Nature and I Don't Get Along

I'm attempting to be healthier, right? So, that means more physical exertion - blah.

Man, I am one lazy bi-atch.

So this time, when Courtney invited me on a hike, instead of claiming some debilitation, I accepted.

We headed over to the Kailua side, which I love because it is much more lush, which is kind of lacking where I live. We trade lush for sunny on our side.

We hiked the Nuuanu/Jackass Ginger Trail - it was a great hike. It's hard to write about, because if you're lucky, nothing wacky happens on a hike. So I'll just let the pictures do the narration.

Well, there's going to be some narration - by itself, all this picture says is 'trees'. Boring.

This was the start of the trail, a fun little forest of what I believe are Cook Pines, which were planted by Captain Cook for replacement masts. Courtney is probably going to read this and have to correct something in that sentence.

Here I am inwardly laughing at this rope placed over a 'dangerous' part of the trail as I pretend to fall. (I'm good at that - tons of experience). Ha! Ropes are for wussies.

Here I am in the middle of the 18? 20? switchbacks it takes to get up the mountain. You can see the forest from the earlier picture above my head. I am currently sitting down to stuff ti leaves in my shoes, which were starting to bother me.

A place on the trail with a view of downtown Honolulu.

I love Banyan trees.

At the top of the switchbacks - it was tough going. As you can see, my dog is pooped. The second we sat down she decided to collapse.



The last leg of the hike to the lookout features a bamboo forest area. It seems that all good trails has one of these. Kind of like a playground in a subdivision. A must-have to be primo.

The final view. We have a picture with me, Courtney, and Paul in it, but I look like I'm having a seizure, because there was a group of Asian guys at the top who were enjoying the moment with some ipod tunes, and it was perched precariously on the cliff face. Naturally, Lily became curious and attempted to nose it off the mountain. Heart attack.


At this point, I am actually bleeding into my sock, and no amount of ti leaves on earth is going to help me. Every step felt like my feet were being attacked by microscopic weasels. Paul needed to get down as quickly as possible to make it to work on time, and I wasn't helping stopping every 1000 ft for replacement ti leaves.

Neither was Courtney, who was jumping into trees randomly while I hunted for leaves. What was crazy was that, somehow, BEAR CLIMBED THE TREE TOO. I circled her head for you, bc otherwise you would never see it. I thought Lily was going to end up in the doggie ER trying to figure out how Bear did it.

It turns out I am an old woman at the age of 26. All those switchbacks finished the job horseback riding started by destroying my knees before I got even 1/3 of the way down. Now, each step felt like attacking weasels, with a side of knee screws. Here I am reveling in the before scoffed-upon rope, with my Wilderness Crutch.

That gave me splinters.

We were planning on swimming in Jackass Ginger Pool (where Hawaiian royalty used to come to relax) but due to time-crunch, we had to skip it.
Personally, I didn't mind too much, because I was freaking starving. I didn't know what we were going to eat for lunch, but I was going to have a lot of it.

Right after I stemmed the bleeding from my feet.