Kamehame Road to Pacific Ocean (almost)

Picking up where we left off from last week; met up with Aida, Art, Cinja, Lilyn, Marilyn, Quan and Tessa at the end of an East Oahu neighborhood. Photo by Art Young.

Early hikers get the view of the sun seemingly breaking the horizon plane. It’s actually the earth’s rotation. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

I guess we came before visiting hours, but you wouldn’t know it by the amount of people walking up and down the road.

It was our turn to take our group photo on this small plot of artificial grass with sweeping views of the Southern and Windward coastlines.

Skirting the fenced compound so as not to awaken the neighbors. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Trying to get the hang of flying my drone at the second hang gliding platform. Need more practice.

Scrambling up a small hill. Thankfully not many hills on this section of the trail.

Going down the hill with expansive views of Makai Pier, Sea Life Park and the islands of Manana (Rabbit) and Kaohika’ipu (Black Rock).

Picking our way along the uneven rock studded ridge line. Photo by Art Young.

Hiking on the edge of the cliff. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Silhouetted hikers against the morning skies. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The trail soon worked itself away from the edge towards more solid footing. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Approaching the cluster of rocks which I like to call Hawaii’s Stonehenge. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Drone views.

Selfie views.

It was a hop, skip and a jump to the next rock to climb.

Top down views. Now which way do we climb down?

Tessa finding her own views. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The group scrambling out of the saddle.

Some of us took the high road and the others took the low road.

Hanging loose in the hole. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The correct way of taking a scenic picture. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The incorrect way. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

We saw a rather large group of hikers headed towards us but they took the contour trail to avoid meeting us. Social distancing.

3. 3. 3. Someone obviously had no idea of the concept of a countdown.

Going down the rocky, downhill climb. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Looking both ways before crossing to avoid becoming roadkill. The most dangerous part of the hike.

Aida scrambling up the rocks. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

What happened to my belayer? Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The rest of the group were monopolizing the climbing crag with photo shoots.

I found my own piece of rock to stand on. Somebody take my picture. Photo by Art Young.

We crested to the top of the ridge and took a break to enjoy the hang gliders circling around the area. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Approaching the crowded lookout.

Bypassing the crowds to enjoy our own lookout. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

What happened to my spotter? Photo by Art Young.

Spotting duties. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Going down the less traveled trail to the lighthouse. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Climbing down to the notch that was blasted out of the lava rocks to build the lighthouse. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Celebrating our completions of the Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST). #4 for Tessa and #12 for myself.

Some of us could reach higher than the others.

Following the arrow like lemmings off a seaside cliff. Literally.

All hiking was temporarily suspended to watch the gentle giants slapping the waters with their tails. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The group climbing down to find the “official” end of the KST.

Will the real KST finisher please stand up?

Who’s coming down with me? Crickets. Only two of them followed me down. Photo by Art Young.

Art climbing down the side of the crumbly rocks to the narrow ledge below him.

Testing the rocks as we made our way down. Photo by Art Young.

Somebody wanted to call it. I turned up my ELO music.

Forward progress was stalled by a steep cliff, so we contoured to our right. Photo by Art Young.

Sliding down the crumbly rocks.

Art climbing his way down. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The rest of the group watching our progress from the safety of the lighthouse. I’m pretty sure some of my crickets wanted to be topside as well. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Checking to make sure we could climb back up after each down climb.

Art stretching his glutes on his way down to the stack of rocks. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

We could smell the ocean. We were that close. So close, yet so far. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The buck stops here. Or at least this hiker does. Photo by Art Young.

Lilyn watching my progress from a safe distance.

End of the cliff for us. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

We retreated back on the trail and found the most suitable flat spot to take our group photo.

Lilyn scrambling back up to the narrow ledge. Photo by Art Young.

Making our way back up the ridge. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

It was a lot easier climbing our way back up. Photo by Art Young.

Lilyn pulling herself up.

Climbing up the slabs of rocks. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Art coming up the ridge line. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Almost there. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Climbing our way back to the lighthouse. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Aerial views of the 35′ concrete tower that holds the largest hyperradiant lens in the country. The lighthouse sits 395′ above the water serving as a navigational aid to ships that ply the nearby Hawaiian waters.

Watching out for falling rocks on our way out. Photo by Art Young.

Walking down the hot, paved road that were teeming with hikers.

Champagne ceremony. I think I prefer to be on the giving end rather than on the receiving end. Thanks to Quan and Lilyn for shuttling us back to our cars.

Our short day covered a little over five miles where we almost touched the waters of the Pacific Ocean, but content in our adventure and accomplishments. Fun day with a great group of friends. Post hike meal at Island Brew Coffeehouse which did not sit well with some of us, so we went to Uncle Clay’s to fill up our tummies.

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.

Tagged as: kamehame road, koolau summit ridge trail, ksrt, makapu'u lighthouse, makapuu puka, pacific ocean