The McBride's: 19MAR15

Travis and I were excited to get in a little more difficult hike! We heard Ka'au Crater was beautiful and had a few difficult parts but not too bad so we decided to go for it! It has 3 waterfalls along the hike and you could stop even just at the first one and it would be worth it. You can also go to all 3 and then basically climb the third one and you get to the rim of the crater and go all around the crater.

We got to the first one and then the second no problem. Coming up to the third one there was a part you had to climb down that was basically just mud and a little rock. It was also starting to sprinkle at this point which made me more than a little nervous. I love hiking but I'm not an adrenaline junky... We got to the third waterfall and it seemed like the rain was slowing down so we headed up. This part definitely scared me because you're basically climbing up right on the side of the waterfall and it's rocks and mud and although there are ropes it was a bit scary for me. The third waterfall is also the longest one and seemed to go on for forever but we made it and I was excited to be on some less treacherous terrain!

Then we started heading up to the rim and the rain really started coming down. Plus we were so high up and the fog was so heavy I will not pretend that I was not completely petrified with sheer drops on both sides and about an 18 inch pathway to walk on. The rain made it so slippery so we only got about 1/3 of the way around the crater and decided to be smart and head back. The rain was really coming down and even as we were coming down we would literally have to slide on one foot until we got to a good place to slow down (which for me was when I ran into Travis and he stopped me...)

Once we got back to the third waterfall there is a way to bypass all the waterfalls and take an easier route down (Thank goodness! Going up is one thing but going back down would possible have put me over the edge!) We took that and headed back down to the truck, soaking wet, cold, and so beyond happy we got to do this EPIC hike! If it hadn't scared me so bad I would definitely love to do this one again because the views were amazing and the feeling of finishing was fabulous!! It ended up being about 6.5 miles according to mapmyrun... I just love hiking in Hawaii!!! Thankful for the opportunities we have had here!

First waterfall. Also where Travis accidentally dropped our good camera (that we have had for 7 years!) straight into the pool at the bottom! Tragic!

Second waterfall (the first and second waterfalls you climb up the side of so they're much easier than the third even though they are way steeper!)

This was the first part that was a little difficult for me. It was just so wet we were slipping! Luckily I had Trav to guide me down and he even helped 2 girls that were hiking together and we ended up staying with them until they turned around at the top of the third waterfall. Good guy that husband of mine!