Aiea Ridge to Moanalua Middle Ridge

by kenji SAITO on April 3, 2016

Hiking Aiea Ridge to Moanalua Middle Ridge

Today we went to hell and heaven and back. Met up with Chris, Gen, Justin, Khym, and Thessa at the top of Aiea Heights.

Trailhead

Trailhead

Nobody but the barking dogs to keep us company in the wee morning hours.

Aiea Loop Trail

Aiea Loop Trail

Hiking under the moon light.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

The trail was clear for the most part, thanks to the hard work of the HTMC trail clearing team.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

Chris taking an exaggerated break at the first landing.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

Gen heading up the ridge where the clouds were slowly descending onto the summits.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

Hiking in the clouds. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

The Flying Filipino. Not to be confused with the Flying Hawaiian. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Aiea Ridge

Aiea Ridge

Passing and posing with the power lines.

Aiea Summit

Aiea Summit

It’s just a game. Photo by Chris Bautista.

KSRT

KSRT

No view at the socked in summit, so we turned right onto the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail.

KSRT

KSRT

Brief stop at the protected enclosure for a rare endemic bellflower plant. No budding botanists in our group.

KSRT

KSRT

We lost a little elevation and gained some views.

KSRT

KSRT

The bunker to hell.

KSRT

KSRT

Chris looking out towards the Leeward side.

North Haiku Stairs

North Haiku Stairs

Group photo by Justin Hirako at Stairway to Hell, left to right: Chris, myself, Thessa, Justin, Gen and Khym.

North Haiku Stairs

North Haiku Stairs

Panoramic view by Justin Hirako. The best stairway view. Feet down.

North Haiku Stairs

North Haiku Stairs

Lunch time. The smell of sardines. Photo by Chris Bautista.

KSRT

KSRT

Time to exit hell.

KSRT

KSRT

The stairs have seen better days.

KSRT

KSRT

We ran into another group that had come from Red Hill. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

KSRT

KSRT

Cable replaced some sections of the stairs, if you can call them that.

North Haiku Stairs

North Haiku Stairs

Leaving the rusted stairs behind. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

KSRT

KSRT

Looking out towards Moanalua Saddle and the CCL building that sits on top of Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe.

KSRT

KSRT

Brief stop at the deteriorating geo marker. Photo by Justin Hirako.

KSRT

KSRT

The crew coming down to the Halawa junction, the overgrown trail from hell.

KSRT

KSRT

Making our way towards Red Hill. Photo by Justin Hirako.

KSRT

KSRT

The H-3 snaking through Halawa Valley. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

This section reminded me of the upper Bowman side of Kalihi Saddle.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Dropping down into the saddle. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Gen and Khym had no problems with this tree.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Odd foot out.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Making our way down the undulating saddle. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

The rest of the crew making their way down.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

The relatively “easy” half of Moanalua Saddle. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Almost there. Well, halfway.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Hiking on the edge. Optical illusion. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Group photo at the terminus for the Kulana’ahane Trail by Justin Hirako. Too many distractions.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Time to leave the crowds behind us. We had plenty of time. Gen and Khym decided to continue with us on the trail.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Headed up the relatively “hard” half of Moanalua Saddle. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Khym testing out the rocks. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Taking a visual break from all the gray, crumbly rocks around us and looking into the lush valley. Colors reset. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Climbing queue. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Chris climbing up the direct crumbly side.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Justin decided to climb up the Windward side. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

How’s my hair look?

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Approaching the dirt triangle. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Looking back.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

We contoured to the Leeward side of the dirt triangle. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Gen scrambling her way up.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Chris climbing his way up. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Thessa making her way up. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Khym testing out more rocks.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Justin climbing out of the saddle.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Scrambling my way up. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Justin and Thessa waiting patiently for their turn to make their way up.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Khym coming up the last major “obstacle.” Photo by Chris Bautista.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Most hikers use two, three or four points of contact when climbing. Khym demonstrates how to use five points of contact. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Leaving all the “hard” parts behind us. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Just an uphill climb from here.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Looking across the valley towards North Haiku Stairs. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

What does that spell? Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

It was time to leave our spelling bee class behind us.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Hiking up the backside of the stairs.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Group photo by Justin Hirako with Moanalua Saddle behind us.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Splits and stretching on the stairs. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Saddle

Moanalua Saddle

Making our way up the backside of the CCL building.

South Haiku Stairs

South Haiku Stairs

99 bottles of beer on the wall…

South Haiku Stairs

South Haiku Stairs

Group photo by Justin Hirako at Stairway to Heaven.

South Haiku Stairs

South Haiku Stairs

We left the socked in summit to traverse to the Moanalua Middle Ridge Junction, only to find out that somebody had apparently scavenged the green wooden sign. Sad state of affairs.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Chris going down the socked in ridge.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

The long rope down. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Coming down from the clouds. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Ridge wave. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Catch me if you can.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

The trail, in some sections, are now severely eroded. Photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Sun in your face. Group photo by Justin Hirako.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Moanalua Middle Ridge

We came down off the ridge, crossed the dry streambed and onto the often missed junction with the road.

Kamananui Valley Road

Kamananui Valley Road

The long road back to our cars. Photo by Justin Hirako.

All pau

All pau

We made it to Moanalua Valley Park under the cover of twilight.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

Our double stairway hike covered 12.69 miles. Epic hike with a fun crew. Post hike meal was supposed to be at Max’s of Manila. Not Filipino enough. Oxtail soup at Lilihia Bakery. Extra broth to go.

Note: I have been made aware the some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers.

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{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }

Justin May 14, 2016 at 3:26 pm

Crumbly but fun hike! Will try five points of contact next time we find ourselves on a crumbly ridge haha

Reply

kenji SAITO May 14, 2016 at 5:53 pm

Haha, yes Khym already showed you how. So you can put it into use next time!

Reply

Khym May 14, 2016 at 5:26 pm

i wish i have more arms lol so i dont have to use my head.

Reply

kenji SAITO May 14, 2016 at 5:54 pm

Well, that’s one way of using your head! haha

Reply

Jeffrey Bue June 13, 2016 at 4:15 pm

That was a righteous hike brah. I climbed the Haiku stairs twice when I lived in Aeia (2011-2014). I wish I could have hooked up with some hikers like y’all so I could have done a hike like this. Thank you so much for sharing. Makes me miss Oahu :(

Reply

kenji SAITO June 14, 2016 at 5:35 am

Aloha Jeffrey,
Thanks ! Glad you enjoyed the post. The stairs has been getting a lot of unwanted attention if you’re still following local news. Talks of tearing them down have been gathering momentum and urgency. Only time will tell.
Mahalo!

Reply

Jeffrey Bue June 17, 2016 at 2:52 am

Yeah.. I still have friends on Oahu and heard about the landslide that took out a section of the stairs last year. I assume you can’t climb the stairs because of that.

Cheers!

Reply

kenji SAITO June 17, 2016 at 2:30 pm

Aloha Jeffrey,
The death of the stairs due to the landslide has been greatly exaggerated by the media. It is still passable but of course the stairs itself is still patrolled by security and the police have been giving out tickets like candy due to the unwanted exposure the stairs has been getting as of late.
Mahalo

Reply

Stuart June 25, 2016 at 1:46 am

Hey man, I forgot how I came to the blog, looking up some trail or another and damn you guys are doing the real hikes around here. If you ever could find room in a hike crew for the day please hit me up. I live in Oahu now as a nurse and have just been soloing most things. I want to do more ridge hikes but I don’t feel too safe out there on my own. Anyways thanks for the detailed trail report, damn I’d love to do this or a similar hike…

Reply

kenji SAITO June 25, 2016 at 9:11 pm

Aloha Stuart,
Thanks! Nice blog you have with cool pics. Seems you have done your fair share of traveling. Always looking for good people to hike with on a regular basis! Will let you know.
Mahalo!

Reply

Stuart June 26, 2016 at 10:14 pm

Thanks for the compliment, I love photography and traveling, living in Hawaii makes photography easy it’s so gorgeous here. I have a goal of doing Pali Notches over K1 & K2, that’s what I am currently pouring over trip reports for. Pretty exciting hiking/climbing up there. I did a scout up there and got to the chimney. Going to bring my own static rope I don’t trust those fixed lines haha. Also going to get in on a Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club hike when I can. Up for some high adventure for sure. Anyways, mahalo, have a great week!

Reply

Casey September 15, 2016 at 12:10 pm

I made it on Kenji’s blog! I’m famous. All I had to do was pass him on Stairway to Hell. Maybe one day I’ll get to hike with him too. ;)

Reply

kenji SAITO September 15, 2016 at 12:50 pm

Aloha Casey,
Nice bumping into your group, even though sorry to say I don’t know which one you were. Ah, quite the contrary, by being on my blog, you have now sunken into relative obscurity. I apologize in advance for any problems this may impact on your professional and social life. :). Yeah sure, hit me up on facebook, as I usually hike every weekend!
Mahalo

Reply

Casey September 15, 2016 at 12:53 pm

Good deal. I’ve hiked with Justin before. I’m the pale haole with the teal shirt.I think you’ve hiked with my buddy Yoly a lot too. Happy trails.

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