Recently, I was browsing through my old photos of my trip to Oahu and Maui when I was in college ~ The photo of Sacred Falls above is from a news article ..but I also have my own photos of the trip that bring back the memories – So far I have posted only one of the photos from this trip on my website .. a Maui sunset ~ It was a most memorable trip not only because it was the first time I experienced the the beauty of the islands .. but also because there were moments I questioned if I would survive the trip … for I was caught in the forces and power of nature, a flash flood, while hiking in Oahu’s Sacred Falls in the North Shore .. Truly a life and death situation for me and my friends ~
My trip taught me several powerful lessons – One is the tremendous power of mother nature and how helpless and vulnerable we all are to her forces …Another lesson is never to leave my life in the hands of local natives (just because they are local natives ..hahaa) to guide me into such a dangerous situation – for I believed them when they told me it was safe at the beginning of our hike, even though it started to lightly rain, to proceed with our long hike through the narrow valley of sacred falls ..to the bottom of the falls ~
I was in awe of the beauty of Sacred falls and remember the lush green landscape shooting straight up on both sides of our trail into the heavens ~ The rain was warm and gentle so it did not bother or stop us from continuing our walk .. We hiked along the serene stream that runs through the valley and led us to the pond at the bottom of the gentle water fall ~ I will never forget the beauty of this sacred place as I swam in the serene pond with my girlfriend from college and her relatives that we were staying with in Oahu and Maui, our native guides ~
It was soon after we reached the falls that we heard a deep rumble..followed by a flash food that instantly changed the tranquil water fall and stream into a raging river ~ We were rescued by the forest team with ropes tied around them and each of us ..to help us cross the tremendous force of the water back to higher ground in order to hike back to safety ~ An experience etched in my being forever more ~
A few years after my trip, Sacred Falls was closed to the public indefinitely after a fatal landslide ~ Perhaps this is a place of extreme beauty meant only for the gods but not meant for visitors … I feel humbled that I was able to experience its beauty ~