White Road Wonderland

One of my favorite hikes was officially "closed" after the earthquake of 2006. We're generally compliant and we don't condone trespassing or breaking the law so I hadn't done the hike since it closed and Chris has never done it. But we kept hearing of friends taking the White Road hike and we needed a cool place to go that wasn't too far to drive, so we finally broke down and headed to Waimea. The trail is clearly being used, we passed several people that day and the rules are obviously not being enforced. I also did not see any landslides or damage the earthquake may have caused that would make the hike more dangerous. There is a small strip of land that is leased by a private family from the state that one must cross to get to the forest reserve where the trail begins. They do not want trespassers, so I don't feel entirely right about doing this hike, but we did, and it didn't disappoint. What good is a forest reserve if it is inaccessible, anyway?

The hike winds through incredibly thick jungle beside the Hamakua ditch, which irrigates farms in the area. After about an hour, hikers find themselves standing on the top of the 2,000-foot high cliffs of Waipio Valley. We hiked at least one more hour to the very back of the valley through mud and thick kahili ginger. On our way, we saw several teens swimming in the concrete ditch and sliding down a crazy steep, slippery section of the ditch.

The jungle is green and gorgeous, and the misty clouds obscuring rugged ohia trees are downright enchanting. There really is no other hike like this, and it brought back lot of fond memories of hiking here with my dad years ago. It's truly amazing, and I just might be willing to break the law again someday.