Kahekili to Crouching Lion Loop Trail (Val’s Birthday Hike)

Time to shake the jet lag off in the mountains this weekend with friends to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

We parked and met at the nearby beach park that was donated to the City and County in the 1920s from one of the Judd descendants to be used as a public gathering place. Let’s see how long the birthday balloon stays with the birthday girl today.

The trail cut through the neighborhood, who says there aren’t mountain equivalent of public access to beaches.

Should we turn back? We are committed and we are not amateurs. Maybe just casual enthusiasts.

Marilyn staying in front of the pack as her gym training was paying off. Time to renew those membership fees.

We decided to detour off the main trail to take in the views from a spur ridge.

Group shot at the scenic spot where Edgar was missing …

… as he was droning us from afar.

Jeremy was anxious to get the hike back on track.

Exploring the military bunker built in 1943 as an observational lookout.

Resuming our slog up the increasing grade of the ridge line.

Up, up and up. No away.

Looking down at part of the 600 cattle herd grazing in the lush valley, eventually to become 100% certified Angus beef.

Allison was making a good showing on her first time hiking this trail.

Three of us split from the group to take the higher trail and play King of the Hill.

The Hill was denied to us due to slippery rocks, so out of an abundance of caution, we looked for the slippery way down.

Meanwhile, down below us, the group were contouring the rock formation.

Tessa against the backdrop of Ka’a’awa Valley.

Andrew and Marilyn enjoying the views, not from the top, but better than nothing.

All the upward climbing was behind us as we descended down the trail.

Traversing over a somewhat narrow and rocky section of the trail. I guess that’s why somebody installed webbing. Safety first.

The boys making their way down the muddy and dense underbrush that carpeted the mountain.

Hanging out at the low depression on the ridge line which was roughly 1,175′ in elevation. I was told these falls ranged anywhere from 600′ to 200′ in height. I could tell for sure that this was at least a two-tiered waterfall and from a friend that has actually rappelled these falls, she guessed it was about 400′ in height. Regardless, it was a long drop down.

Group photo at the edge of the falls.

Back to climbing again. What goes down, must come back up.

Edgar decided to tag along for the rest of the hike as he didn’t want to return and climb back up the muddy trail. More the merrier.

We finally reached the plateau that marked the false summit and celebrated by giving Val a slightly smashed cupcake that didn’t travel well in my backpack. Happy Belated Birthday!

Group photo at 1,905′ elevation. The highest we were getting today with the exception of some that inhaled or didn’t inhale cannabis. The word actually comes from the Scythians, a nomadic group of people that settled in Ukraine and Southern Russia but whose culture went extinct around 3rd century BCE.

Leaving the summit as we descended down the trail. It’s all downhill right?

Video! Video! Akira wanted to take a photo instead.

Photo! Photo! No, I don’t want our photo taken. I’m trying to take a photo. Hey, it worked.

Okay, take our picture if you must.

Threading our way through the treed section of the narrow ridge line.

Video! Video! Shaddup! I guess somebody needed to concentrate on climbing over the rocks. BTW, the voice was masculine assigned at birth. Others chose to contour the rock, perhaps the yelling scared them away.

Allison making short work of the first rock “obstacle” that had to be climbed and not contoured.

Jeremy bringing up the rear as he wanted to make sure nobody else in the group heard all his “excitement.”

Approaching the hump on the ridge line, probably the one that was giving Mrs. Conrad Jones the most anxiety.

Up close and personal. All bark and no bite. You just have to know how to pet it.

Case in point.

All anxieties aside, we continued to follow the ribbon of a ridge line down.

The group scrambling and posing on the rocks. Multi-tasking at its finest.

Views of rippling Kahana Bay came into focus as we kept dropping elevation.

The birthday girl was still holding onto her balloon. Outstanding.

Profiles in posing.

Group photo sans the Marine. Not enough space and too close to the edge.

The Dancing Queens. Book them for your next party. Will work for food or some cheap laughs.

What happens when you leave your phone unattended. Something short of a Chef’s Kiss. Forgot to pinch your fingers. Regardless, rumor has it that Marilyn will use it as her wallpaper.

Akira doing his best impersonation or interpretation of the Art Deco statue of Christ the Redeemer.

Tessa trying out for The Dancing Queens as we climbed down the hill. Sorry, auditions are closed.

Are we there yet?

Can you see the Crouching Lion for the rocks?

Passing through an IG influencer’s photo shoot.

All that was missing was the punching bag. I think somebody was too tired to take out their frustrations on an inanimate object anyways. Hunger pangs dictated a different venue for our post hike meal but one that was literally a hop, skip and a jump away.

Thanks to Andrew and Marilyn who had staged their cars earlier at the exit point and Allison for shuttling them to our starting point. We had time to kill as we had to wait for Aida to join us so we all retrieved our cars from Swanzy Beach Park.

Post hike meal at the historic landmark that started as a private house in the 1930s and was converted to an eatery in 1951 and was shuttered intermittently due to lack of customers and was reopened in 2024 and hopefully will stay in business. Happy Birthday Val!

Our loop hike against the backdrop of Ka’a’awa and Kahana Valleys clocked in at 3.34 miles with fun company and good times. Many more to come.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0rHYFCH5kU

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our birthday hike.

Photos/Crew taken by Aileen Agustin, Akira Suzuki, Allison Banks, Andrew Green, Cristy CM, Edgar Gamiao, Jeremy Cannone, Marilyn Bermudez, Tessa Bugay, Val Wang, 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: crouching lion, ka'a'awa valley, kahana valley, kahekili ridge, makaua falls, pu'u manamana