Kolowalu Trail to Olympus to Manoa Middle

When I heard that HTMC was going down Waiakeakua Falls, I jumped at the chance to go visit another new place. Glenn picked me up and we met the other club members by the Manoa Chinese Cemetery. We also witnessed why hikers in general get a bad rap from the stupid minority of hikers who fail to exercise common sense. Another hiker with a different group blocked somebody’s driveway and some sort of accident ensued, with the obvious unpleasant outcome as a result. I fail to see why people can’t just follow a couple rules – don’t block people’s driveways, don’t use their garden hoses, don’t leave trash and don’t make a lot of noise. Is that too much to ask? Time to get off my soapbox and start hiking!

The briefing

Thea, the hike leader, told us during the briefing that we weren’t going down Waiakeakua Falls as originally planned, but would instead go down Manoa Middle Ridge. Bummers. I saw a couple of familiar faces in the group, Bob and Randy, from prior hikes.

Which way to go?

A couple hikers split from the main group and went on the Puu Pia trail. They wanted to go up the Manoa Middle Ridge and would meet us at the top.

Kolowalu Trail

The rest of us made our way uphill on the Kolowalu trail.

Wa’ahila Trail

An hour later, we were at the junction that went up the “unmaintained” part of the Wa’ahila trail.

Clearing

It was shaping up to be a nice day on the Koolau’s. There are three of these clearings as you make your way up to Olympus. Perfect times to take pictures and catch your breath.

Panoramic view of town

Click here for the larger image.

Dirt + Water = Mud

When Mother Nature turns on the faucets, this section literally becomes a mud slide.

Mount Olympus

This is the closest we came to Olympus. Even though the hike was billed as going to Olympus, there were no takers. What a shame as Olympus is usually swathed in clouds, today was the exception.

Headed to the Koolau Summit Ridge Trail

We went back down the trail a bit until we connected to the KSRT ( Koolau Summit Ridge Trail ).

Koolau Summit Ridge Trail

It’s always a blast to be walking on top of the Koolau’s, especially when the weather cooperates and gives unrestricted views as far as the eye can see.

Looking for the “sedan” rock

As we made our way along the ridge, we failed to see the rock formation that looked like a “sedan.” Must have been more like a smart car. But we did pass the trail that would have took us down to Waiakeakua Falls. Another hike for another day.

Which way does the wind blow?

It’s always interesting to see how the wind shapes the trees and terrain up in the mountains.

Making it up to the Manoa Middle Ridge

The rest of the group making their way up to meet us at the top of Manoa Middle.

Lunch time

What a lunch spot!

Manoa Valley

After we filled our bellies and stretched our legs, some of us headed down the Manoa Middle Ridge. Hikers can thank the HTMC for clearing this trail going down into Manoa Valley. The rest stayed to enjoy the views a little bit longer. Who could blame them?

A big tree

As we lost elevation coming down the ridge, these huge trees started looming over us and forming a canopy at the lower elevation.

Ridge going down towards Waiakeakua Falls

We spotted the ridge that would have taken us to Waiakeakua Falls to our left.

Upstream

Exploring a little bit upstream, we found a rock dating back to 1891. It’s always amazing what one can find in these valleys. You just have to take the time to look.

Queen’s Bath

The water at this popular watering hole was so crisp and clear, it was almost out of a spring water commercial.

Until we meet again

We bid farewell to one of the group as he followed the stream out to his house in Manoa. We had a short cardio blast going up this small hill past these huge Chinese Fan Palm Trees.

Puu Pia trail

After a short climb to the top, we made a left and followed the Puu Pia trail out back to our cars.

GPS tracks

The 5.4 mile leisurely paced hike took us about 5 1/2 hours to complete. Even though we didn’t get to go down Waiakeakua Falls, it was still a fun hike.

Tagged as: htmc, kolowalu trail, koolau, manoa middle, olympus, queen's bath, waahila trail