Chasing Waterfalls

A mountain stream can be endlessly deceptive. From the base I stare up and see a staircase of waterfalls and boulders that will ultimately lead to the peak of the mountain. But every corner I turn or cascade I scale leads to yet another challenge. Maybe, I think, if I get over this one, I will finally be at the top. But as soon as I push ahead, I reach yet another waterfall or bend. Frustration is overshadowed by curiosity and adventure. I can't turn around now. Imagine what could lie ahead.


I took my roommates Kyle and Amanda on a bike ride this past Saturday up towards Peacock Flats, a campground in the hills overlooking Waialua and Mokuleia. To get there you basically have to push your bike up a few miles of winding forest service roads. My favorite part of this route is that it's a mere two blocks from our front porch.

Back in the summer, I did the ride solo, stopping off on a side trail and briefly hiking into a forested valley that seemed to wind along a dry riverbed up into the hills. That time,I didn't go too far down the trail by myself, but now that I had two companions, I was ready to see where the trail led.

It turns out that the trail itself didn't even last for a quarter mile. But the dried up river that it ran alongside wound endlessly up into the valley. So as soon as the trail tapered off, we stepped into the riverbed, jumping along rocks and stomping through dead leaves up the mountain. As we progressed, the river got steeper and the dry waterfalls became more frequent. Climbing them was quite the adventure.

Out in the middle of nowhere in that lifeless stream, we were having a blast. We laughed, joked around, tripped, slipped, and slid our way up towards the summit. We finally reached a point where slight amounts of water trickled down the falls, and as we got higher, the water grew deeper. Every waterfall we scaled was potentially our last, but each time our heads peaked over the ridge, we saw a new scene and a new challenge. I kept saying that the top of the mountain was just beyond the next waterfall, but I was wrong every time. But turning around was too tough. We wanted to get to the top.

We never did make it to the top of that mountain, though we vowed to come back. The rainy season is just around the corner though, and I don't want to be in that riverbed when the water's flowing. Still, the adventure itself was definitely one of the more enjoyable outings I've had out here.

I guess the moral is that you might never reach the destination you're looking for, but the journey itself can be just as fulfilling. We all have waterfalls to climb, and we all hope that what we're looking for is just on the other side. But it helps to take a break every once in a while, put the destination on hold, and enjoy the moment. You just might find something in the riverbed far more valuable than anything the summit could have offered.