Back in the saddle. Met up with Chris, Ethan, Khym and Scott in Kaneohe.

Trailhead

Thanks to Scott’s friend, Alvin, for dropping us off on the side of the highway.

Kalihi Valley

Looking for wallabies …

Kalihi Valley

… deep in the valley. I think we found some. Rather large ones. Let’s keep our distance.

Commando Trail

Shout out to HTMC for clearing this shortcut to the Bowman trail.

Commando Trail

Chris hanging around. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Commando Trail

We are not alone. We are not pigs.

Commando Trail

Scott making his way up the short and steep spur ridge.

Commando Trail

End of the cleared and defined trail. What is everybody looking at?

Commando Trail

Oh, the view. Kodak moment.

Bowman Trail

The “face” of Bowman.

Bowman Trail

Looking up at two moons. Which one is brighter? Photo by Scott Bowling.

Bowman Trail

Topping out at the “face” of Bowman. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Bowman Trail

Scott walking through the dewy bog at the top.

Bowman Summit

Group photo at the 2,740′ socked in summit of Pu’u Kahuauli (Bowman), left to right: Scott, Ethan, myself, Khym and Chris. Where are you going? That way? No, this way. Wanna bet?

KSRT

No plucking of the flowers. We already got clouds. Don’t need rain as well.

KSRT

Time to put on our spikes and gloves for those so inclined. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

KSRT

Dropping down into the clouds. Photo by Scott Bowling.

Kalihi Saddle

Khym making his way along the fractured ridge.

Kalihi Saddle

Scooting over the crumbly rocks. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Psst, it’s this way. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Khym and Scott coming around and down the crumbly hill.

Kalihi Saddle

Got webbing? Inside joke. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Scott making his way down the slippery slope.

Kalihi Saddle

Clouds, clouds go away. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Please don’t kick any rocks my way. Thank you. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

The shaka brothers making their first appearance at the top.

Kalihi Saddle

Ethan barreling down the broken dirt wave. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Windward views.

Kalihi Saddle

Khym making his way down the first rock triangle.

Kalihi Saddle

How Scott deals with OCD behavior. “I hear you Khym. I’m just ignoring you.”

Kalihi Saddle

Making our way past the overhang. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

What a view! Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

What’s up?

Kalihi Saddle

Almost there. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Khym scooting down the crumbly rocky ridge.

Kalihi Saddle

One hand on the ridge and one hand for the shaka. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Scott coming down the second rock triangle, as the shaka brothers make another appearance.

Kalihi Saddle

Valley views.

Kalihi Saddle

Leaving behind the second rock triangle.

Kalihi Saddle

Looking out to the clear summit of Lanihuli.

Kalihi Saddle

The group coming down tabletop rock. We found a cut or discarded rope at the base.

Kalihi Saddle

Crossing the mini-saddle. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

The group coming down the skinny ridgeline.

Kalihi Saddle

The Silence of the Saddles. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Thinking. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

The group making their way along a narrow dike section.

Kalihi Saddle

Making our way down the crumbly ridgeline. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Kalihi Saddle

Looking back.

Kalihi Saddle

Climbing up Witch’s Hat. Photo by Khym Ansagay.

Kalihi Saddle

Contour? Where we’re going, we don’t need contours. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Kalihi Saddle

Khym pulling himself up.

Kalihi Saddle

Group photo on top of Witch’s Hat.

Kalihi Saddle

Coming down the backside of Witch’s Hat. We found another cut or discarded rope at the base.

Kalihi Saddle

Almost there. Really. Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Kalihi Saddle

Goodbye Bowman, until next time.

Powerlines Trail

Last group photo.

Powerlines Trail

Making our way back down to the valley floor.

Powerlines Trail

Somebody left the gate open.

Kalihi Valley

Chris and Khym seeking shelter from the hot sun.

Kalihi Valley

Thanks again to Alvin for picking us up on the side of the highway.

All pau

Our breezy ride back to the Windward side.

GPS Tracks

Our short saddle hike covered a scant 3.64 miles over crumbly ridgelines with a great group. Post hike meal at Dean’s Drive Inn. Food tastes better when it’s free. Sorry about the beer. That’s what you get when you ask a non-drinker.

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.

Met up with Chris B and Chris C deep in Moanalua Valley to attempt another saddle hike. Weather looked somewhat promising. Empty promises.

Trailhead

It was a pleasant surprise to bump into Ted “Marathon Man” Calvero in the parking lot.

Kamananui Trail

Crossing over one of seven turn-of-the-century stone bridges that kept our feet dry from the swollen stream. For now.

Kamananui Trail

The group passing an eroded section of the trail.

Kamananui Trail

Jump in! Your feet will get wet. Now or later.

Kamananui Trail

Marker 12. Pay close attention to the orange bag cover.

Tripler Ridge

Slow cardio burn uphill.

Tripler Ridge

The ridge was awash with invasive strawberry guava trees.

Tripler Ridge

Many hikers have characterized this ridge as a rugged and grueling trail. Not far off the mark.

Tripler Ridge

Looking down into the valley at Moanalua Middle Ridge.

Tripler Ridge

Where’s Ted?

Base Camp

We found a tent and sleeping bag. Somewhat saturated. Somewhat used. Somewhat buss.

Slacklining

Webbing. Two trees. 15 seconds of shakiness. Divide by three. Photos by Chris Chun.

Tripler Ridge

Chris B checking out an eroded section of the ridge.

Poke Stop

Some of us stopped to check out a trail to the valley floor. Others collected poke balls.

Tripler Ridge

Raindrops were in the air. On the mountains. On the lehua flowers. On the hikers. Photo by Chris Chun.

Tripler Ridge

We passed multiples hikers that were making their way down the ridge.

Tripler Ridge

Same orange bag cover. Different hiker. What the heck?

Tripler Ridge

The last push up the socked-in, wet and muddy ridge to the summit. Rain showers helped to wash everything together.

Tripler Ridge

Camouflaged hiker.

Tripler Summit

Group photo at the 2,760′ top, left to right: Chris Bautista, myself and Chris Chun. What a view!

KSRT

We turned right on the cloudy and rain kissed Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail.

KSRT

Thumbs down. The steady rain and socked in conditions forced us to go with Plan B. Down Bowman Trail. Photo by Chris Chun.

Bowman Trail

Is this the right way?

Bowman Trail

Making our way through the bog.

Bowman Trail

Dropping down into the clouds.

Double Sunglass Mountain

HOGO. Hike one, get one free. Photo by Chris Chun.

Bowman Trail

Going down the face of Pu’u Kahuauli.

Bowman Trail

We dropped off the mountain and onto Bowman ridge.

Bowman Trail

Stuart Ball states “Bowman is the most difficult of the ungraded ridge hikes in the leeward Ko’olau Range.” Not to mention a long hike that never seems to end. No wonder most hikers take the shortcut or the commando trail.

Bowman Trail

Hiking up and over one of several eroded sections on the trail. We ran into another hiker that had come up from the bottom of Bowman and gave up when he saw the socked in summit and turned around. So close and yet so far.

Bowman Trail

Passing one of several United States Military Reservation (USMR) markers on our way down the ridge.

Bowman Trail

The trail took on a more pronounced ridge look on certain sections of the trail.

Bowman Trail

Double rainbow in the valley.

Bowman Trail

The trail opened to reveal another false summit. Tease.

Bowman Trail

Where and when does this ridge end? We were thinking that it terminated at the pine trees in the distance. Let it end.

Bowman Trail

Luckily we were wrong. Dead wrong. A few minutes later, we reached the official end of the Bowman trail.

Bowman Trail

Following the dirt road back to civilization.

Bowman Trail

The houses of Kalihi Valley.

Bowman Trail

We took the terraced trail straight down …

All pau

… to the basketball courts of Kalihi Elementary School.

GPS Tracks

Our loop ridge hike covered a little over 9 miles and connected two hard and long ridges. Thanks to Jasmin for picking us up. Post hike meal at Outback’s. Coffee and soup. Liquid diet?

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.

Back in the saddle again. A heavy soaking the day before had actually aborted our saddle hike. However, after going all over the board with alternate hikes to do, we ended up doing the saddle anyway. The skies were clear, so despite the weather sometimes changing on a dime up in the mountains, we decided to take our chances. Photo by David Johnson.

Burmeister Overpass

We carpooled to the end of Kalihi Street to minimize our footprint, as ever since Naohia Falls has been shut down, the neighbors have been quick on the telephone draw. After quickly making our way up the side road, we crossed over the Burmeister Overpass and headed up to the spur ridge.

Bowman shortcut

The Bowman shortcut shaved three miles off the traditional trail, but we paid for it with buckets of sweat. Okay, maybe not buckets, but at least little teacups. The ridge was short and steep and the humidity level was high. No signs of surveyors today.

Bowman trail

Enjoying the easy part of the hike while it lasted, which was about three miles.

Little green men

I always wondered who leaves these plastic soldiers behind, as they are scattered on trails throughout the island.

Mr. Bowman

Thessa crossing over an eroded trail section, with the prominent knob that resembles a face (see the “eyes” and “nose”?), looking down at us.

Kalihi Saddle

The cloud deck started to get lower and darker over the saddle. Pretty please, don’t rain on our parade.

Needs a name

Climb this rock and get the right to name it, much like Griego Wall and Dorito Tower. Just kidding. It already has a name. That big piece of rock sticking out of the hillside.

Climbing the knob

Switchbacks made it easier to climb up the knob. No straight shot to the top.

Panoramic view of the Leeward side

Clouds started to roll through the saddle, which still left clear views of town. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Meadow

Jose and Thessa crossing a grassy meadow near the summit.

Bog

The top was home to a bog, similar to ones found at Ka’ala and other high spots on the mountains.

Pu’u Kahuauli

Cloudy summit at 2,740 feet. At least we could hear the cars on the highway down below us.

What’s over that peak?

After taking a short break at the summit, we made our way over this small peak that leads to the saddle.

No turning back

Group photo back to front: Jose, Thessa and myself.

Into the clouds

Hiking into the clouds.

Windward side

Jose contouring around the Windward side of the ridge.

There’s the saddle

As we dropped below the cloud deck, the saddle popped into view.

Slightly eroded

A taste of what was in store for us.

Stay high

Spikes definitely helped to grip the crumbly and eroded ground as we made our way down the saddle.

Say cheese

Now the fun begins. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Shaky tree

Hmmm, what is this tree for?

Going down

Oh, to help us climb down the side of this crumbly ridge. The tree was shaking the whole time Jose was climbing down and it looks like it could pull out one day. Maybe we should bring it some Miracle-Gro. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Clear

Thessa making her way down. We had to space ourselves apart, especially when down climbing the heavily eroded sections, as rocks and dirt would get dislodged. None of us were wearing hard hats.

Got room?

The winds were noticeably absent. That was a good thing. Usually I welcome the brisk trade winds to help cool off. Not today.

Checking out the views

The views, when the clouds cooperated, were just to die for. Sorry, poor choice of words.

Left or right?

Jose and Thessa went down the left side that had the vegetation. I decided to see if my spikes would hold me coming down the right, rocky side. They held.

Getting lower

The HECO building at the base of the saddle seemed so close from so far up. The summit of Lanihuli seemed so far away, capped in clouds.

Climbing down

Thessa climbing down a pile of rocks. Most of the rocks on the saddle looked fractured and split, ready to come off at the wrong time.

Getting cloudy

Never a dull day on the saddle.

Grassy spot

The angle makes this part of the ridge look ready to fall off one day.

Dirt triangle

Thessa climbing down from the “dirt triangle.” Fellow hiker, David Concepcion, named the obstacle when he last did the saddle.

Wide open area

Looks wide from this angle.

Clouds rolling in

And skinny from this angle. All about perspective.

Somewhat narrrow

Huge drops on the Windward side. Actually both sides.

Are we having fun yet?

Yes. Why else would we be hiking on a severely eroded ridge? Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Mahalo for the ropes

Many thanks to the hikers that have left ropes on this trail and shared advice on this hike. The ropes and/or anchors that are here today, may be gone tomorrow. Trail conditions change frequently, especially on this saddle. Hikers that have done it, always seem to report that the saddle becomes more eroded with each visit.

Don’t let go

Thessa looking for a place to land her feet. Maybe we should have come down the right side. Oh well, we all need a little challenge every now and then.

Best seat in the house

Seats single file only.

Balancing act

No margin for error.

Narrow ridge

Most parts of the ridge had to either be “saddled”, crawled, scooted or skirted on the side with precious little purchase beneath our feet.

Another perspective

Looking back at the saddle.

Is this rock safe?

The answer is no. The rock wobbled when we pushed it.

Don’t pull on the webbing

We didn’t rely on the webbing going down as we didn’t want that rock landing on our heads. Talk about a bad hair day.

Crossing the ridge

Jose crossing a mini-saddle on the saddle. Well, that’s what it looked like to me.

Coming down the mountain

Thessa coming down the saddle, with the most difficult sections behind us.

Too early for trick or treat

Jose approaching the last obstacle, dubbed “Witch’s Hat” by hiker, Pete Clines.

Scooting

Thessa coming over one of the last “humps.”

Witch’s Hat

The base of the “hat” was somewhat steep and then leveled off to a “walkable” grade.

Leave the webbing behind

Thessa coming down the backside of the “hat.” Jose donated his webbing to the saddle. Gracias.

No climbing involved

Jose contouring around the Windward side.

I want to go back up

Not today.

All pau!

Just as we made it down to the power lines, the clouds released her rain. Perfect timing.

Goodbye Kalihi Saddle

Until we meet again. She was a lovely ride.

Hitchhiking to Kenny’s

Shout out to Chris and Brian for picking us up on the side of Likelike Highway. What’s for dinner? Prime Rib! Photo by Chris Hiona.

GPS Tracks

The 4 mile hike now ranks as my hardest hike to date. Many thanks to Jose and Thessa, who have done the saddle numerous times, for keeping me company on this trail. Would I do it again? Yup, but going up, as going down was a crazy albeit fun experience.

Stuart Ball called Bowman the most difficult of the ungraded ridge hikes in the leeward Ko’olau Range. With that being said, Chris wanted to try out the Bowman shortcut, which would chop three miles off the trail length. I only agreed because knowing the route would come in handy when the time came to tackle the Bowman side of Kalihi Saddle. Jasmin also joined our hike for today.

The road to Kalihi Ice Ponds

Parking at the end of Kalihi Street deep in the valley is extremely scarce. Carpooling is highly recommended if coming with a large group. Instead of going over the bridge and straight into Kalihi Ice Ponds, which I have yet to visit, we went up the dirt road to our left.

What commercial does this remind you of?

Anybody know the answer? I’ve been scratching my head to no avail.

Burmeister Overpass

We soon crossed the Overpass that was built by the state for the Burmeister family when construction of Likelike Highway cut off access to their land deep in Kalihi Valley.

Knock Knock

George Burmeister shot and killed a trespasser back in the 1960’s. He got off with five years of probation. I don’t know if the family is still around, from the looks of these abandoned buildings. Not wanting to push our luck, we soon took the trail that winds to the right of the buildings.

Is this the shortcut?

We followed the ribbons and barbed wire fence as we made our way up the spur ridge.

Kokua Kalihi Valley

Our progress up the shortcut ridge was soon halted by a group of surveyors that claimed this land was now private property. What? Where are the signs? Not wanting to push the issue, we took their suggestion to try the adjacent spur ridge. #1 Big mistake of the day.

Trail snacks

We backtracked our way down and crossed over to the next ridge. As we started to make our way up, the smell of ripe lilikoi (passion fruit) hung in the air.

Where is the shortcut?

The ridge soon disappeared into a thick tangle of vegetation and heavily eroded sections. Bushwhacking is an understatement. I must have muttered “What frigging shortcut?” too many times to count.

Sky staring

Checking out the cloud formations at the top of the junction for the Bowman trail.

Hanging around

I was glad to see Chris and Jasmin after waiting almost two hours. It was getting pretty lonely at the top. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Swallowed by uluhe ferns

As we continued our hike on the Bowman trail, coming up the “shortcut ridge” had taxed Chris to his limit. He called and said he was returning back down the trail. I asked Jasmin if she wanted to join him or continue the hike. She opted for the latter. #2 Big mistake of the day. An hour into the hike, rumbling thunder cracked open the sky and the proverbial cats and dogs poured on us for almost two hours. The trail became a raging waterfall. I was more worried about being struck by lightning. I could just hear Chris laughing at us.

Where’s the rainbow?

The thunderstorm eventually turned into a drizzle as we approached the climb up Pu’u Kahuauli (Bowman).

Chances of waterfalls…

The intense soaking produced tons of waterfalls all around us. There were over a dozen of them coming down from Lanihuli.

..and partly cloudy

Looking back towards town. The air always smells fresher after an intense downpour, especially if you were caught in the middle of it!

Marshy meadow

After reaching the top of Pu’u Kahuauli at an elevation of 2,740′, we turned left towards Tripler Ridge.

Is that the sun?

The sun would peak out every now and then, teasing us with scattered cloudy views.

HECO trail

Heading down the slippery and muddy trail. HECO maintains this section due to the power lines, so there are ropes to keep you from sliding off the ridge.

Makeshift weather station

Total whiteout conditions from the top of the relay station. Bummers.

Smoky mountains

Looking back, the clouds partially cleared to reveal themselves wrapping around Lanihuli and Pu’u Kahuauali. Postcard perfect.

CCL Building

We soon passed the middle junction and the top of Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe at 2,820′ high above the clouds and made our way to the CCL building which marks the top of Haiku Stairs.

Losing daylight

The sun’s rapid descent as it pierced the heavy clouds made the climb down the stairs more urgent.

Stairway to Heaven

Top of the stairs at 2,800′.

Coming down

Jasmin climbing down the stairs, all 3,922 of them.

Sunset over Moanalua Saddle

Looking to our left, the sun was setting. Where was my headlamp? Oops.

Haiku Stairs

I believe this was the last of the five landings that breaks up the continuity of the stairs.

H-3

Watching the cars pass overhead on the H-3 as I waited for Jasmin. The guard was long gone. I could’ve used the company.

GPS Tracks

The roughly five mile hike marked a very long day. Chris picked us up and we all had dinner at Zippys. Food is especially tasty after a long hike.

I had gotten invites to hike Bear Claw Right Fork and Lanihuli on this Labor Day. Hmmm. Feeling in the mood for something different, I was fortunate to hook up with Lita and her crew of Jasmin, Michael and Rey for the hike up to Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe.

Moanalua Valley Park

A Korean Hiking Club member was nice enough to take our group photo. Left to right: Michael, myself, Reynante, Lita and Jasmin.

Bridge crossing

One of seven arched stone bridges that crosses Moanalua stream.

Pohakukaluahine

The petroglyph rock that stopped the H-3 from coming through this valley.

Marker 12

We left the old carriage road and turned right at Marker 12 to start our climb up towards Tripler Ridge. Photo by Lita McGovern.

Uluhe fern country

Long pants highly recommended!

Rock climbing

Taking a short break from the vegetation. Photo by Lita McGovern.

Strawberry guava country

Continuing the steep climb. Good cardio workout.

Tripler ridge

We took a short break at the Tripler Ridge junction. The trail actually starts back at Tripler Hospital. We were taking a “shortcut.”

Town view

The low cloud deck and breezy trade winds helped to make the hike a little more comfortable.

Moanalua Middle Ridge

Looking at our way back down.

Splash of color

‘Ie’ie in bloom, a endemic and woody climber of the screwpalm family.

Moanalua Valley

The H-3 would have definitely changed the character of this valley.

Landslide

We still have the other side to hike on!

Bamboo orchid

A beautiful but invasive orchid.

zzZzz

The group was nice enough to let me catch a quick nap. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

HECO trail marker

We followed the bottle capped stakes to the summit.

Looking back into the valley

Can you find the group?

Summit view of the Eastern Koolau’s

We arrived at the top to be greeted by 360 degrees of blissful views of the island.

Summit view of Windward Oahu

I never get tired of these unrestricted views.

Summit view of Southwest Oahu

Mother Nature was very nice to us today. Just outstanding views all around.

Panoramic view of Windward Oahu

Click here for the larger image.

Panoramic view of Southwest Oahu

Click here for the larger image.

Coming down the powerline ridge

Making our way down the Bowman trail of the ridge.

Checking out the views

Lita looking out towards the Windward side of the island.

Relay station

Rey and myself couldn’t resist climbing on the WW2 relay station. Still solid after all these years. Photo by Lita McGovern.

Leaving the jungle gym behind

Pushing up the last big hill.

Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe

The clear 2,850′ summit.

CCL Building

We climbed up the ladder to the top of the CCL building. Yes, a ladder. Before there was a rope. Before that was nothing. Now it’s a lot easier to get on the top. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Stairway to Heaven

Not another soul in sight. We had the place all to ourselves. Photo by Lita McGovern.

Middle ridge junction

We followed the ridge back to the middle junction to head back into the valley.

Going down Moanalua Middle Ridge

I have been up this ridge a couple times, my first time going down.

Getting late

The daylight was drawing shorter as we got closer to the valley floor.

To poop or be pooped

Rey had torn his shorts earlier on the hike, putting him and others in an awkward situation. Glad he wasn’t commando on that day.

Back on the road

The rest of the group coming out of the middle ridge trailhead. They look happy. One more so than the others.

GPS Tracks

The 10.14 mile hike lived up to it’s reputation as a long trail but the payoff was views that can’t be matched and making new hiking friends.