I found myself walking on the Waianae Valley Road with Marcus, Jay, Tom, Scott, Brian and Aaron to hike up Bolohead Ridge. Did I ever mention I hate this mile plus road of unyielding concrete with a passion? This was our second attempt, as two weeks ago we got rained out and had to turn back.
Weather looks good!
It wasn’t raining and Mount Ka’ala looked clear and cloud free. Looking good!
Waianae Kai Forest
Passing the first water tank, we took a right onto a trail that took us deep into the Waianae Kai Forest as we followed the pink and yellow markers.
Start of Bolohead Ridge
About half an hour later, we found ourselves at the beginning of Bolohead Ridge.
Point of No Return
This was the same area where we had to turn back two weeks ago due to wet conditions. The rocks in this area start to get steeper and are covered with moss. Not a good idea to be climbing in these conditions when rainy and wet.
Group photo at the first obstacle
Back to front: Jay, Scott, Brian, Tom, myself, Aaron and Marcus. I would say this section of the ridge was the narrowest part on the whole ridge, and we were taking a group photo on it! Photo by Marcus Griego.
Looks harder than it actually is
As we prepared to tackle the first obtacle, we noticed moisture in the air and rain spilling over the top of Mount Ka’ala. We agreed that the best plan of action was to make it past the second obstacle and hope the rain would hit us after that, which the terrain would allow us to safely handle. Click here for the larger image.
First obstacle
Looks can be deceiving. From a distance, this obstacle looks imposing and somewhat intimidating. But up close, the climb was made easy by ample handholds and footholds. Photo by Scott Bowling.
Looking back at the thin ridge
Aaron making it to the top of the first obstacle with a neat view of the valley and the ridge we had just left behind.
Second obstacle – Bolohead itself
We soon approached the second and hardest obstacle, the feature named for the ridge itself – Bolohead. So named by Waianae Steve because it resembles a bald man. Sorry, I don’t get the resemblance. Maybe if I squint and look real hard from a certain angle. Then again, I’ve never been good at abstract thinking.
Watch out for falling rocks
While we were waiting our turn to go up Bolohead, we were being showered by dirt and small pebbles from the guys above us. If you got micro-spikes, now would be a good time to put them on. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any. Lucky me.
Climbing up Bolohead
A good chunk of Bolohead is all loose dirt and rocks, making it somewhat of a chore. A weathered rope that was installed who knows how long ago, greatly helped out.
Top of Bolohead
As we all made it to the top of Bolohead one by one, it was hard not to be impressed by the spectacular views below us.
Panoramic view of Waianae Valley
Click here for the larger image.
Climbing down the backside of Bolohead
The fun was not over yet. We stil had to climb down the backside of Bolohead, which involves a somewhat narrow rockface. Once again, there was webbing, but it was frayed so we didn’t depend on it much as we made our way down. Photo by Francis Joy.
Looking down the backside of Bolohead
Tom climbing down as he makes “love” to the rocks. Caveman jargon for hugging the rocks as you down climb.
Almost to the top of Ka’ala
Gone were the narrow ridge and the fun. Replaced by relatively wide open areas on the way to the top of Ka’ala. Luckily, the rain showers never did show up.
Getting bogged down
As we got nearer to the top, the open ridge was replaced by the bog forest and thick uluhe ferns. Photo by Scott Bowling.
Top of Mount Ka’ala
No sightseeing today. It was decided not to pay the Ka’ala bog a visit today and instead go straight down the mountain.
Coming down from the mountain
Tom passing one of the boulder sections as he makes his way down.
Tiki Ridge
Instead of going down the Waianae-Ka’ala Trail, we decided to go down the next ridge, which was Tiki Ridge.
Tiki #1
Passing the first tiki marker on the way down the ridge. There are two small rockfaces that must be down climbed and the rest of the ridge is downhill.
Tiki #2
We made our way down the ridge, traversed the Waianae Kai Forest, waded through head high grass and popped back onto the much hated road and made our way back down to our cars.
GPS Tracks for Bolohead Ridge to Kaala to Tiki Ridge
The entire 6.3 mile hike took us 7.5 hours. Glad we made it the second time around. I heard there are seven trails to get to Ka’ala, two down and five more to go!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
That first photo is amazing! And so are the photos of Bolohead, holy moly! Love your photos and glad you made the hike!
Hey Hawaii Girl,
Thanks! The hike was super fun, narrow ridges and lots of rock and dirt climbing!
Narrow ridges, rock and dirt climbing is my kinda hike! LOL!
Wow….awesome views and beautiful pics. Would really love to hike this with you next time pls.
Aloha Ani,
Okay will let you know if we do this again. However, I have heard from others that the ridge is quite eroded now, so it may not be safe.
Mahalo
Have you had any updates on the conditions of the ridge? Still hearing that it is really eroded?
Aloha Liz,
I know of a group that just did it last month. They reported it was even more severely eroded, advising other hikers to not attempt this crumbly ridge. Hope this helps.
Mahalo