Note: Make sure to read the description completely and look at the photos. If possible, download the photos and description so you will have them with you when you look for the cache. The cache is located in a canyon where your GPS may not work, so you will be relying on the written description and photos to find it.
Safety Considerations:
Flash Floods: The route to the cache crosses The Waimea River and Waialae Stream several times. Flash flooding occurs regularly and without warning on Kauai. If you are on the wrong side of a stream when a flood happens you will be unable to cross to get back to your car. The national weather service does issue flood warnings, but they often come too late. You can check these websites for up to the minute data about the height of the streams you will need to cross:
Waialae Stream
Kawaikoi Stream
While these sites provide great information, they do not predict the future and you won’t be able to check them while you’re hiking.
Getting Injured/Lost: The cache is located in a remote area and the terrain is difficult, It would be easy to fall and become injured. If that happens you will be in a pickle, because there won’t be any other hikers passing by to help you. Know your limits and do not go alone. You may want to use hiking poles.
Water: Dehydration and heat exhaustion are a danger. There is plenty of water available, but it is not safe to drink. The best thing to do would be to carry a water filter; if you don’t have one carry at least 2 liters per person.
Mosquitoes: There are often a lot of mosquitoes in this area.
Part 1: Kukui Trail: At over 3000 feet above sea level, the Kukui Trailhead marks the highest elevation of the trail and offers the best views. The waterfall you can see directly across on the other side of Waimea Canyon is Waialae Falls. The trail descends very steeply, dropping more than 2000 feet in only 2.5 miles. As you go down, you may ponder what it is going to feel like going back up this trail at the end of your journey. At the bottom of the trail you will find the Waimea River Trail where you will turn right and go downstream.
Part 2: Waimea Canyon: As you walk the wide, flat Waimea Canyon Trail, you will cross the river three times. Under normal conditions the crossings are easy and you may even be able to cross without getting your feet wet. If the river is high enough that the crossing is difficult or dangerous, turn around and hike back up. You'll have to try another day. Keep in mind that you have no way of knowing if the river is rising or falling, so if it's difficult the first time you cross, it could be even worse later. After the third crossing, it’s time to start looking for the Poachers Camp Trail on your left (east).
Part 3: Waialae Canyon: The trail to Poachers Camp is not marked and it may be difficult to find. Even if you do find it, you may lose it again in the brush. As long as you keep going in a generally upstream direction along Waialae Stream, which should be to your right (south), you will get to Poachers Camp in about 10 minutes. Poachers Camp has a picnic table, and a shelter.
The route to the cache continues upstream. From this point on, you will be traveling off-trail. You can rock hop in the stream or make your way along the bank. Rock hopping is a great way to hurt yourself so you may want to contemplate the potential difficulties of having an injury in such a hard-to-get-to place before you start leaping. In about a half a mile, you will reach a smaller tributary joining Waialae stream from the opposite side of Poachers Camp. Follow the smaller tributary if you are looking for Waialae Canyon #1. For Waialae Canyon #2, continue following the main stream to the left.
It took me about three times as long to get from Poachers Camp to Waialae Canyon #2 as it did for me to get from Poachers Camp to Waialae Canyon #1.
The cache is located near a waterfall marking to point where it is no longer possible to continue hiking upstream. At this point your GPS may be functioning poorly or not at all. This was also true when I hid the cache so the coordinates may be very far off. You will need to rely on this written description and the photos I’ve included to actually find the cache. To find the cache look for a large boulder set apart from the rest of the jumble of boulders. This boulder is to the right of a magnificent waterfall, perhaps about 40 feet up the steep, overgrown slope leading down to the pool at the base of the falls. The cache is hidden in a triangular shaped opening about the size of a doghouse door.
Congratulations to m^3 for the FTF nearly THREE YEARS after I first hid the cache!