Poamoho Trail to Manana Trail

It was time for another camping weekend. I’m glad we didn’t listen to the weather forecast of rain and gloom. Met up with Chris, Ethan and Shirley in the wee hours of the morning. Somebody needed more packing time. That’s why it pays to start early. Have to adjust for Hawaiian time.

Thanks to Ethan’s friend, Kevin, for giving us a ride. Shirley trying to shed some light on the lock. Not very successful I might add. Photo by Chris.

We ran across this fool who thought he could outrun a Tacoma. Photo by Shirley.

Group photo left to right: Shirley, Ethan, myself and Chris.

We shouldered our packs, some heavier than others, and began making our way on the mostly graded trail.

Synchronized photo taking of the Waianae Mountain Range.

Looking down at the longest stream on the island and clear summits in the distance.

Enjoying the maintained trail before it ends. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Pausing before we start hiking on the un-maintained trail. Fraught with overgrowth, uneven terrain and …

… fence lines.

Chris and Shirley crossing over the landslide section of the trail.

Shirley getting the contrast, exposure, framing, and lighting just right. Otherwise Chris may come out darky.

Group photo by Chris at the 2,520′ summit, that overlooks Punalu’u and Kahana Valleys.

We took our leave of the summit and made our way to the cabin.

Passing the Private (PVT) junction. No cover. No salute.

Shirley weeping with joy after seeing her first cabin on the KST or maybe she was just wiping her snot. I don’t recall.

The trail briefly popped back onto the Windward side, affording more Jurassic views of the valley.

Morning dew drops on the ubiquitous uki grass. Photo by Shirley.

The fence workers had gone home for the weekend. We had the cabin all to ourselves and the other 25 hikers coming up the trail.

What happens at the cabin, stays at the cabin. Choosy hikers choose JIF.

Following the fence on the Leeward side until we …

… temporarily lost the fence and crossed over to the stunning Windward side of the trail.

Looking back at the contoured trail carved into the side of the mountain. Photo by Chris.

Making our way towards the man-made notch.

Shirley passing through the last fenced gate on the trail. For now. Photo by Chris.

Chris looking into the valley. So many ridges and saddles to explore. Photo by Shirley.

The fence workers have been busy.

Panoramic view.

Enjoying the cleared and relatively wide open fenced trail for now. Photo by Chris.

The fence soon left the KST again and continued to follow the ridgeline above us.

We just want our 15 minutes of social media fame too!

Somebody needs to get with the program.

We left the junction to resume our hike on the windswept ridgeline.

Shirley plowing through the thick brush on the Leeward side.

We contoured back to the ridgeline and saw the Waikane-Waiahole junction ahead of us.

One leads to the valley. One leads to the mountains.

Chris taking the higher road.

Making our way through the convoluted topography of the Northern Ko’olaus. Photo by Chris.

We were blessed with an overcast day tempered with gentle winds on our hike.

Passing “HMK’s” rock. Which begs the question. Who is HMK?

Looking out towards the West side. Both ranges had clear views.

Panoramic view of the rotating view of the valley as we continued to traverse the KST.

A serendipitous encounter with two fellow hikers on the trail, Cisco and Justin. Congratulations to Cisco for completing the Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST) today. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Back on the ridgeline, not for long, as we contoured to the Leeward side.

Build the fences and they will climb over them.

The “rolling hills” of the Northern Ko’olaus have a different and distinct flavor than the trails found on the Southern end of the mountain range.

The fence continued to follow the ridgeline, while we followed the trail that contoured below it.

We regained the fenced ridgeline and followed it down …

… and dropped into the inviting meadow that usually funnels the air currents, inducing a wind tunnel effect on past visits. No such conditions today.

Meadow life. Failed headstands. Photobombers. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Chilling with Kikaida.

Tree huggers.

Leaving the meadow to gain the contour trail. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Shirley crossing over the Selfie Stick Junction. I guess we are going to be here for awhile.

Passing through a cascading carpet of uluhe ferns.

Shirley making her way to the notch. IG photo shoot time.

Mountain yoga. One was more successful than the other.

We decided to camp for the night between the summits of Kipapa and Waiahole, nestled and sheltered amongst the Sugi pine tree grove.

Camp life. Pitching our tents on the rusted remains of the army cabin. Watching sunbeams shooting through the Waianae Mountains. Eating reconstituted meals and drinking hot coffee. Glow sticking without the ecstasy. Not a bad way to end the day.

Honey whiskey and Tylenol makes the tent go round and round and facilitates drunk ranting and texting. Farting and snoring cut through the rustling wind and pelting rain showers throughout the night. Somebody had earplugs. Somebody wished they had earplugs.

Good morning from the Ko’olaus. Hot coffee, steaming pho and pop tarts for breakfast. Flooded tent. Somebody needed a demonstration on how to tie her shoelaces. Early morning bowel movement. Pushing and pulling Chris’s tent. Does this look wrong in any way?

Making our way out of the Sugi pine tree grove.

Crossing a narrow ravine to get up the ridge.

Our sunrise for the morning. We couldn’t catch it from the campsite due to the early morning rain. I’m glad the rain went away for our hike.

Climbing out of the campsite.

Group photo at the windswept 2,786′ summit.

We transitioned from the Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST) to the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT) after passing the Kipapa Summit.

Ethan checking out the views.

Checking out a ridge for a future hike.

Making our way to the Waiawa Gap.

Descending into the heavily overgrown gap.

Group photo in the notch. Somebody had to mark their territory.

Climbing out of the gap.

Grams equals Ounces. Ounces equal Pounds. Pounds equals Pain. A lesson that Shirley would take to heart and her lower back as well. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

The glove junction with the summit of Waiahole behind us. Photo by Chris.

The weather forecast got something right. The winds were blowing hard on the ridgeline.

Enjoying a relatively flat lull between the hilly ridge.

Crossing over from the ridgeline. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Stopping at the scenic spot for a pic … Photo by Shirley.

… and assisted bowel movement.

Are we there yet?

We dropped down into this meadow and found a surprising flowing stream. Somewhat of a trickle, but enough to refill our water supply.

Hot coffee and pho in the meadow. Life was good. Photo by Chris.

Leaving our last meadow on the hike.

Tree hugger. Photo by Shirley.

Looking at the twin “sisters” of Eleao Windward and Kalahaku Teeth that borders Waihee Valley.

Almost there.

Triple views ranging from Kahana Valley to Makapu’u at the 2,660′ summit.

The “face” of Manana. Photo by Shirley.

We still had to hike down close to six miles of the ungraded roller coasting ridge.

Looking back at the Ko’olau Mountain Range and the points we had traversed. Ethan was speeding down the trail to take a shower. Chris was flapping around like Superman. Shirley was making her story. I was just plum tired.

Lady in the tree.

Racing the sun down to the bottom. The sun would win.

Too tired to rest on the bench.

Sunset silhouettes. We made it back to our cars under the cover of twilight.

Our two day fun filled hike covered almost 20 miles with awesome adventure buddies. It was one of my best camping hikes. Blessed with good weather and company. Post hike meal at Buzz’s Original Steakhouse. Unlimited soda and soup. Not a bad deal.

Note: I have been made aware the 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: clines memorial, koolau summit ridge trail, koolau summit trail, ksrt, kst, manana summit, manana trail, pauao junction, pauao ridge, poamoho cabin, poamoho summit, poamoho trail, waiahole, waiawa gap, waikane-waiahole junction