledge about hiking.
Off we went on the Laie trail. We hiked for about an hour before going down to Laie stream. From this point you follow the streambed to and up the 17 falls until you hit Laie’s twin falls which would be number 18. Today’s goal was to complete all 18 waterfalls, then go back onto the state trail which would make this hike a loop. Easy right! Not so. We followed the stream hopping over monster boulders and rocks. It was super slippery. I fell many times. It got to the point where I chose not to hop over rocks and just walked on the water. The water was shin high and I got preoccupied with falling so I took my time.
We got to the hau tree section. It was a unique section of the trail. Hau trees, if you don’t know grow in a tangled position and seems impenetrable. As we climbed our way through and over the hau, progress slowed. As I made my way, one of the hau branches snapped and I ended up landing on the next level of hau. I was okay, but it got my adrenaline pumping. We went through the hau for about 30 minutes and continued going upstream before we hit Laie falls number one.
Climbing up the first two waterfalls didn’t pose too much of a problem for any of us, but the third waterfall was the beginning of swimming. The pool was deep enough where you couldn’t touch the bottom. Jeremy and Ronda contoured the side by doing a technique called bouldering. I tried to boulder, but with my bouldering skills subpar at best, I fell into the water. I guess traversing those fake bouldering walls at California Adventure Park didn’t do me no help. The water was freezing cold. Your body just freezes up. I swam to the base of the third waterfall and climbed up it.
Waterfalls four through nine were difficult for me. I took a long time, trying to find my hand and footholds and keeping a solid grip. There is no rope. It can get tiring swimming and climbing up these series of waterfalls. On one of the falls, I slipped and fell. My bag so heavy because it was filled with water held my head under water for a few seconds. I panicked a little, but was determined to make my way up the waterfall. With help from the others, I was able to get through waterfalls four through nine.
Waterfall ten was the tallest and most vertical out of the all the waterfalls. Baron urged us to contour around, but with so many good climbers in our group, and a rope on the tenth waterfall, a few hikers in the group wanted to try. Randy was first, followed by Jeremy and Ronda. They had some minor difficulties with footing, but all were fine. Baron who climbed the tenth waterfall many times led the rest of us on a contour trail. The contour trail was steep; again if you don’t have good climbing skills, it can become difficult to navigate your way up the contour trail. It was slippery going up the mountain. The only foot and handholds were primarily on the base of strawberry guava trees. Some trees were loose, so four points of pressure became really important. On we went to the next waterfall.
The eleventh waterfall was cool in that there was a deep hole near the waterfall. Baron squeezed his entire body in the hole and only his head was popping out. It was funny. I swam to the eleventh waterfall and was freaking cold that I decided not to go into the hole.
Waterfalls twelve through fourteen were longer than some of the earlier waterfalls. But at this time, my focus and my skills were on point, so I didn’t have too much problems. The swim to the base of these falls was really cold for everybody. Everyone started to shiver. These waterfalls looked all different from one another and revealed the beauty and uniqueness of the trail.
Waterfall fifteen was near vertical and the most radiant out of all the waterfalls. There were two ropes, I chose the easier path and got up with little problem.
Waterfalls sixteen and seventeen were small, although slippery, were easy to climb up. Finally at the 5 1/2 hour mark, we all made it to Laie’s twin falls. We took a nice group picture and took a break before heading back up the state trail.
After walking for a little over an hour on the state trail, we got to our cars. What an adventure this hike was! Going with a solid crew helps out a lot especially when doing these types of hikes. I did learn two crucial things for me to progress in the future, 1) learn how to climb better 2) get microspikes. I have to make sure that I can accomplish the two so I can become a better hiker. I do realize that my endurance is good enough to hike with everyone. I still need to work on my climbing skills and mental toughness.
The post hike meal was at Ono’s Philly cheese Steak at Windward Mall. It was a satisfying meal and well worth the drive.
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