akaka falls — Hannah Elise Schultz

Adventures in
Serendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things

Big Island, Hawai'i (Day Four): Waipi’o Valley & Akaka Falls

Our fourth day began at Waipi’o Valley, or the Valley of the Kings. Aptly named, the valley was the home for Hawaiian alibi (royalty) and the boyhood home of Kamehameha I (one of the central figures in Hawaiian history); in 1780, this valley was where King Kamehameha gained the support of the war god and set out to unite the Hawaiian islands under his rule. The valley was once heavily populated; however, the 1946 tsunami destroyed most of the community. Now, there are still a small number of people living in the valley, and it’s important to remember that you are entering their community when visiting this trail.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzJuly 23, 2022big island, hawaii, waipio valley, waipi'o, akaka falls, hiking, steepest roadComment

Adventures inSerendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

Adventures in
Serendipity