Piliwale to Pali Notches

Took some friends on a trail that was new for them and let gravity do the rest. Mahalo to Jasmin for dropping Aida, Art, Ferlino, Sally, Tessa and myself off in Maunawili. Photo by Art Young.

Maunawili

Million dollar view of Olomana and her surrounding neighborhoods. $1.3 million to be exact.

Maunawili

We checked our collective change and found out we didn’t have enough to even buy a cup of coffee, so we continued our hiking.

Junction

The beginning of the ridge that was named after the legendary hiker, Silver Piliwale.

Piliwale Ridge

Multi-tasking on the trail. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Notch

We took a group photo on the postage stamp sized space before beginning our ascent.

Notch

Looking ahead to the stiff climb ahead of us. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Notch

The group climbing down and out of the notch. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Piliwale Ridge

Contouring up the rooted side of the ridge. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Ko’olau Mountains

The sound hit us before the sight did as a chopper continuously crossed the Ko’olau Mountains ferrying supplies.

Piliwale Ridge

Sally climbing her way up the steep ridge line. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Piliwale Ridge

Climbing up and over the rock section. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Piliwale Ridge

Tessa hanging onto the uki grass for dear life as she contours her way around the ridge.

Piliwale Ridge

Sally scampering up the steep climb. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Piliwale Ridge

Aida enjoying a flat spot on the ridge. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Ko’olau Mountains

We soon heard Chris hollering from the ridge line above us as he had hiked up from Manoa Middle to meet up with us. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Junction

In addition to spotting a gastropod of the Hawaiian Succinea order, we also saw a distant cousin of the fruit loop bird. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Junction

Flying the flag at roughly 3,030′ elevation, couple hundred feet shy of the highest point on the Ko’olau Mountain Range.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Tessa making her way down as the clouds slowly drifted in from the ocean.

Mud Wall

The group taking their time going down the eroded wall which offered less handholds and footholds as compared to our last visit several months ago. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

KSRT

Tessa taking our pictures against the now clear coastline.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Thanks to Tessa for pointing us in the right direction.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Traffic jam at the boulder as everybody took turns contouring their way down.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Chris standing at the top of the roller coaster ridge. Photo by Art Young.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Tessa about to climb her way down the crumbly pile of rocks that passes for a ridge.

Nu’uanu Saddle

A couple of ascending hikers had to retreat a bit to allow our group to pass on our way down. Sorry guys.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Aida contouring back to the ridge line.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Take our picture! Photo by Chris Bautista.

Contour

I had wanted to go down the front side, but got impatient waiting for the webbing. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Contour

Contouring around the rock face where a friend plummeted 300′ and survived to hike another day. Talk about having angels watching over you. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Ferlino working his way around the boulders stacked on the ridge. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Chimney

Taking in the mountain, coastline and ocean views. Great day to be in the mountains. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Chimney

Everybody has their own way of getting ready to tackle a climb they feel is pushing the boundaries. Photo by Sally Chow.

Chimney

Chris getting a bird’s eye view. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Chimney

Tessa making her way down. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Chimney

Some scampered down the rock climb, while others got caught. By the seat of their pants. Literally. Did you take the picture?

Nipple

Some of the group came down from the nipple while others took the lower contour trail. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KSRT

Making our way towards the two notches.

Pali Notches

Tessa climbing up the biggest notch. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Pali Notches

Going up the last climb of the day. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Pali Lookout

Making our way down to the strangely deserted parking lot. Beaches are open. Malls are open. But not the lookout? Photo by Aida Gordon.

All pau

Thanks to Jasmin for picking us up outside the locked gates.

GPS Tracks

Our ridge to ridge hike covered a little over 3.1 miles. Post hike meal at Zippy’s as Dean’s Drive Inn heard us knocking but we couldn’t come in or get through their phone lines. Thanks to Aida and Sally for getting Chris and my meals. Post hike entertainment was watching Ferlino cut down his palm tree fruits and getting treated to fresh coconut shavings and water. Great hike with fun friends.

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: chimney, koolau summit ridge trail, ksrt, mud wall, nuuanu saddle, pali notches, piliwale ridge