Hobbs Ridge to Ka’ala Road

by kenji SAITO on June 8, 2014

Hiking Hobbs Ridge to Ka'ala Road

Today’s hike was to tidy up some unfinished business with Ka’ala Road.

Waianae Valley

Waianae Valley

At the crack of dawn, I met up with Chris, James, John, Jose, Marvin and Thessa at the end of Waianae Valley Road.

Goodbye paved road

Goodbye paved road

We spent scant minutes on the much hated road and then turned right into the bushes. No complaints here.

Into the boonies

Into the boonies

The grass was only about waist high in the beginning of the trail. It would get much higher as we went deeper into the valley.

To boldly go...

To boldly go…

The junction for the Star Trek trail. Another time to boldly go where many have trodden.

Nice trail

Nice trail

The trail opened up at times, giving us a break from all the overgrowth.

What trail?

What trail?

Shoulder high California grass soon swallowed the trail. We spotted the faded pink ribbon that marked the ridge to our right. Up we went.

Hear any buzzing?

Hear any buzzing?

Other hikers had warned of a nest of yellow jackets at the beginning of the ridge. No buzzing heard or stings inflicted.

Hobb's Ridge

Hobb’s Ridge

Learning the color coded bottle caps helps a lot when hiking in Waianae.

Steady climb up

Steady climb up

No switchbacks here. Just an honest climb straight up the ridge.

Looking back

Looking back

We had gained quite a bit in elevation.

Bolohead Ridge

Bolohead Ridge

Looking at Bolohead Ridge to our left.

Final push up the ridge

Final push up the ridge

Chris climbing to the top of the ridge with his Spanish bread about to spill out of the plastic bag.

The fence

The fence

Back on the Waianae Summit Trail, where we turned left towards Ka’ala.

Follow the fence

Follow the fence

We jumped over the fence to avoid the prickly thorns that seemed to dominate the Waianae side of the fence line. Some got it worse than others. John’s legs can attest to that. His days as a leg model are over.

Flower and the fruit

Flower and the fruit

No trail snacks for us today.

At least you can't get lost

At least you can’t get lost

No prickly thorns on this section.

The end is near

The end is near

Looking ahead, we could see the fence coming to an end before a huge rock face.

I can't hold it much longer

I can’t hold it much longer

Playing around with a huge boulder. One day, this boulder is going to roll down the mountain. Don’t want to be around when that happens. Or nobody else for that matter. Photo by John Garrity.

Major obstacle

Major obstacle

I thought we were going to have fun climbing over these pile of rocks. Dry rocks.

Slippery when wet

Slippery when wet

Instead we contoured to the right and found mossy covered rocks and a steady trickle of water coming down. As we were helping each other cross over a gap, we heard a yell and found out that John had slid down about 20′. Luckily he was holding onto the ropes when he lost his footing. Just a bruised butt and ego. Photo by John Garrity.

You got this

You got this

Going up this slippery section took a lot of energy and effort on our part. If it were under dry conditions, it would have been a piece of cake.

Mount Ka'ala

Mount Ka’ala

The white dome of the tracking station started to loom larger in our sights.

Central Oahu

Central Oahu

Looking out towards the central plain of Oahu. We could hear live fire training coming from Schofield Barracks.

Lualualei Valley

Lualualei Valley

Looking into the largest coastal valley on the West side. Oahu is said to have originated from this spot when volcanic eruptions formed the island.

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

The expression says it all. The last pitch coming up made you work for it.

Lobelia

Lobelia

Sighting of the Koolau Range Lobelia. Hey, aren’t we are on the Waianae Mountains?

Bogging

Bogging

We were not out of the woods or bog yet. We picked up the ribboned trail. Lost it. Picked it up again. Lost it. Picked it up again. You get the idea.

On the boardwalk

On the boardwalk

On solid ground. Err, planks. We simply followed the planks out of the bog.

Ka'ala Bog

Ka’ala Bog

Top of the highest mountain on Oahu, at 4,025′ elevation. Group photo left to right: John, Thessa, James, Marvin, Chris, myself and Jose.

FAA

FAA

End of hiking trail…

Mount Ka'ala Road

Mount Ka’ala Road

…Start of paved road. All seven miles. Yeah.

Goodbye Ka'ala

Goodbye Ka’ala

We checked for any incoming traffic, found none and proceeded down the road.

Road with a view

Road with a view

The view coming down the road from 4,000′ elevation was breathtaking. Let’s build some homes up here!

End of hiking?

End of hiking?

Where is the start of the hiking trail?

Let's all take a selfie

Let’s all take a selfie

The ultimate group selfie. Yeah, we are a bunch of narcissistic individuals collectively lumped together.

Dupont trail

Dupont trail

I believe the end of hiking sign refers to the Dupont trail when it was open. Now it’s closed due to access issues.

The long road down

The long road down

Wish we had those sneakers with wheels. Life would have been much easier.

Roadside flora

Roadside flora

What is this? Photo by John Garrity.

Give us a lift?

Give us a lift?

A truck sped past us at this section. Didn’t even stop to ask if we needed a lift.

Inspection team

Inspection team

The crew lining up, for their chance to climb the famous Ka’ala ladder. Only Thessa went up.

Ohikilolo ridge

Ohikilolo ridge

Squinting hard enough, we could see the cabin past the pyramid peak of Ohikilolo.

Scenic view all the way down

Scenic view all the way down

Hard hats optional.

Kamaileunu and Ohikilolo Ridges

Kamaileunu and Ohikilolo Ridges

Click here for the larger image.

Erosion at work

Erosion at work

Since the road was blasted out of the mountain, the exposed sides are in a state of erosion, with rocks and dirt being showered on the road. Who cleans this stuff up?

Safe from hunters

Safe from hunters

We can take off our fluorescent safety vests now.

Coming down the mountain

Coming down the mountain

No sign of the friendly dog from last time. Sad. Since we were coming down the road, we didn’t see the signs until we hopped over some gates and looked back. This road is closed to hikers. I will miss you Ka’ala Road. Not.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

The 11.6 mile hike was filled with rock scrambling, summit and road hiking and thankfully no yellow jackets. All in all, a nice day on the West side. Post hike meal at Ramen-Ya. Don’t expect the hot tea to be free. Buck fifty. Sheesh.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Collen Kelton October 2, 2016 at 6:57 am

Hey there. I enjoyed reading through this. I have have some extreme trepidation about hopping that Mt Kaala Road fence and riding my bike to the top. You said a truck sped past and didn’t even care that you were there? That gives me hope anyway. You seem to indicate that you didn’t know it was a closed road though, so perhaps you could have played the ignorance card if he had actually stopped to ask what was going on. Hit me back with your thoughts. I have never seen a car come in or out and I don’t see what the harm would be if one biker was tooling around up the road, especially since the hiking trail ends right at the radar site.

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kenji SAITO October 2, 2016 at 6:20 pm

Aloha Collen,
Thanks and glad you enjoyed the post. I believe Mount Ka’ala Road is a federal road and is off limits without express permission from the various entities that use it. The road also crosses farms and ranches at the bottom and there are explicit signs that forbid unauthorized entry. I heard of one story where a group coming down was accosted by a farmer with a shotgun. I would not recommend going up the road with a bicycle. I guess we were just lucky that day.
Mahalo

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