My first Maui hike was the Pīpīwai Trail in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakala National Park. This smaller area of the park is on the south eastern side of the island just past Hana. I had been super excited to spend some time in Haleakala ever since my trip to Rocky Mountain National Park last summer. That being said, I knew it would be a long day with lots of driving to see the sights on the Road to Hana along the way.

After a long and treacherous drive, I arrived in the Kīpahulu region of Haleakala National Park and I was surprised to find an empty parking lot with no other hikers or tourists. It was already 8:30am, so I had expected lots of other people coming to see the area. After a quick look around I grabbed my pack and got on the trail. The first hike I did was the Kūaloa Point Trail to the Ohe’o Pools and Gulch. This is a half mile loop that brings you to gorgeous cliffs overlooking the ocean. There are a few pools along the way connected by small cascades, and usually you can cool off in their crystal blue water.

Today the water was raging, its swift power threatening to sweep away any enthusiastic swimmers that crossed its path. I stood at the lookout point for a while watching the brown rain runoff mixing with the aqua ocean water. The waves were angry, crashing against the rocky cliffs with gusto. The sound of the water drowned out all of my thoughts, and I enjoyed the loud white noise. Although it wasn’t a bright, cheery morning, I enjoyed the more moody gray sky. After a few minutes I continued up the loop back to the trailhead. The footing on this trail was excellent, with well placed rock stairs and hard packed dirt making it easy to cruise along. It was a nice departure from the slick conditions I had faced on every hike in Oahu.

When I got back to the trailhead, I followed the Pīpīwai Trail across the road and started ascending. This was a wide, rocky trail with easy footing at a very gentle grade. It traversed along next to a large drop-off leading down to Palikea Stream, the water source of the Ohe’o pools. Just a half a mile from the trailhead I reached the Makahiku Falls, a 185 foot cascade just off of the trail. Makahiku stands for “water that recognizes no friends,” eluding to the danger of rockfall from the water eroding the sharp stones. There were many signs along the cliff screaming, “DANGER! STEEP CLIFF! FATAL DROP!” and I couldn’t help but think about what must have happened to require those signs to be put there.

The trail was quiet as I walked through the forest. I had seen no other hikers so far, and I loved the serenity of a truly solo hiking experience. I soon made it to the enormous banyan tree towering above the canopy. Its thick branches reached out parallel to the ground with new prop roots stretching back down to the ground to stabilize them. Pictures can’t capture the true grandeur this tree encompasses. I touched the huge branches and though about all of the history that a tree like this holds. I can’t even begin to imagine the number of visitors this tree has seen over the years.

From here I made my way through the last bit of trail before reaching the bamboo forest. This was about one mile into the hike just after walking across two bridges perched above a few smaller cascades. As soon as I stepped into the forest, I felt like I was being transported to a different world. It was the type of dark that reminds me of dawn just before the sun peaks up over the horizon. The bamboo was so thick that very little light came through the tufts of leaves. I walked the winding trail through the dense trees, and it was eerily silent.

Every few minutes a gust of wind blew through the tops of the trees making a hollow clacking sound as the stalks touched. I soon reached a series of footbridges that cut their way through the tall bamboo. Here, the sky opened up and let a downpour of rain down into the forest. I ducked into the tall stalks as I fished out my rain shell, and the dense leaves protected me until I put on my waterproof layer. There were some areas after the footbridges that were in desperate need of drainage, but other than that the trail was perfect. I loved this part of the hike. It was so unique, so different from anything I had ever seen before.

After about a half mile of bamboo forest, the trail broke out into an open jungle with tall palm trees and bushes. The rain had since moved on, so the sun beamed down onto my face. Here I caught my first glimpse of Waimoku Falls, a 400 foot waterfall crashing down from the cliffs above. It felt like I was walking through the base of a ravine as I made my way closer and closer to the towering falls. I noticed four or five smaller falls coming down from the cliffs surrounding Waimoku and learned after talking to a ranger that they are only visible after significant rain.

I felt such an urge to continue past the sign and go all the way to the base of the falls, but I didn’t for a few reasons. First, I already had some awesome views of the waterfall and I doubted that getting closer would be a whole lot better in that department. Second, getting to the bottom of the falls required risky rock hopping through the raging stream I had just crossed with the strong potential for flash flooding after the recent downpour. It didn’t sound like a great idea for a solo hiker with no reliable form of communication with the outside world who had seen no other people on the trail.

Finally, I have too much respect for these parks to break the rules just to get an extra quarter mile of hiking. There are reasons that they warn people against going off trail. Not only does it have an impact on the environment, but if anything happened to me I would have put the park rangers and search and rescue crew in real danger especially with the water conditions. I also paid good money for my annual national parks pass so I didn’t want to jeopardize it! There are many short side trails off of the main trail, but herd paths damage the natural plants and ruin the fragile ecosystem that the parks service works so hard to maintain. They also sometimes cliff out, making them a hazard if you’re not familiar with the area.

On the hike back to the visitor center there were lots of people starting up the trail. I was glad that I got an early start to have some peace and quiet on the trail. When I got back I started the long drive to the hotel on the road to Hana. The Road to Hana has some of the most well known attractions on Maui. There are way too many waterfalls, beaches, and other exciting stops to do everything in one day, but check out my post about which ones were my favorites!

Kūaloa Point Trail to the Ohe’o Pools and Gulch

Pipiwai Trail to Makahiku Falls and Waimoku Falls