Wailele Falls (June 25, 2011)

After doing a Laie 18 and Kalo Falls (in Hauula), Lost Trailblazers Troy Takara, Reanne Solomon and I decided to tackle another northeast Oahu hike to shine a little limelight in the area. Honored to be in the company of veteran hikers, Baron Yamamoto and Josh Serrano (of the 808 Goonies), we began the trek to the trailhead near Polynesian Cultural Center around 930am.

Getting to the trail does involve trespassing on agricultural/farm land, and therefore I cannot detail the exact directions we took to get to get here… though a little mapping research will help, and there are several service roads in the area that lead to the mouth of the valley. However, there are also several signs indicating trespassing and stealing of agricultural products is prohibited.

Within 20 minutes we reached a distinct trail, adjacent a moderately flowing stream, under a dense canopy of non-native trees.

Once on the trail, I was surprised that there was such a large volume of water flowing in Wailele Gulch. A quarter mile downstream, the stream channel was dry and discontinuous to the ocean. I assumed that the ground was too porous for surface water to flow and probably popped up on the coastline as groundwater discharge. This also meant native stream fish and macroinvertebrates (found at Laie 18 and Kalo Falls) were not going to be present, as there was no connectivity to the ocean… at least during most of the year. I was even more surprised there were no non-native fish, e.g. mollies/guppies and tilapia, since their distribution is not limited by freshwater (they can migrate between streams on the coastline)… and farmers often introduce them into irrigation ditches and waterways as a means to reduce mosquito populations.

Within an hour or so, we reached Wailele Falls. The falls were wide and about 10 feet, the pool beneath the falls was considerably scoured out… meaning, this area can flood like crazy during heavy rains. Please be careful if you go here when heavy rainfall is imminent.

Since the pool was so deep, there was no question jumping was about to commence…

…with an ice-cold boddingtons pub ale toast to follow. Please use caution while consuming alcohol on hikes or any other physical activity. Alcohol can dehydrate you and affect your balance, as well as exhibit poor decision making.

On the way back to the cars, we ran into some fruitful coconut trees… which meant FRESH coconut water for everyone! This was really ironic because the LTs were just talking about this in the car on the way here. Coconut photos courtesy of Troy Takara and Baron Yamamoto.

This trail is an easy-moderate trail… it is also dog-friendly. The only precaution I would take on this trail is bringing felt-bottomed footwear for the several stream crossings that are required to get to the falls. Swim and jump in at the falls at your own risk. Normally I wouldn’t swim in water so turbid, especially when compared to previous hikes on adjacent gulches Laie 18 and Kalo Falls. The high suspended sediment in the water could possibly be due to erosion from pigs near the riparian zones (as there is no land development upstream), which could increase the chance of contracting Leptospirosis. For more information about Leptospirosis, contact the State of Hawaii Department of Health.

To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more adventures of the Lost Trailblazers, either look at my other blogposts or “Adventures with the Lost Trailblazers” photo gallery.