Cul Mouapu was my first adventure on a mountaintop here in Mo'orea. A friend and I scrambled up a near-vertical slope of mud and rounded basalt rocks, through Inocarpus fagifer and Hibiscus tiliaceous, (dodging a very angry pig on our way down). It pushed me to an extreme of hiking that I had never experienced before. I was glad that I did it, though, because later that week I realized it was just a baby trail, a primer for those that were to come.

I've climbed Rotui twice- making it to the peak only the second time. I was rained out 3/4 of the way up on my first attempt. It's incredibly challenging to climb up vertical waterfalls of mud in the middle of a torrential tropical storm.

Also did the far-easier, more tourist-friendly (hearty tourists, still) to 3 Pines peak and cross-island trail. Wandered through the trails by the Belvedere and several other minor, but fun, touristy trails in Opunahu Valley.

Today I climbed Mt. Mouaputa. It's 762 meters high, with beautiful views of the island. With the assistance of Victor, the friendly English-speaking local, our group of 4 undergrads and 1 PHD student made it through the forest, up mountainside and ropes to the peak

Ropes of Mouaputa

Me climbing a rope at Mouaputa.

Going home in a week. More trails to come.