Knee Deep in the Trees Somewhere

***A post from my husband on a father-daughter outing***

I spent my teenage years in Colorado, so hiking is a fairly normal activity for me. Little did I know, Hawaii takes hiking to a new level.

Em's Mom's Roommate (say that one 3 times fast!) Dan took Krysta and I for an early morning hike, and I was definitely surprised at the technicality of it. No beaten, graveled paths here. The only way you knew you were going the right way was the occasional pink ribbon tied on a tree limb. If that isn't enough, the trail was full of creek crossings, tree roots, lush foliage and of course: mud. Not your every day mud either, mind you. This was the sticky, gacky, mucky goop kind of mud.

The biggest surprise of the day, however was Krysta. My dainty, fragile, little princess was out there climbing, hopping, slipping, sliding and balancing her way through the trail with the best of them. Even when we scaled vertical rock faces with naught but a ragged old rope someone left behind, that girl kept her game face on for the whole 5.25 miles!

And man, was it worth it. All of our hard work, and my and Dan's aching bones was rewarded with some of the best scenery and most lush bits of rain forest I could have ever imagined. And then we made it to the waterfalls.

All in all, I consider this day one of the best from the whole trip, and I'll never forget it.

I don't have any photos from the hike, but here are a few that we took while snorkeling after our hike:

 

Meanwhile on land, Em, Mom, and Will lounged in the sun:

More to come.

Stay tuned.

Love, Emmie