Piliwale Ridge to Lulumahu Falls and Kaniakapupu

Ever since I met Ted and his crew coming up from Piliwale ridge to Lulumahu Falls when we were coming down that same ridge, I have always wanted to follow in his footsteps so to speak. But having no knowledge of the route down to the falls, that hike was shelved for awhile. Today Ted was nice enough to lead ten of us up the ridge and to the falls.

Ted briefing us on the hike

We all met at the Pali Hunter’s check-in, left a couple cars there and carpooled to Maunawili where we parked on Lopaka Place. Going this way is a more direct route than starting from the Pali Lookout.

Sunrise breaking over Olomana

Walking up the slightly graded trail and catching the sun break over Olomana and Maunawili was a nice way to start the morning.

Piliwale Ridge trailhead

Half an hour later, we found ourselves at the start of the trailhead going up Piliwale Ridge. Now the real cardio workout began, well at least for me it did.

Waiting our turn to go up past the notch

When we got to the notch in the ridge, Ted decided to break us into two groups of five each. This was for safety reasons as this is the part where the ridge got steeper, crumbly and prone to loose rocks being dislodged by people climbing on them. Luckily, this section is heavily roped which comes in mighty handy when you’re searching for some kind of handhold to pull yourself up.

Watching and waiting

Glenn, Jay, Matt, LyZel and myself waiting on the notch. Photo by Jim McKown.

Admiring the intermittent view

Having been down this ridge before, I can say it was much easier going up. I’d rather climb up a steep ridge, than come down it and fight gravity.

Looking back towards Maunawili

This was one of our last clear views we got before the clouds swallowed us up, as we climbed higher towards the summit of Konahuanui or K1.

I’ve got you!

Jason illustrated how the vegetation can sometimes mask the narrowness of the ridge, as he slipped and was hanging on the edge when LyZel came from behind and pulled him up to safety. Another good reason not to hike solo and not to be spaced too far apart, in case assistance is needed. Photo by Jim McKown.

Socked in at the top of K1

The highest point on the Koolau mountains was totally socked in, affording us zero views. Top row left to right: myself, Ted, Matt, Glenn, Jim, Will and Jason. Bottom row left to right: LyZel, Tom and Jay.

Slippery slope down

Going down from K1 was literally by the seat of my pants, due to to the steepness, wetness and mud lubricated trail.

Breaking views

As the steepness gradually leveled to a walkable grade, we started making our way down below the clouds.

Panoramic town view

Click here for the larger image.

Nuuanu Reservoir

Eventually we went down the side of the ridge towards the reservoir. As we got lower, it became a jumbled maze of pig and eroded trails. It seemed that somebody had removed the prior ribbons that clearly marked the trail. Without the ribbons and an experienced guide, one could find themselves bushwhacking for quite a spell. Jay put up a bunch of pink ribbons to mark the key junctions on the trail, hopefully nobody will remove them for future hikers.

Lulumahu Falls

Once we got down to the bottom, we followed the rock strewn stream up to Lulumahu Falls. These falls are fed from the top of K1 and cascade all the way down into Nuuanu Valley.

K1 still capped in clouds

After taking a short break at the falls, we followed the stream out into a clearing that surrounds the Nuuanu reservoir. There is a cleared trail through the bamboo forest that leads back to the hunter check-in station on the Pali.  

GPS Tracks

The 4.5 mile hike took us about 6.5 hours to complete. But the day was not yet done! I had always wanted to check out the summer palace ruins of King Kamehameha III.

Tree tunnel

We drove to Nuuanu Pali Road and parked on the side along with a bunch of other cars that were already there. Walking down the road, we found the trail that lead us into a bamboo forest.

Summer Palace Ruins

A short 5 minutes later, we were standing among the ruins of Kaniakapupu, which was King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace.

Kaniakapupu

According to the informational plaque, it was built in 1845 and was host to a number of celebrations involving locals and foreign guests.

King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace

Walking around the ruins, one can feel the “history” of the place.

Singing of the Land Shell

Kaniakapupu means “Singing of the Land Shell” and was a place of rest and refuge for King Kamehameha III. Apparently it soon fell into neglect, as an 1874 map pegged the summer palace as an “old ruin.” We didn’t have time as we were hungry for lunch, but Luakaha Falls is a short hike away from the ruins. Another hike for another day.

Tagged as: hawaii hiking, k1, kaniakapupu, king kamehameha III, konahuanui, koolau mountains, lulumahu falls, manoa, maunawili, nuuanu reservoir, piliwale ridge, ridge hiking, summer palace ruins