Hau'ula Loop Trail

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 Hau'ula Loop Trail - June 10, 2011

I could be on to something today. I wanted to take the kids out for a hike, and of course they resisted. But I added an incentive this time.  We would go on a hike first. There would be no complaining. If they could follow through, then we would go to the beach. Agreement made (The kids had no choice). If all went well, both parties would be happy.

We got to Hau'ula Homestead Road at about 11 am. The Hau'ula Loop trail is about 2.5 miles. There is also a longer sister trail to the left of the Hau'ula Loop trail called the Papali Loop trail. Good hiker's usually do both hikes during the same day, therefore most hiker's on Oahu call it Hau'ula-Papali Loop trail. 


My kids at the trailhead sign
   

The Hau'ula Loop trail ascends up the mountain via lazy switchbacks. Its a gradual ascent, so there is some huffing and puffing, but not too difficult. When you get to the top of the hill, a view of Laie comes into view, but is obscured by trees. After reaching the top of the hill, you start to descend down into the valley. At one point, you cross a stream that produces a nice small waterfall cascading from multiple levels. During a good downpour, and taking a picture from the correct angle, that tiny waterfall would look spectacular. If you had the money and resources, its the type of tiny waterfall that would look nice in your backyard.



ironwood pines

As you start descending, the hike becomes really simple. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to complete the Hau'ula Loop trail. After the hike we drove down the road for 5 minutes and ate at Surfin' Tacos in Hau'ula. The food was surprisingly good, it tasted fresh and healthy. I had the fish tacos and the kids had the Quesadillas. 



I was proud of the kids for handling the hike with ease. Their reward was the beach. I thought of going to Laie Beach, but it was overcrowded, so I ended up driving further down the road to Malaekahana Beach. This beach is actually a good place to relax. The wind blows off the water vigorously and the waves constantly make a crashing sound.  I remember when I was in my early 20s,  I was quite immature and would get frustrated when things didn't go my way, so I would take a drive to Malaekahana Beach and sit on the sand for a while to chill out. It was quite soothing. The kids played at the beach for 2 hours, while I fell in and out of a nap. 



beach time

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