Commando Trail to Bowman Trail

It was time for that once a month club or something to that effect. Somebody had an itch to hike the saddle and that itch would be scratched, but not in the manner she thought it would be scratched.

Thanks to Kenny and Lilia for dropping us off as we plunged into the forest looking for wallabies. Oh wrong hike.

All smiles as the beginning trail was surprisingly cleared and clearly marked with orange and white ribbons. HTMC at work? The club was the one that actually “made” this trail after all.

We soon came to a clearing marked by powerlines. HECO at work.

Picking out the trail through the forest.

Group photo in front of the bell pepper or dinosaur rock.

Contouring around the second and smaller bell pepper or dinosaur rock.

The group bushwhacked our way up from the valley to the spur ridge. The worst was behind us, right? Think again.

Where is the trail?

The trail had been swallowed by the uluhe ferns probably through a combination of the recent heavy rains and lack of foot traffic.

Looking at Kalihi Saddle which was our intended destination as rain showers washed over the ridge line. Passing morning showers?

Can you see the face for the mountain?

Bushwhacking is tiring work, so we rotated the lead position when the foliage became dense and unyielding.

Whose bright idea was it to climb up this ridge instead of the scheduled descent?

The heavy overgrowth made the transition from Commando to Bowman pass unnoticed by us but not under the watchful gaze of Jabba the Hut.

Climbing up the steep section with an assortment of climbing aids to include rope, webbing and printer cable. This is hiking in Hawaii.

Point of no return? The increasing frequency of the rain showers, while not pelting, was of concern along with the forecast for more rain in our future. It was decided, albeit grudgingly, to turn back and return another day.

What goes up, must come back down.

Clinging on the side of the mountain as we pressed forward or backwards.

The hike would not be complete without a showing from the Dancing Queens.

Traversing the undulating ridge line.

The webbing was set to warn hikers of the eroded section on the trail. Caution tape would’ve worked just as well.

Should we take this lower trail? Stay high on the ridge line.

Why is Marilyn shedding crocodile tears in the rain? A) We didn’t get to do Kalihi Saddle as originally planned. B) We seemed to have lost the trail high on the ridge line. C) All of the above.

Following the ridge line with no apparent trail in sight for over half an hour, we looked at the spacing of the topographical lines and decided to just bushwhack our way down to the ravine and eventually intersect the actual trail. It was only roughly 200′ give or take of elevation loss.

The initial descent was somewhat steep and carpeted with heavy uluhe that masked several deep holes.

We soon were able to actually see the ground below our feet and the grade became less severe as we dropped to the dry streambed below us.

Scrambling up the steep and slippery hill where we soon met up with the trail.

Cristy harvesting the abundant red and yellow strawberry guavas on the trail. The invasive plant that is native to Brazil, was introduced to Hawaii in 1825 by the British and spread throughout the islands by birds and pigs. They block out sunlight for native plants and consume more water than other plants.

Down …

… down …

… and down. We must be getting closer to the bottom.

Nope. The rolling ridge was punctuated with many false summits, just like any other ridge lines.

Contouring around the rock that squarely in our path.

Taking a break at the geodetic survey marker and not to be confused with a geocache.

Over …

… through …

… and under.

Are we there yet?

The end of the trail that was marked with a WW2 bunker probably meant for observation or command and control purposes?

Time to explore the exterior of the bunker as there was nothing of note in the interior of the structure.

Nice views but this is not the way we want to go.

Back the other way.

We branched off the road and descended down towards the urban creep.

The end is in sight! Yah! I think I can speak for the group and say we were over this trail and then some.

Playing hopscotch like it was yesterday.

Kid at heart. We were in the right place.

Thanks to Akira and Lilia for picking us up in the crowded neighborhood.

Our not as planned hike covered 5.17 miles with fun company and good times. Is it the journey or the destination? Neither. It’s the company. Post hike meal at Teishoku where we were also joined by Aida, Kenny and Val.

Photos/Crew taken by Aileen Agustin, Chico Cantu, Cristy CM, Marilyn Bermudez, 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: bowman trail, commando trail, kalihi valley