Kauhao Pali

Plan B for the birthday hike. That seems to be a common theme lately.

We all gathered off the side of Farrington Highway except one who decided to gather by himself further down the road. Some of us watched the surf across the road to kill time.

The group pushing off into the trail that was initially dominated by tall and itchy California grass.

When illiteracy rears its ugly head. Stay in school kids. Don’t become a dentist.

Making our way through the tree line.

The trail soon took on a steeper slant riddled with assorted shapes and sizes of boulders.

Lurker.

Pushing to the traditional top of the trail where climbers go left to start at the base of the crag.

We continued to the right of the trail to push our way to the top of the cliff.

Tessa climbing up and over jagged and protruding rocks. Theme of the day.

Climbing out of the gully.

Following the “obvious” path of least resistance up the cliff.

Running across our first assistance in the form of a rope that has been here for an indeterminate amount of time.

When you strike out on your own path, you end up working that much harder to get back to the trail. When obvious is not obvious.

The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone, the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone. Just making sure.

Jen standing on the edge.

Marilyn pushing her way up through the grassy slope.

Behind the scenes.

Try, try again.

Some of us went into the ironwood tree line, while the others got a drone fly over courtesy of Gamiao Airlines.

Happiest of birthdays to Quan and Marilyn. Forever 21.

Group photo in the stand of pine trees.

It’s a goat … It’s a bird … It’s an Laysan Albatross.

These large, abundant seabirds were considered to be a good omen by sailors, as it meant that land was nearby. What if we are already on land? Omen past?

We explored further uphill to discover a fenced enclosure similar to the one that wraps around Kaena Point.

Somebody was sure that we could have dropped straight down to the top of Mokuleia Crag. I only had 50′ of webbing. Surprisingly, I had to be the voice of reason.

Which way are we going down? The same tried and true way.

Looking down at Camp Erdman, summer playground to many local kids, including this one.

Rock! My back caught it, thanks.

Tessa climbing her way down.

Lilyn enjoying the view from her perch.

Chico coming down between a rock and a hard place (tree).

Making our way to the top trail.

The rest of the group making their way down the rocky gully.

No cake or crack comments. What cake? What crack?

Ferlino hanging from a tree. Let’s not have a repeat of Utah shall we.

What goes up, must be able to come back down.

Is this one of the 50 climbing routes on the basaltic band of rock?

Who’s photobombing whom?

Will the real rock climbers please stand up?

Thank you.

Two way traffic as we met other climbers and hikers making their way up.

Somebody has a heart of basaltic rock.

Making our way back to our cars.

Our departure was slightly delayed due to the picking of bitter melon (paria) leaves. I hope that the fruits of labor will be shared in a simmering pot later on.

Post hike meal where we had pizza, chicken wings, burgers and fries. No onion rings on the menu.

I scream, you scream, Chico buys the ice cream.

Our surprisingly steep cliff scramble covered 1.4 miles in and out. Thanks to Edgar for suggesting the hike and the rest of the group for the fun birthday adventure in the mountains.

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Kauhao Pali Hike.

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

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Edgar Gamiao, Ferlino Carinio, Jen Odence, Lilyn Avendano, Marilyn Bermudez, Quan Haberstroh, Tessa Bugay, 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: kauhao pali, mokuleia crag, mokuleia wall