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Part 4 – Waimea Canyon & Waipoo Falls
Posted: November 5, 2008
One of my favorite things to do after a full day of hiking at Kokee, is to explore the rim of Waimea Canyon in the late afternoon from short trails accessible along Kokee Road.
Late afternoon is the best time to view Waimea Canyon from the road because the sun is at the right angle to illuminate the canyon in dramatic lighting.
Koa trees thrive along the rim of the canyon, which is about 10 miles and up to 3,000 feet deep. The canyon was formed by a deep incision made into the land by the Waimea River which derives its water from the extreme rainfall on the island’s central peak, Mount Waiʻaleʻale, among the wettest places on earth.
Koa Trees frame this view of Waimea Canyon in the foreground with misty Koaie Canyon receding off in the background.
Waipoo Falls is bathed in a warm glowing light as it plunges some 800 feet to the canyon floor below. The canyon has a unique geologic history—it was formed not only by the steady process of water erosion, but also by a catastrophic collapse of the volcano that formed Kaua’i.
Here is a photo of me along the edge of a thousand foot drop-off along the canyon rim with Waipoo Falls in the background. It was with heavy heart that I took my last shots of the day realizing that I’d be flying back to Honolulu in a few hours. Good-bye for now Kauai — I’ll be back!
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This is the 4th and last blog entry in a series of posts about my Kokee hiking adventure with 3 HTMC friends after the Labor Day weekend. The previous (3th) entry is here.
Many thanks to Justin Ohara for organizing this portion of the trip to Kokee September 5-7, 2008 and to my hiking buddies Miyo Kimura and Pat Rooney for a lifetime of great memories.
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SOURCES
Wikipedia – Waimea Canyon State Park
I’ve been to the spot your standing at numerous times and enjoyed both the view and serenity of the backside of Waimea Canyon.