Friday, April 24, 2009

FINALLY! Koko Crater!

Aloha everyone! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's....me! Climbing Koko Crater! :) I FINALLY am reporting in on my climb up Koko Crater last weekend! :) I know, nothing like keeping you hangin' huh? I am proud to say....I...made...it! All in one piece too, and that's nothin' to snooze at! ;)

My friend Sara (the one I've been working out with) and I headed up there at about noon last Saturday, with our trusty cameras and water bottles in hand. When we finally found the path leading up to the crater, we took a deep breath, thought this ain't so bad, and headed up. Here we are, safe and sound and NOT sweaty at the bottom:

Here we go, right up this flight of stairs:

Here's a shot of the view about 1/4 of the way up:

and here's the oh-so-scary bridge over a ravine about halfway up that Tori did warn me about ~ but until you see it for yourself, you can't appreciate the scariness of it :) Thank goodness it's only about 30ish feet long ~ only VERY old railroad ties separate you from dangerous peril ;) Sara and I did kindof a crabwalk/hop up it ~ it was hilarious to see how other people wrangled their way up it. This was also where we stopped to take a loooong break ;)

So after MUCH huffing and puffing and almost going back down, we finally, repeat finally (and very sweatily!) hit the top!!! Go us! :)

Holy moly, I thought my thighs were going to give out, they were shaking so bad.
Here's some views from the top:

on the other side of this little piece of land is Makapuu, where my last two clues were, remember? And I thought that climb was high...see the difference? :) Here's another view:

Now, if you remember, Tori's last clue ended by saying "to the left of the top step by 3 rocks is what you seek." Now do you think that once I could catch my breath and looked for my long-awaited clue I could find it? Ohhhh no :) So I get out my handy-dandy trusty Sprint phone (customer service stinks, but the phone service rocks!) and call my sissy. Do you think she answered? Ooohhh no. Grrr. Eight tries later, I caught her. Phone was on vibrate. I was on the verge of a breakdown ;) Just kidding, but since this was by far the hardest hike to a clue, I was absolutely bound and determined I wasn't going down empty-handed. (Actually more like I'm not coming up here again! Haha!) So Tori directs us around the corner from the top, as in not where we're really supposed to go, and under some more rail-road ties. Around the bend from an old concrete lookout and to a plateau on the edge of a cliff we went. That's right folks, another cliff. Do you think she's trying to send me a message? Hmm...haha ;) Here's a picture of us with all the jungle of railroad ties and concrete lookout behind us, as we ventured off the beaten path.

Anyways, when we got to this cliff we were supposed to look for a painted poem. For a moment, I thought she actually painted my clue on this cliff! But it was somebody else's poem from a few years ago. Anyways, she had me read it to her to make sure that I was actually at the top and didn't send Sara up there to get it! Oh, the nerve! :) Anyways, once she was satisfied that I was indeed up on top of the crater, she said look under a big pile of cloth and it should be there. Guess what?! It was! She should've majored in clue-hiding instead of finance ;) My fifth double-bagged clue was safe and sound, just waiting for me. And it was sooo fun to have Sara there to share my excited, jumping up and down with glee, clue-finding moment with me. Now I have a witness! :) Here I am, in all my sweaty, clue-finding glory ~ see the green painted poem, on a plateau, on the cliff?

I won't make you sit in suspense any longer :) Here's what it said:

Congrats darling sis!
I'm so proud of you
this is hard enough
for anyone to do!

It must have been tough
it muse have been long,
I have a present for you
to keep you moving along.

Keep shedding your weight
keep showing your beauty,
or you won't enjoy this gift
because you didn't do your duty.

Sadly enough, your gift isn't here
Lanakai Beach ~ I'm very sincere.

That's where it is,
months and months of motivation.
And there lies directions
to one final destination.


What can I say? My sissy rocks! I am SO beyond motivated, and to date have lost 8 pounds, enjoy working out, and continue having fun incorporating my healthy choices into my everyday lifestyle. I love you sissy and promise not to let you down! :) Now I'm off to Tori's friends' house (who lives by the beach) to find my next clue...wonder what my gift is?! You never know...only one way to find out! Stay tuned to my adventures! :)

Love,
Jen (the explorer) Haha!

4 comments:

  1. 8 pounds!!! Awesome Jen!! You're going to motivate me now!! :-)
    Launa

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  2. you go girl!! I am proud of you. We will all be glad to see you soon.

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  3. Its beautiful there! So much nicer then the desert I'm living in. Congratulations on the weight loss!

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  4. Keep it up - you're doing well but show me some negative numbers! I know you can be miss volleyball again! Love you and miss you, tori

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