Pu’u Ka’ilio Loop

by kenji SAITO on June 20, 2015

Hiking Pu'u Ka'ilio Loop

Blustery weather had rained on our saddles parade. Chris, Glenn, Jose and myself decided to go with our backup hike. Go West hikers!

Good morning

Good morning

Kolekole Pass was open to the public again. Early hikers get the trail all to themselves. Not a soul in sight.

Hello again

Hello again

Returned to the forbidden mountain to complete some unfinished business.

The fun begins

The fun begins

Glenn going up the steep climb at the base.

Pop up hikers

Pop up hikers

Chris and Jose coming up from the base.

Greener pastures

Greener pastures

Jose headed towards the saddle section.

Scrambling

Scrambling

One crumbly rock at a time. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Rainbow

Rainbow

Where there are rainbows, there are rain. Not far behind.

Windy hill

Windy hill

Breezy winds kept us cool on the climb up, nothing like the gusty winds that were blowing us around last time.

Cacti hill

Cacti hill

Watch your handholds.

Rock and a hard place

Rock and a hard place

Jose climbing in between the rocks.

Zit rock

Zit rock

Chris and Glenn scrambling their way up. Well one is scrambling, the other is pausing.

Pu'u Ka'ilio

Pu’u Ka’ilio

Group photo at the 1,940’summit left to right: Jose, Chris, myself and Glenn.

Waianae coast

Waianae coast

Time to explore the backside of Pu’u Ka’ilio.

Gloves are on

Gloves are on

Must be some serious hiking ahead.

Hiking interruptus

Hiking interruptus

Hold on, I have to take this call.

Cooking with Jose

Cooking with Jose

A tender paddle ready to be plucked, boiled and grilled.

Morning dew

Morning dew

Prickly pear flower. No fruits.

Lualualei Valley

Lualualei Valley

The coastal valley used to be the center of volcanic activity millions of years ago.

Hikers incontinence

Hikers incontinence

I was about to climb down this rock face when I felt wetness in my lower extremities. Had I peed myself? I checked and found that my camelbak bite piece had fallen off and water was pouring out of my tube. The other tube. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Rock gym

Rock gym

Jose climbing his way down.

Checking it out

Checking it out

Hmmm, doesn’t look that bad. Famous last words. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Careful contouring

Careful contouring

We climbed down the side to avoid what looked like impassable steep rock faces.

Rock cathedral

Rock cathedral

Mountain inspiration.

Scenic point

Scenic point

The hill had panoramic views of the Waianae coastline and mountains. Stunning all around.

Seriously, again?

Seriously, again?

Call for Mister Toyama.

Hop, skip and jump

Hop, skip and jump

Jose showing his rock moves.

Hiking the shark

Hiking the shark

Glenn climbing up the rock fin. Banned in 27 countries. Photo by Chris Chun.

Perspectives

Perspectives

It just looks steep. Looks are deceiving. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Praying

Praying

Dark clouds rolling our way. Start or stop praying? Photo by Jose Luise Delaki.

Rock dikes

Rock dikes

Jose trying to levitate.

Crumbly ridge

Crumbly ridge

Rock rubble made this mountain. Can you tell?

Looking back

Looking back

Chris scooting his way down.

Steep drop ahead

Steep drop ahead

Jose checking it out.

Does this reach?

Does this reach?

Time to break out the webbing. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Leap of faith

Leap of faith

Chris making his way down the rock face whose base was severely eroded.

Rainy rocks

Rainy rocks

Rain, rain go away.

Finning the shark

Finning the shark

An acquired climb. Tasty.

Looking back

Looking back

All the crazy climbing sections behind us.

End of the hill

End of the hill

We found sheer cliffs at the end of the hill. Time to beat the bushes back to the road.

Going down

Going down

Going down the overgrown side of the hill.

Less traveled road

Less traveled road

Walking back to the trailhead.

Guarding the mountains

Guarding the mountains

Group photo in one of the abandoned guard shacks that dot the lonely road.

All pau

All pau

The crew walking back on the winding road and admiring the rock formations that we had just climbed over.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

The fun rocky ride covered a scant 3.65 miles through rain and rainbows. Post hike meal at Thai Loa. Family style. Pass the Evil Jungle curry.

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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }

Melissa July 31, 2017 at 8:29 am

Hi, you have some awesome hikes on this website. Love the pictures. Just wondering how you know when kolekole pass is open? Is there a website I can find out? I really want to do this hike!
Thank you!
Melissa

Reply

kenji SAITO July 31, 2017 at 10:46 pm

Aloha Melissa,
Thanks. I believe the US Army Garrison has a FB page and they post dates when the base is open to the public for hiking. But I believe at this time, only the Hapapa trail is open to the public.
Mahalo

Reply

Melissa August 2, 2017 at 11:27 pm

Okay thank you!!!

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