I hike fairly often.

But I tend to avoid hikes that cause me physical pain.

Don’t get me wrong: I like a challenge. But I don’t need to hike a trail that requires any more gear than a bottle of water and a few Band-Aids.

So when my friends invited me to hike down to the Waimano pools off the Manana Trail in Aiea, I quickly agreed.

This is a fairly easy 3-mile trail that leads down into the lush Waimano Valley. Your reward: two swimming holes at the end of the descending hike. The payback, though: you have to walk back up the hill. And it’s a bitch.

It’s a beautiful hike through a eucalyptus forest and groves of strawberry guava trees. Just challenging enough to burn calories and rev my appetite.

And I have an appetite!

So the deal was this: we go on this hike, we nearly die on the way back up, and we get shave ice at Ice Garden in Aiea.

I thought that was completely reasonable.

Here’s what our adventure looked like:

At the trailhead

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Waimano Pool is a hike off the grueling Manana Trail. The trailhead starts at the end of Komo Mai Drive in Pacific Palisades.