"The Black Lagoon"

After more than 3 hours and nearly 5 miles of treacherous hiking we could finally see it. Dropping over 100 ft along a vast rock wall, was Hanakapi’ai Falls. Awesome setting.

We hurried to jump right in to the dark (not dirty) lagoon. Goose bumps covered our bodies at first contact with ice-cold surface. Still we had to go all in. We started swimming toward the crashing waters, our chests tightened up as we neared the falls; not only because of the cold, but at the sudden thoughts racing through my head. I’ve never seen "Creature from the Black Lagoon,” but that’s all I could think of as we approached. Was 'something’ watching us from below as we kicked across the surface? Waiting to pull us into the abyss? Looking down didn't help answer that question... the water was black.

We reached the base of the falls and looked at each other. With a simple glance we both agreed: Let's get back on land ASAP. Our swim back must have rivaled olympic times in the 50 meter freestyle. Upon reaching the rocky shore, we looked back and confirmed our uneasiness. Adding to it was the fact that we were the only 2 people there... Nearly 5 miles into a deep jungle valley, 2000+ feet above sea level, surrounded by only trees and hundreds of feet of vertical rock. Any screams for help would be drowned out by the thundering waters, and would go unheard if the 'creature' emerged. Only the circling birds above would be witness to our untimely ends.

Thankfully there was no 'creature', not that we encountered anyway, and life continues happily. We enjoyed lunch in an idealic setting... on some large rocks overlooking Hanakapi'ai Falls. We dried up and decided it was time to start the 3+ hour hike back to the trailhead. It was clear we should try to get out of the wild before the sun went down. Wouldn't want to have to worry about the "Predator" hunting us along a dark jungle trail.