From here on out the crowd thins out. We stopped a couple of times on the way to the top and the view is great and there are a lot less people, but the big pay off is at the top. At the 19.2 mile point you can park and basically get a 360 view. On one side is the canyon and on the other is the valley that leads down to the ocean. There are a couple of trails you can hike out for a mile or two, but they are not for the faint of heart. If you hike down a few hundred yards, you'll see everything you came for and it is well worth it.
The ride down is a lot faster, but it is worth stopping at the Waimea Lodge if it's around lunch time. They have a pretty good Kalua pork sandwich and the prices are not too bad considering they are the only place for miles around. They also have a small museum there that has an interesting history of the area and an area you can camp if you are so inclined.
On the way back to our room, we made two important stops. One was at the Cost Co. where we got a huge bottle of rum for $20, about half of what we paid in the grocery store. And the second was at a little beach north of Kapa'a where we went boogie boarding. The first place we stopped was a little hairy with waves breaking five plus feet, so we moved down to the kiddie/tourist area where we were less likely to drown. After about 30 minutes or so, we had been duly punished by the waves and decided to get out and live another day.
Posts
