It was a 'dry' muddy-- as in this gnarly trail, with dirt and moss-covered rock, would have been impassable if it was 'wet' muddy from raining or recent rains. As it was, we had to skirt mudholes and pick our steps so as not to slip and fall. There were lots of ferns, mushrooms, huge moss-covered native trees, draping moss, stands of bamboo, a short wooden boardwalk, and the Hamakua Ditch... a flume (small canal) that is no longer used because of earthquake damage sustained in 2006.

After about a mile and a half, we reached the ledge of Waipio Valley... only there was nothing to see, being in a cloud. But if we could have seen, the valley would have been visible 2,000 ft. below. We also knew the trail continued along this ledge, but we decided to heed, this time, the recommendations posted on nearby signs that essentially said continuing was life threatening. So we turned around and headed back...

We had an excellent lunch at Tako Taco and the Big Island Brewhouse in Waimea (mentioned in the guidebook). We then headed toward the coast and tooled north towards Hawi before heading back in the late afternoon the way we had come along the Hamakua Heritage Coast.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------