Sunset Hills to ‘Ehukai Pillbox

We all met up in the parking lot of Sunset Beach Elementary School to start our ramble through part of the Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve.

Thanks to Akira and Edgar for shuttling us to the neighborhood up in Pupukea to start our hike.

Going down the hills covered in pine trees and California grass.

Jeremy wanted to show us a lookout with great views.

Nothing to see here but California grass. Go back where you came from.

We got a better view from the top of the hill. Duh.

Climbing back up on the boulder strewn path to regain the trail.

Running across one of many colorfully painted markers on the trail.

Can you see the WW2 bunker for the hill?

Checking out the first level of the military fortification.

Aida going down the rabbit hole.

Exploring the second level. What happened to the promised third level? I guess we need to obtain experience points.

Hai Hai getting high off on the views, with just a little help from a non-native plant.

Passing a highly descriptive sign tacked onto a tree.

Somebody had to answer the call of nature. A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course.

It’s not called Sunset Hills for nothing.

Leaving what looked like a potential bunker but turned out to be a pile of dirt in the area known as Marscape for obvious reasons.

One of these is not a couple.

I don’t see any bodies of water, unless they are referring to the one offshore?

Trees bent by the wind, soon we will be bent not by the wind, but by the advancement of time or poor posture.

Some of the potheads didn’t understand the assignment.

You’ve heard of a crack pipe? How about a rock pipe?

Checking out the abandoned nursery.

Group photo in the yard where plants were once propagated and grown.

This looks like a good place to launch my drone.

Flying my drone through the roof and crash landing it back in the yard.

The guys demonstrating the use of the clasp locker as it was originally known when it was invented in 1892, some more enthusiastically than the others.

Jeremy doing his part for trail maintenance by sweeping the pine needles with one of many rakes left on the path for such purposes.

And that’s how I met your mother.

Bowling with branches and scoring a light hit.

Going down the nonscoring path.

One of the last swingers.

Sitting in the crow’s nest in the not so secret banyan tree.

Trying to strike the pins back to Aiea Bowl.

Arriving at the junction where no yellow passion fruit was to be found.

Here we are without our fishing poles and nets.

Group photo with the smoking skeleton. Proof that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health, the original warnings that were required to be slapped on the side of cigarette cartons back in 1965.

I didn’t know there was a railroad crossing in these neck of the woods.

Looking up at a string of colorful prayer pages meant to spread goodwill and compassion?

I guess the biker in the back serves as a warning to those that don’t heed the directions.

Going against the grain.

Collection of colorful signs scattered on the trail.

Who needs a bike? Especially when you are high.

Riding my little pony on the rainbow bridge. A pet lovers dream come true.

Aida sitting in front of the ruined remnants of the teeter-totter.

Walking on the Lower Needles path was a lot easier than the Upper Needles path. I’m just guessing.

Making the sequel to Cool Runnings. Same tropical environment, just lacking the melanin.

Something a woman would say. A woman did say it on the trail.

A trail for another day.

Walking through the pine needle covered grounds as we made our way through the forest.

Is this trail not what it seems? A path in the forest?

Alexis clearing the pine needles near the dilapidated bike ramp that has seen better days.

This should be closer to the catch & release bath tub.

Somebody was excited to see us. It wasn’t the bikers.

Taking a break at the top and missing the picnic table.

If we cut the deadwood from the trails, then it would be empty and silent.

Grateful Dead fan or a dead ringer for Hakaida.

Kingdom of the Green Skull. Watch out for the menehunes.

Walking through the forest with only ourselves as company.

Skirting the forest before plunging back in.

Forest bathing can be described as heavenly I suppose.

Hiking Witch of the West.

Smooth as silk, or as best we can miming a self-disembowelment.

Rock’n’Roll will never die, as long as movies keep recycling and regurgitating their songs in pop culture.

Picking our way through the trail of boulder fragments; small, medium and large and soon descended down a slightly steep hill to visit the less trafficked bunker.

We could see the bunker for the hill.

Mari making the transition from cliff to bunker with a little help from her friends.

Kenny checking out the colorfully graffitied interior and exterior views.

Group photo on top of the bunker decorated with the peace sign that was designed back in 1958 for nuclear disarmament.

We climbed back up the hill to check out the other more popular bunker and joined the two legged and four legged crowds.

Some of us went inside the top bunker, while others stayed outside to enjoy the trade winds.

Group photo at our last bunker.

This particular saying possibly originated with the Beach Boys 1966 song “Good Vibrations.”

Going down the short and somewhat steep hill that was covered in roots and rocks.

We ended our hike at the bottom of the school parking lot.

Our rambling through the forest reserve that was established back in 1910 by Governor’s Proclamation covered a little under seven miles with a fun group. Thanks to Jeremy for showing us the ins and outs, nooks and crannies of the trail. Post hike meal at the food truck hub across from Shark’s Cove, where garlic shrimp is garlic shrimp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLWH1bfoimQ

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our ramble today.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Alexis Catarina, Edgar Gamiao, Jeremy Cannone, Kenny Lui, Mari Saito, Tessa Bugay and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

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. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Tagged as: pupukea paumalu, sunset hills