Tessa came out of her self-imposed semi-retirement to see her significant other complete the Waianae Summit Trail today.

Waianae Valley

Mahalo to Lilia and Kenny for dropping us off in the remote valley that was once home to taro, cattle and sugarcane. Now it’s home to the occasional chronic, abandoned cars and stray dogs.

Waianae Kaala Road

I guess we follow the arrow for the group photo and the hiking trail.

Waianae Kaala Road

Walking this road will never grow on me.

Waianae Kaala Trail

Some use pens. Others use stickers.

Waianae Kaala Trail

Crossing the dry streambed into the valley.

Waianae Kaala Trail

Taking a standing break after the short cardio climb up the hill.

Waianae Kaala Trail

Bolohead meets bolohead.

Waianae Kaala Trail

West side is the best side. Except when chronics come calling. Kenny was getting alerts from his Tesla indicating that his car was getting some unwanted advances from a nearby chronic.

Waianae Kaala Trail

No rope. No hope. Don’t be a dope.

Waianae Kaala Trail

Kenny soaking in the realization that this was the highest he has climbed to date. Only 800′ more feet to go!

Waianae Kaala Trail

Props to the peeps that carried power tools and composite steps to attach them to this boulder. While not absolutely necessary, it does make the climb easier.

Mount Ka’ala

Kuli at the entrance to the 1,100 acres of ecosystems that harbors multiple native plants and animals.

Mount Ka’ala

Group photo on part of the boardwalk that extends roughly 3/4 mile through the Ka’ala bog. We parted ways with Kenny who went on to terminate at the end of trail sign.

Mount Ka’ala

Kenny bumped into @blaquekangaroo on his way to the summit, a social media influencer on IG.

Mount Ka’ala

Picking our way through the faint and flagged trail.

Mount Ka’ala

Sole sucking mud seemingly waited for us at every turn on the path. Just ask Akira, who had to go fishing for Tessa’s shoe.

Mount Ka’ala

Man down!

Mount Ka’ala

Working our way through the moss encrusted stunted plant life.

Mount Ka’ala

Contact with the fence line that soon lead us off the highest point on the island.

Waianae Summit Trail (WST)

Breaking out briefly on the ridge line that afforded expansive views of the Waianae Mountain Range and points beyond.

WST

You never let go of the ropes. Wise advice. Especially from somebody that just broke a tree branch as he was descending down the moss slicked boulders. This gave somebody else second thoughts but luckily it was just a fleeting one at that.

WST

Last one down.

WST

Helping hand at the leap of faith.

WST

Taking the direct route instead of the contour trail. Occam’s razor.

WST

The weight of the world was on Akira’s shoulders. Or at least a small piece of Waianae.

WST

The grass smells better on the other side of the fence line.

WST

Fence line keeping hikers away from the eroded sections.

WST

Plunging and pushing through the dense and insufferable uluhe fern overgrowth.

Hobbs Junction

Tessa is either trying to form the letter “H” or has the onset of arthritis in her hands.

WST

Following the fence line as it struggled to stay with the uneven ridge line.

WST

Crossing and climbing through a gap in the fence line.

WST

Tessa about to drop off the side of the cliff with the help of a rather faded and long in the tooth webbing.

WST

Chico picked up a traveling companion. These invasive critters that hailed from Kenya were released into the wild in 1972 and are responsible for the extinction or near extinction of many native species.

Pu’u Kalena

Taking lunch at what Hawaiian legend said was the nipple of a pregnant woman giving birth to the ocean. Mount Ka’ala was her pregnant stomach.

Pu’u Kalena

Group photo at the 3,504′ peak.

WST

Making our way down through the suffocating overgrowth as we followed the ubiquitous fence line.

WST

Climbing through the partially denuded section as we picked up elevation again on our climb back up.

Star Trek Junction

The group flashing the Vulcan salute made famous by Leonard Nimoy in the popular science fiction franchise show.

WST

Some took the hard way, while others took the easier way.

WST

Looking to our right, we were treated to views of sexxxy ridge and pu’u ka’ilio, both short and “punchy” hikes.

WST

Six o’clock views of the second highest mountain on the island.

WST

Chico descending towards the start of the narrow dike section. Not to be confused with intrusive igneous rock formations that identify with the rainbow coalition.

WST

Akira and Scott maintaining their sense of balance which was helped by the absence of stiff winds.

WST

Somebody was taking a break from crawling.

WST

Tessa bringing up the rear.

Pu’u Kumakalii

A familiar face greeted us at the 2,881′ peak.

WST

When do we get to the sketchy part? Is this it?

WST

Coming down the mountain. Yes we are.

WST

Akira scrambling his way down.

WST

The rest of the group climbing down the narrow dike.

WST

It looked like the mountains were letting off some steam today.

WST

We peeled off the ridge line and hiked down the valley towards the lowest point in the Waianae Mountain Range, where we also met up with Kenny again. A couple of folks in the group went off “exploring” and one had to be pulled from the edge of a cliff. Just another day at the office.

WST

Is Chico horizontally rappelling with his scuttlebutt?

WST

We walked through the valley of the shadow of UXO.

Kolekole Pass

#26 – No drinking the bubbly this time! Congratulations Akira-san on finishing the last section to complete the entire 26 miles of the Waianae Summit Trail.

All pau

Final group photo of the day, left to right: Scott, Jeremy, myself, Tessa, Chico, Akira, Kenny and CB. Thanks to CB and Kenny for shuttling us back to our cars.

GPS Tracks

Our completion hike covered a distance of 7.06 miles that saw us summit the two highest peaks on the island before ending at the lowest point in the Waianae Mountain Range, from the highest to the lowest. Congratulations again to Akira for finishing the WST. We were joined by Cat and Edgar for our post hike meal at Zippy’s.

Photos taken by Akira Suzuki, Chico Cantu, Chris Bautista, Jeremy Cannone, Kenny Lui, Scott Peterson, 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.

Met up with Analyn, Chris, Cisco, Ferlino, Matt and Shirley on Veteran’s Day to hike on the West side. Some of us were still sleepy from last night’s Bruno Mars concert. Sleep walking in the mountains it is. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Trailhead

Thanks to Jasmin for dropping us off deep in the valley, where we saw C-Rider Falls slicing down the mountain. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Waianae Valley

We left the road after a thankfully short walk and headed into the valley that was bouncing back nicely from the recent brush fires. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Feet wet

Ferlino crossing the fenced irrigation system. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Waianae Valley

Looking towards the sun rising through the clouds.

Waianae Valley

Heading deeper into the valley as the sun torched the tips of the mountains. Enjoying the shade while it lasted. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Waianae Valley

The cow skull has apparently grown legs and migrated further up the fence line since my last visit.

Timber!

Crying wolf in the mountains. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Kawiwi Ridge

Leaving the valley floor behind us as we began our climb up the windy ridge. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Kawiwi Ridge

Ferlino and Cisco coming up the exposed ridge line that was pocketed with brittle branches and chlorophyll pigmented bushes. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kawiwi Ridge

Chris going up the ridge line that got progressively steeper and rockier.

Kawiwi Ridge

Scenic rock overlooking Waianae and Lualualei Valleys. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kawiwi Ridge

Stepping stones. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Kawiwi Ridge

Lining up as we approached the tricky crack. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Kawiwi Ridge

Trying to look heroic, perhaps best to stick with the weight loss program.

Kawiwi Summit

Group photo left to right: Shirley, Analyn, Matt, Chris, myself, Ferlino and Cisco.

Ridge

Photoshoot in progress. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ridge

Hiking in progress.

Ridge

It was only a matter of time before we ran into the fence line. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ridge

We had lots of rocks to climb down …

Ridge

… and over and under.

Ridge

Prickly pears for the picking. Watch the thorns. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ridge

Looking over into Makaha Valley. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

No Name Peak

The Pepsi Challenge is alive and well in the mountains.

Ridge

Dropping down to the Tiki Rocks.

Hikers gone wild

Tiki, do you love me? Are you riding? Synchronized to music. Live entertainment. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Mango Ridge

Where you guys came from and you seen my dog? That way and nope.

Three Poles

Some people drive themselves up the pole. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Bolohead

Rain showers sweeping our planned route back down to the valley.

Waianae Ka’ala Trail

To ladder or not to ladder. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Shelled gastropod

Indigenous or invasive? Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Mount Ka’ala

Lack of time and inclement weather pretty much dictated our route down, bottle cap notwithstanding. Photo by Shirley.

Mount Ka’ala

Approaching the socked in FAA tracking station.

Mount Ka’ala

Group photo by Matt Vidaurri at the highest point on the island.

Waianae Ka’ala Trail

Leaving the rain soaked summit for fenced ridge lines and clear skies. Never fails.

Waianae Ka’ala Trail

Sliding our way down into the valley. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Waianae Ka’ala Trail

Chris heard waterfalls so most of the group followed the stream to find the source of the noise.

Waianae Waterfalls

Going with the flow.

Waianae Valley

Color coding the valley. What happens if you’re color blind?

All pau

Catching the sun going down as we exited the valley and finished our 7.5 mile hike. Mahalo to Jasmin for picking us up. Photo by Shirley.

GPS Tracks

Post hike meal at Coquito’s. We sat outside where it was warm. The conversation was even warmer as the table talk turned to kissing junior and tossing the vegetables. Hey, I only had two hours of sleep!

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.