Kaena to Ka’ala

Tessa, Thomas and myself spent part of the Memorial Day Weekend camping on the West side.

Mahalo to Edgar for driving us past the DLNR checkpoint and dropping us off at the entrance to the Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve.

Passing by the fenced enclosure that protects one of the last intact dune ecosystems in the islands.

Hiking up to the first bunker on the ridge.

Standing on the second bunker looking out towards the jumping off point for departing souls according to Hawaiian legends.

Tessa looking out towards Yokohama Bay or Keawa’ula Beach.

The sun aka the heat rising above the third bunker.

Scrambling our way through the dry grass and basaltic rocks.

Approaching the military base that first appropriated 153 acres of this area back in 1959.

Tessa making the final push to the top.

Skirting the fenced base that tracks satellites in orbit.

Enjoying our brisk walk in the morning.

Leaving the radomes behind us.

Oh give me a home where the cows roam, Where the pigs and the pheasants play, Where seldom is heard a discouraging warning, And the skies are not cloudy all day.

Open the gate. Close the gate.

Have permit, will hike. We shall see.

Looking for somebody to check our permit out. He found us.

Thomas waiting for his ride.

No H & H for us this weekend.

The group reunited and ready to hike.

Somebody’s illusion of the trail being relatively flat was soon to be rudely shattered.

Breakfast break at the picnic shelter.

Following the hiking stick figure. He must know the way.

Thomas coming down the tree lined corridor.

Trading in the soft ground for some hard rock.

Standing tall.

An ubiquitous sight in the mountains. Fences.

Brief break at the trail sign.

Back on the road again.

When 2WD is better than 4WD.

Detouring off the jeep road.

Makua Valley views along with a splash of rain.

Going up the hill multiplied by a heavy pack. Fun all day.

All feet on the side of the geodetic marker, not the top.

One of many fence crossings on the trail.

Switch backing our way up through the hill of reforested endemic plants.

Contouring our way around the endemic enclosure.

One of the best scenic spots to soak in Makua Valley.

Following the fence line as it bordered the valley.

Windmills in the background, shelter in the foreground.

We decided to change plans and make camp down in the valley.

Staking out our respective tent spots for the night as the mosquitoes sought to distract us.

We filtered water from the leaky hose and ate our dinner. Most of us retired early to our tents since the night life around these parts was lacking, while some wandered the trails.

Day 2
We woke up the next day and broke down camp.

Our breakfast to start the day was Spanish roll dipped in coffee, reconstituted food and spam musubi fried rice.

Back to our regularly scheduled program of hiking.

Nothing to wake you up in the morning like a good cardio workout.

Looking down into the valley where ancient Hawaiians believe man was first created.

Enjoying a relatively flat spell of the trail strewn with assorted boulders.

Back on the undulating trail.

360 degree view of the valleys of Makaha, Makua and Mokuleia.

A solitary scarlet lehua flower.

Plunging into the overgrowth.

So close, yet so far.

The fence line is the hikers lifeline in the uluhell.

Making our way off the hill.

Trail meets the road.

Somebody was stretching out for the 2.5 mile walk up the paved road littered with rockfalls.

Using the traffic mirror for our group photo.

Pushing off the gradual ascent up to the highest peak on the island.

Taking in the views.

Halfway there! Numerically speaking that is.

Straight from the pipe. Unfiltered. Undrunk.

End of the road for us.

Brief stop at the recently built three walled shelter.

Group photo at the highest peak on the island.

Walking on the roughly 3/4 mile boardwalk that traveled through the endemic cloud forest.

Trematolobelia flowers were in bloom throughout the bog.

Dropping off the summit on our way down to the valley.

Climbing down one at a time.

On rope.

Going down the steep mountainside.

Scrambling down the second set of boulders on the trail.

On our way down, we ran into a pack of boy scouts who were planning to camp at the shelter. That was going to be a tight fit, squashed like sardines.

Things that go bump in the night. Things that rustle in the grass. They both will scare you when you least expect it.

Many thanks to Chico who had arrived earlier and hiked up to the summit, got cold and went back down and struck up a long running conversation with a honest person who would never take stuff that didn’t belong to him, for picking us up in the remote valley and driving us back to our cars in Mililani.

Post hike meal at Louisiana Chicken where we chowed down chicken and ice cold soda to replenish all the calories we spent on our 16.7 mile weekend hike. Good fun with great people.

Photos taken by Tessa Bugay, Thomas Barrett, 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: kaena point natural area reserve, kuaokala trail, makaha valley, makua valley, mokuleia, mount kaala, three corners, waianae mountains, waianae summit trail, waianae valley, waianae-kaala trail, wst