Pali Lookout to Manoa Middle

by kenji SAITO on January 26, 2020

Hiking Pali Lookout to Manoa Middle

Met up with a rather large group comprised of Aida, Allison, Ani, Art, Bill, Chris, Dale, Janell, Jason, Justin, Katie, Naomi, Quan, Shirley and Tessa at the Pali Lookout with favorable conditions or so I thought. Some of us had places to go and some of us didn’t. Drone photo by Justin Wahl.

Pali Lookout

Pali Lookout

Somebody found one of Dale’s painted rocks that he plants around the island’s hiking trails. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Trail

Trail

Nothing to wake you up like a short, steep and slippery climb first thing in the morning.

Trail

Trail

Trail runners yielding to the hikers.

Kalihi Valley

Kalihi Valley

Dale overlooking the valley that once housed leprosy patients before they were shipped out to Molokai. Photo by Art Young.

Pali Vista

Pali Vista

Janell with the backdrop of the Windward Oahu unmatched by the Pali Lookout.

Trail

Trail

Climbing up the short and steep rocky section to get to the notches. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Pali Notches

Pali Notches

Met up with Allison, Naomi and Jason at the top of the first notch.

Pali Notches

Pali Notches

Dale spotting Janell as she made her way down, while Bill and Shirley caught up with the group. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Pali Notches

Pali Notches

Drone photo by Justin Wahl of the group scattered throughout the notch.

Pali Notches

Pali Notches

Catching the breaking sunrise on our way to the second notch. Photo by Ani Lagpacan.

Pali Notches

Pali Notches

Art watching Bill making his way down as Janell takes her leave of us. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Trail

Trail

We lost Allison, Ani, Janell, Jason, Justin, Naomi and Quan as we pushed past the notches. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Nipple

Nipple

Why contour, when you can go up and over? Photo by Art Young.

Nipple

Nipple

Katie climbing up the side of the rock formation. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Nipple

Nipple

The group in various stages of picture taking, posing, waiting, climbing and watching.

Chimney

Chimney

Everybody waiting their turn to climb the vertical rock stack as Aida makes her way up. Photo by Art Young.

Chimney

Chimney

The many faces of the chimney. Photos by Aida Gordon, Bill Yogi and Tessa Bugay.

Chimney

Chimney

Most people come prepared to hike. While others just eat their breakfast and sun themselves on the rocks. The nerve of some people. Bill and Shirley turned around after getting their fill of Portuguese sausage and Vitamin D. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Chimney

Chimney

Bird’s eye view aka WAP. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Trail

Trail

Katie climbing over more rocks on our way up.

Contour

Contour

Working my way towards the Leeward side of the constantly crumbly rock side. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Contour

Contour

Tessa pulling herself up. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Trail

Katie using her slightly large gloves to get a halfway good grip on the crumbly dirt.

Trail

Trail

Climbing our way up as we slowly gained elevation.

Trail

Trail

Katie grabbing on the woody climbers that populated the ridge line.

Trail

Trail

Is this webbing safe? Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Trail

Making our way up the ridge line infested with uki grass, the hiker’s ubiquitous friend. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Trail

It’s always hump day somewhere in the mountains.

Trail

Trail

Always happy to extend a helping hand. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Trail

Trail

The girls perched on a particularly skinny section of the ridge line. Photo by Art Young.

Mud Wall

Mud Wall

Making my way up the side of the mountain that has turned more step than wall. Photo by Art Young.

Mud Wall

Mud Wall

Tessa pulling herself up the slippery slope. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Trail

Approaching the summit through a hole in the clouds.

Konahuanui Summit

Konahuanui Summit

No views on the highest peak on the Ko’olau Mountain Range with nothing but biting flies for company that seemed to have a particular affinity for the Year of the Rat blood. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ko'olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Traversing the ridge that kept the clouds at bay on the Windward side. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

K2 Summit

K2 Summit

Chris joined us at the summit where somebody had ripped off one of the geodetic markers from its pipe stand. I guess the threat of fine or imprisonment had failed to deter the individual(s) involved. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KSRT

KSRT

Leaving the twin peaks on our way down to Manoa Middle, a long cry from our original exit point of Kuli’ou’ou.

KSRT

KSRT

The group following the spine of the Ko’olau Range. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Schweddy Balls

Schweddy Balls

Looking back at the crown jewels of the Ko’olau Mountain Range.

KSRT

KSRT

Chris in one of the grassy meadows on the trail. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Manoa Middle Summit

Manoa Middle Summit

Staring into the sun to get our group picture.

FIrst Aid

FIrst Aid

Tessa trying to flush Katie’s eye out after too much exposure to dirt and sunshine.

Trail

Trail

The sun was out and about, so Art and Katie beat a path down the trail to escape the heat.

Trail

Trail

Passing a towering Albizia tree on our way down the trail.

Trail

Trail

To summit or to stream?

Queen's Bath

Queen’s Bath

Aida climbing her way down the steep section of the trail.

Queen's Bath

Queen’s Bath

We hit the valley floor and followed the stream for a bit. Some followed it more than the others.

Trail

Trail

Chris going up the last hill of the day.

Pu'u Pia Trail

Pu’u Pia Trail

Katie’s face said it all. The end of the hike couldn’t come fast enough.

Pu'u Pia Trail

Pu’u Pia Trail

Art coming down the heavily rooted trail. Photo by Aida Gordon.

All pau

All pau

We finished our 4.39 mile hike in the back of Manoa Valley where Quan and Justin were waiting to pick us up.

Lilihia Bakery

Lilihia Bakery

Our post hike meal was at the eatery that doesn’t seem to run out of oxtail soup. Great hike with a fun crew.

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.

Leave a Comment

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

Wahinee01 March 21, 2020 at 6:47 am

Love this challenging hike. As always, thank you for awesome hikes Kenji. Without your gnarly hikes I’d be 100 lbs overweight.. haha

Reply

kenji SAITO March 21, 2020 at 7:23 am

Aloha Tessa,
Thanks for your awesome company. See you on the next one.
Mahalo

Reply

Aida Gordon March 27, 2020 at 7:13 pm

Thanks for pushing me past my comfort zone on this one. I don’t think I would have even thought of attempting the Chimney if you weren’t leading!

Reply

kenji SAITO March 28, 2020 at 5:26 am

Aloha Aida,
Thanks for coming along. Anything is possible when you put your mind to it and the body will follow.
Mahalo

Reply

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