Manoa Falls Mudders

We were in need of an adventure.  So I asked, "who wants to go on a hike"?  The answer was...

 This guy does:  

And who says white men can't jump?!

So we did.

Our adventure of choice was Manoa Falls, located about 25 minutes East of Hickam.  Not a bad drive.  But especially not today because Hayden prayed on the way that there would be no traffic.  God listened and got us there timely and safely.  We paid $5.00 for parking, loaded up on bug spray, strapped Hadley in the brand spankin' new baby carrier and took off.

The "before" shot.  Note the very clean shoes and legs!

Five minutes into the hike it hit me, "OH!... THIS is why people fall in love with Hawaii."  It was the first time I have ever be in the rain forest.  It. Was. Amazing.  I have never seen anything like it.  My pictures unfortunately will hardly get the point across.  You will have to take my word for it and just plan on seeing it in person when you come visit!  Everything is so green.  There are leaves the size of my body.  Trees so thick around it would take three Mathis boys holding hands to circle it.  We were completely canopied in the trail with the sky peeking though only briefly.  As Hudson puts it, it was like being in a tunnel. Stunning. 

 

Bamboo

The last bit of sky for awhile.

A tree web.

It reminds me of a super-sized pile of sticks.

Tree archway.

According to some fellow hikers, this is a bud of a giant prehistoric fern.

The trek is supposed to take about thirty five minutes to get there, with "there" being a beautiful waterfall.  Comments on the internet warned us of two things, bugs and mud.  We sprayed down good with bug spray and were not bothered by the mosquitoes in the least.  The mud on the other had got the better of us.  It was SO slippery that we received many concerned glances and warnings from fellow hikers.  The closer we got to the waterfall, the more slippery it became.  However slick the mud, it turned out to be Hadley's crying that caused us to turn around before our intended destination.  

We were able to spot Manoa falls before we headed back for Baby Blue:

It's back there, I promise.

Ah, there she is.  Lucky for you my camera zooms!

The hike back was fun (translation: nail biting for momma!).  I am very grateful for some friendly hikers that helped the boys over some tricky spots on the trail.  Hayden and Hudson decided to be helpful themselves and informed each group we passed of the slippery trail ahead.  With each person we passed Hayden would say, "The trail is very slippery at the top."  And then Hudson would chime in, "Be careful." They made people smile and that made me smile.

 

One big mossy tree.  One big cheesy boy.

My friendly hikers with their trail treasures. (A stick and leaf).

My three little hiking ducks. 

I was slightly disappointed that we didn't make it to the waterfall.  But then I realized that I am a grown-up and as a grown-up I spend so much time focused on the destination that I fail to enjoy the ride, or in this case hike.  And isn't the journey itself just as important as where one ends up?  Our journey took us almost to the falls and then back to Baby Blue in one piece.  We enjoyed it all, one muddy step at a time.

Tough Mudders!!

The boys say we will be hiking again soon...

and I couldn't agree more.