The second shooting day of the workshop turned out to be a big day. We got up early do drive from our house in the north around the island to Weimea Canyon that starts towards the southwest part of the island and works its way back north. The original goal was a challenging hike that started at the Kalalau Valley overlook worked it’s way towards the ocean and the Nā Pali Coast, which Arron termed having a great bang for the buck. When we got to the top it was cold, raining hard, and foggy. So we drove back down a little way and found a nice little barricaded area that had a scenic cliff overlooking the Weimea Canyon. We shot there for a little less than an hour, which would have satisfied my needs, but then Aaron decided we should go try the original site again to see if the weather had let up.
It was pretty grey, but the rain had let up and we decided to proceed ahead. The trek again began with going around a fence with some menacing hazard warnings. The path was steep, muddy, pitted, and very slippery from the recent rain. My compromised back along with my sub-optimal fitness made me use a lot of energy to get down. It never really leveled out, but after about an hour we eventually got to a sloped open area were we were able to stop, rest, and do some shooting. This field provided some beautiful views of the valley as well as the ocean in the distance. I can only imagine how it would look on a clear day. We hung out at this first stop for about 45 minutes, then we moved on to what Aaron termed the elephants graveyard because of the interestingly shaped fallen trees. Many of us were already toasted from the hike to the first stop, and while the second hike was a bit more level, it was still muddy and slippery. It also had started raining again, so we didn’t get shooting again for about an hour and a half from the first stop. We got some interesting shots in and around the interestingly shaped trees, then we started to make our way back up and out. I left a little earlier than everybody else since I seemed to be going slowest. Going up was easier, and luckily Aaron helped me with my pack for the last steepest bits. I survived and got out uninjured (but not un-muddied). I’m glad to say I got down there, but I’m not sure I’d do that again.
Driving home, Aaron made an improptu suggestion about a cool tree we were passing as it was near sunset. It turned out to be a very cool sunset and I got some amazing pictures there. After than, we decided to have dinner in Lihue at a brewpub where Aaron knew the owners. It was good, but I felt a little sheepish as I was filthy from mud.
(10,100 steps, 54 floors, 4.5 miles)