Aiea to Moanalua Valley

We paid a birthday visit to Hell today and some of us carried extra baggage with us. Might as well be comfortable sitting on that chair. Or not.

Why walk an extra ten minutes when the custodian is nice enough to open the gate early? Mahalo to Lilyn and Quan for dropping Aida, Aileen, Amber, Jen, Rose and myself off at the 384 acre park.

One person in the group photo is not hiking.

Pushing off on the trail.

Taking a load off their backs, some more so than others.

Leaving the five mile loop trail for the mountains.

Aida with the background views of the H3 highway on Windward viaducts as it runs through Halawa Valley.

Amber illustrating the difference between a headstand and a handstand at the 2,441′ hill.

There’s views in them thar hills. Not today.

Going around the base of the power line tower before gaining the summit.

You know your backpack is oversized, when people see it first before they see you when coming up to the summit.

No need to stand up group photo at the socked in 2,805′ top.

Descending into the clouds.

Contouring around the fenced native plant enclosure.

Climbing up our last hill …

… to prove that there are views in them thar hills.

Dripping wet.

Happy Birthday Jen!

It’s cold as hell. Oxymoron’s that work well together in this part of the mountains.

Group photo at the stairs that leads to nowhere.

The pair of Amber and Rose stashed their stuff for their upcoming KST traverse. Don’t touch our stuff. Pretty please. In sharpie. Permanent.

Making our way on the steps that time forgot and that Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming.

Following the wire rope that soon replaced the steps.

Climbing out of hell.

Leaving the rusted remnants behind us.

Making our way up to the geodetic marker that has since lost its circumference.

Dropping down into saddle that is also the junction for the Halawa trail.

Approaching the summit of Red Hill.

Trip hazard.

Hold your excitement. This not the pearly white ohi’a lehua flower. The search continues.

Walking on the edge.

Going down on crumbly dirt.

Watching the rest of the group make their way down the thin ribbon of a trail.

If it’s not a tree hugger, it’s a rock hugger in the mountains.

We contoured on the Leeward side and regained the ridge line.

Looking back at the Western half of the saddle.

Approaching our last summit of the day.

What could this be? Let your imagination run wild.

Our last group photo in the slot.

I see people. Live people. Coming down the spur ridge, we noticed a pair of people at the top of the falls. Turned out to be Jason and Pam setting up their anchors, a day that lasted over 24 hours for them. I thought my hikes were long!

Somebody started counting the stream crossings as we hit the valley floor. Never did finish the task. Unfinished business.

Threading our way through the thickets of hau tree branches.

Everybody looking forward to the walk out.

We washed our shoes and walked back out to our cars to finish the day. Post hike meal? One had steak waiting at home. The other was tuckered out and went home. The rest of us went to nearby Alley Restaurant to get our fix of oxtail soup.

Our birthday/stash hike covered 11.5 miles to hell and back. Mixed bag of weather day spent with good people.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Aileen Agustin, Amber Fonte, Jen Odence, Rose Mathis, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that 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. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Tagged as: aiea loop trail, aiea ridge trail, aiea summit, kamananui valley trail, koolau summit ridge trail, ksrt, kulana'ahane summit, moanalua falls, moanalua saddle, north haiku stairs, red hill summit, stairway to hell