Nuuanu Pali Drive and the Pali Lookout

So I take this great scenic drive over half of the Pali mountain range which is pretty much near where I live.

On Nuuanu pronounced New ooh anu....drive is a 2 mile romp through some nice vegetation and spares me from being on the Pali Highway on my moped.

Very pretty, earthy musky fragrant smells of live... This is like jungle and exotic looking on my way down the road.

The tree form lines on either side of the road, banyan trees with hanging aerial roots cascading and drooping down all over, it is lush with bamboo groves and all sorts of climbing vines and various tropical flowers.

houses too.

Real nice relaxing drive up to the scenic piont the Lookout on Pali drive.

Awesome....you walk up and you can see kaneohe bay and all sorts of mountain ranges and other smaller islands that neighbor Oahu.

Near the lookout is this sort of wind tunnel where you can literally stand against the wind and lean, I mean it was holding me up practically.

As you walk past there is a cement old roadway that used to be the route across the mountains, it is overrun with grass weeds vegetation and many small waterfalls and water drips off the side of cliffs that overlook the right side of this abandoned path. I stop and take a shower in the run off. The water is icy and refreshing and probably filled with bacteria called Leptospirosis which is common in some of the more rugged parts of the mountains....don't worry I have no fever and my stool is pretty normal....but I have this third eye blinking at me on my left shoulder and I swear it's trying to communicate to me....I think it is warning me of some impending danger...oh no I just dripped some hot sauce on it...

Anyways.

I call Roger, my brother because I am going to venture down this trail which leads to a more rugged hiking trail- stop let me set the scene.

I am wearing big super hiking boots, special water resistant nylon drab tan colored pants, a silver blue fancy rain coat, I have a small pack with water only, some sunblock and two hiking poles, so I look like a cross country skier or someone on the Nordictrack at home. People around me are Haole tourists dressed in shorts and a t shirt. Some way too overdressed japanese tourists and some huge somoan family that is digging for live grubs to eat. (alright that is an exageration, they have brought some sort of prepacked non perishable food, or never perishable food that is designed to last like 47 nuclear winters)

Well they all look at me like whoa, what's this guy up to? Then they get a whiff of the tremendous winds that whip around the lookout and they are fricking gone.

So I tell Roger, hey I man I'm kinda going down this big hike and if I don't call you in an hour you know somethings wrong.

He is like, your calling the person the least qualified to handle a request.

I'm like listen man your my only hope I know your working and be somewhat available...

Boy was I glad I called him because this would prove to be a very very treacherous journery......



to be continued