Day 4: Hike to Hanakapiai Falls

This day was probably my favorite day of the whole trip! We had researched hikes before we left for Hawaii, and this one caught our eye. The hike was 8 miles round trip and was described as strenuous. We knew it would probably be a little difficult, and would take up most of the day, but we decided to do it anyways! We got an early start and hit the trail around 9am. The first two miles weren't too bad, just muddy in places.

This was the most beautiful hike I've ever been on! The scenery was AMAZING!

At mile 2 you cross a river and end up on a tiny, but beautiful secluded beach. Rob and I decided it would be a great place to stop and eat lunch. It was truly breath taking! I know I've said that a lot about this trip, but the ocean views were amazing!

After lunch snapshot

While eating lunch, this wild cat came up and hung out right at our feet. So random!

You should be shocked that I'm posting this picture of this spider. I can barely even look at it. I have a huge case of arachnophobia! I can't stand spiders! While waiting for Rob to use the port-o-potty, I saw this huge web with this freaky looking spider on it. This spider was HUGE! I am so glad we don't have these kind of spiders in Utah. When I pointed it out to Rob, he had to take a picture of it. It honestly gives me nightmares!

The final 2 miles up to the falls were extremely muddy and slippery! Plus we had to cross the river 2-3 more times. Our shoes and legs were covered in red mud!

There were a couple of patches of bamboo along the trail. It was a little creepy because when the wind blew they would creak and crack and I kept thinking something was moving around in them. Rob took a stick and decided to play the bamboo. It sounded really cool! Leave it up to my husband to find music ANYWHERE.

I love the trees in Hawaii! They are so cool.

We had about a quarter of a mile to go, but we could finally see the falls. These falls weren't very full, but they were about 300 ft tall!

There was a small pool at the bottom that you were allowed to swim in, but we decided to pass. While reading up on these falls, it cautioned people not to swim in the pool if you had any open cuts because of the bacteria in the water. Both Rob and I had cuts, so we decided to play things safe.

After resting for a bit, we decided to head back. I was not looking forward to the 4 more miles we had to hike to get back to our car!

The two miles back to the beach weren't too bad. I even snapped this cool picture before crossing the river. This is where the hike got a bit difficult. It was now around 2pm and hotter than ever! The last two miles were 75% uphill and in direct sunlight. Our legs were extremely tired, but we continued on. Even though it was the same trail we took earlier that day, it felt twice as hard! I almost cried tears of joy when we saw the parking lot. Although it was tiring, we were extremely glad we did the hike! It was a major highlight of the trip for both of us!

Once we got back to the trail head, we hosed off from the waste down and headed back to our hotel. We then showered and hit the town! Rob and I had spotted a steakhouse earlier on in the week and decided we would treat ourselves to a big meal. Heck! We deserved it...we hiked 6 freaking hours that day! I even treated myself to a delicious Guava Mango Daiquiri. I think I ate more that night than the whole week in Hawaii. It was SOOOOOO good! Or maybe I was just starving. Who knows?

Out on the town!

That's right girls, he's all mine! :)

All in all...in was a fabulous day!