6 people were killed and 33 others injured as boulders, some the size of cars, trees, and rocks tumbled down on them. On Mother's Day, 1999, a huge section of the mountain near the base of the falls sheered off and tumbled down onto a large group of hikers who were enjoying picturesque day. Whatever the case, Kamapua'a and Sacred Falls will be forever linked. In other legends it seems the falls were already there and he and his followers escaped when he turned himself into a pig and his followers ran up his back or, in others, via his 'male member' to the valley above the waterfall. As he fled he scratched out the falls releasing a flood of waters that drowned his tormentors. In some accounts he created the Sacred Falls when, pursued by an angry mob, he was trapped in the narrow valley just east of Hau'ula and changed himself into a giant pig. Even the legends of his association with sacred falls vary widely. Rather than try to relate all of his adventures I'll simply refer you to the Coffee Times for a brief summary of some of his pursuits. He is linked with fertility, the god Lono, and even to the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a- the state fish of Hawaii. The mythical Kamapua'a was very busy with romantic pursuits of the fiery goddess Pele on Hawaii, stirring up trouble on Maui, and here on O'ahu.

Some tell of an 8 foot demigod who was able to change shape to a pig while others speculate that he was merely a powerful man who wore a trademark hogskin cape. The theories and legends vary depending on the source but stories of the hog man of ancient times are always interesting to read. In the various books I've read over the last few months the legends of Kamapua'a always seem to find their way into a chapter. James who'd been working Honolulu Approach all night and I had discussed heading back to to try Sacred Falls again after the mid earlier on our day shift and despite the crazy night I decided I still wanted to go.Īfter returning home grab my gear, I dropped by his place and we headed out to Sacred Falls State Park just before the small town of Hau'ula. Exhausted, I unplugged and as I walked to my car watched the F-15 emergency catch the cable on runway 4R with his wingman escorting him to the runway before hitting the power with a ear shattering roar and circling back to land. My supervisor and I worked furiously though all the traffic and an emergency involving a flight of tankers and F-15's until the morning shift arrived at 6am. I plugged in an assumed the sector for the next three hours which were filled with military tankers, bombers, fighters, international overflights, and a strangely high number of inter-island flights. When I came back in from my break to relieve my coworker the first thing I noticed was that the supervisor was plugged in assisting him and the scope was filled with far more traffic than usual. One in the tower, one for the airspace surrounding the Honolulu International Airport, and one that covers all the rest of the islands and the thousands of square miles of ocean surrounding them.

Normally the air traffic over Hawaii and the surrounding ocean is worked by three people.

James and I both had the midnight shift at work and while they're normally fairly tame this one was absolutely insane. Back in January our attempt to do so was thwarted by a small army of Department of Land and Natural Resources folks who were gathered in the field where people used to park when Sacred Falls State Park was still open.

It's odd that I'd never visited this beautiful little waterfall tucked away in a narrow valley considering I grew up here on O'ahu.

Sacred falls oahu