I had read that HTMC legendary hiker Al Miller stated that Kalahaku Ridge could not be done. End of story. Time and other hikes passed, I then stumbled upon Cory Yap’s blog about his group summiting said ridge. My interest was renewed. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Loaded for bear

David, Jose, Ryan and Thessa rounded out the crew today. It was decided that we would do a camp over on the mountain so as not to come down at night. That is why we carried bulky and heavy overnight packs. Something we would regret later in the hike. But it seemed and sounded like a good plan. Ryan passed out MREs or military rations to us. Somebody forgot to grab one. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Gated hike

My friend, Glenn was nice enough to drop us off at the trailhead on the Windward side of the island.

On the trail

We followed a clearly used jeep trail that lead to somewhere. But somewhere was not our destination.

Red dirt

Ten minutes later, we veered off the trail and scrambled up an exposed area of red dirt that lead to the ridge. Pieces of a crashed RC plane lay strewn at the bottom. This was somebody’s playground.

Goodbye civilization

Looking back at what we were leaving behind for the weekend. Photo by David Concepcion.

Tangled branches we weave

It helps to be a contortionist on these overgrown ridges. Photo by David Concepcion.

First tooth?

We rounded this small hill that we thought was the first tooth. How wrong we were.

Gynecomostia?

Hikers that are exposed and eat too much lillikoi on trails are prone to developing passion boobs. After Ryan came to terms with his newfound swelling, we climbed up a steeply pitched hill to be confronted with a rock face. Welcome to the first tooth. Ryan had the best seat in the house. Literally. He was sitting on the only section that allowed one to sit. The rest of us had to stand and hold onto the rock face. Not comfortable with a heavy pack on your back. Jose contoured around to find another route. The rest of us contemplated climbing up, but heavy packs and shaky handholds dissuaded us from trying. Jose eventually found a way to the top and dropped webbing to haul our backpacks and ourselves up.

Burrowing ahead

Where is the trail? These teeth had a severe case of plaque called overgrowth. Photo by David Concepcion.

Rope!

We soon found traces from the last group that had done this ridge. Such ropes were handled with kid gloves if any, as most were rotted and one actually snapped while climbing up.

Windward pimple

This rock formation on the right bore a passing resemblance to the pimple on the Lanihuli side of Kalihi Saddle.

Climbing down

Ryan climbing down the fourth tooth? A nearby tree made the descent easier.

Slightly higher

Looking back to see how little ground we had covered. Overgrowth was insane.

Climbing up

Jose climbing up the fifth tooth?

Going back down

Going down the backside of the fifth tooth? Overgrowth masked the ridge to the point where we couldn’t tell if it was a steep drop off or a gradual drop. In this case, it looked like a steep drop but once we started going down, the descent wasn’t that bad.

Falling rock!

David peering down the backside of the sixth tooth? As he was coming down, we heard a huge crashing sound as Jose had dislodged a good sized rock and sent it bouncing down to the valley floor. Got our blood flowing as we thought somebody had fallen off the ridge. Lucky it was just a rock.

Bailout ridge?

We saw tattered webbing attached to a tree that could have been the bailout ridge that Cory Yap’s group went down on their first try.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Last tooth?

Looking at our last major obstacle to finishing the teeth. The seventh and final tooth!

Scrambling up

Heavy packs and crazy overgrowth had sapped our energy at this point. David and Ryan struggled to get over the first rock obstacle. Jose shed his pack and went down to help them with their packs. What a sherpa. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Almost there

After all of us made it over the exposed rock face, we dropped down and crossed a narrow dike. All that was left was a steep climb up through more overgrowth. Joy. We were pretty much spent. Daylight was rapidly fading.

Are we there yet?

Ryan making the final push to the top of the tooth. David had run out of gas at the bottom. All of us were totally exhausted. David and Thessa ended up roommates again and enjoyed the live music drifting up from the valley. Several furry friends paid them a visit. Not the cute ones. During the course of traversing over the teeth, the thick overgrowth had claimed our water bottles, Thessa’s flashlight and Ryan’s GPS Garmin. Price of admission to the teeth.

Trail clearing

Jose making his way through more overgrowth at the top.

It’s not the Ritz

Under the cover of darkness, we set up camp. Ryan cleared a suitable area for our tents. Trees provided a wind break and we munched on our MREs, that were surprisingly tasty and retired to an early night. This was my first camping experience since hanabata days! Thanks to Thomas Engle for letting me borrow his tent. We lucked out as it only rained briefly around midnight. That luck would not hold.

Good morning!

David and Thessa saw this sunrise. Ours was somewhat filtered by trees. Photo by David Concepcion.

What’s for breakfast?

We broke down our tents in the morning and ate leftover MREs. Took stock of our water supply. Almost gone.

Reunited and it feels so good

David and Thessa soon joined us on the top. Our first group photo of the hike left to right: Jose, David, Thessa, myself and Ryan.

Back to hiking

We resumed our hike by plunging back into the overgrowth. It was crazy. Jose and Ryan took the lead and cleared the path with a machete. Photo by David Concepcion.

Still a long way from the top

Several more hours of bushwhacking were still in store for us. Couldn’t get any worse. Then the rain started. Photo by David Concepcion.

Are we tired yet?

Some of us ran out of water. In the middle of pouring rain. Irony.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image. Photo by David Concepcion.

Almost there

As we neared the top of the ridge, the overgrowth became more manageable.

Waimalu Meadows

The mythical meadows were completely socked in. We were just glad to be off the ridge, we could live without the views. Sitting on spongy ground never felt so good. Photo by David Concepcion.

Watering hole

Jose went poking around and found us a water hole. He even had a LifeStraw, which is a portable water filter. However, it does not filter out against leptospirosis, which is common in most streams. We did not see signs of pigs or goats and besides we were pretty thirsty.

Suck! Suck! Suck!

This is what happens when you run out of water. You have to suck it out of a hole in the ground. Others drank from a bottle. Photo by Ryan Meyer.

Lunch break

Happiest group photo of the hike. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

Time to leave

We had decided against going down the grueling and endless Waimalu Middle Ridge. Instead we opted to take the longer but easier Waimano Trail back down.

Headed down

Going down the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail. Narrow at times but the windward winds kept us steady on the ridge.

Water!

Jose noticed water running off a branch. Ryan immediately assumed the horizontal drinking position.

Waimano summit

Group photo at the end of the Waimano Trail, which was actually the beginning for us. Notice the spectacular scenery behind us.

Waimano trail

We still had seven miles to walk back down to civilization. Ripe and abundant strawberry guava, guava and lillikoi lined the trail going down. We even had some mountain apples further down the stream. Tasty trail snacks.

Can I have some privacy please?

When we came to the first major stream crossing, Ryan collected some awapuhi and took a bath in the once pristine waters. Jose soon followed. The rest of decided to wallow in our filth and grime.

Repairs needed

Here we were at the picnic bench with no picnic. Part of the roof was flapping in the wind. Must sound spooky at night.

Body shampoo?

Jose collected some awapuhi or shampoo ginger plants on the trail, to be used in the privacy of his home.

Choices

Thessa pausing besides one of the water tunnels that once made up the irrigation system. No exploring today.

Bench with a view

The scenic point afforded great views of the Waianae Mountains.

End of the tunnel

The trail soon lead us back to civilization. A chain link fence!

Follow the chain link fence

We followed the chain link fence until it dumped us on Waimano Home Road.

Utter exhaustion

Drop dead tired. We dropped our packs and plopped down on solid concrete. It felt so good to take a load off our feet. Once in Jose’s car, we stopped at the nearest McDonald’s to gulp down carbonated sugar water. Then it was off to Outback for our post hike meal. My eye was bigger than my shrunken stomach because I could not polish off my herb encrusted wood fired slab of meat. Leftovers. Photo by Thessa Bugay.

GPS Tracks

The punishing hike lasted 9.57 miles spanning over two days. The heavy packs made the hike harder than it should have been and the overgrowth didn’t help matters. The first and seventh tooth were the hardest ones and they sandwhiched a heavily overgrown ridge. The section beyond the final tooth was just as overgrown, it petered out as the ridge approached the Ko’olau range. It was quite the weekend with an amazing group!

Rainy weather means waterfalls to most hikers. That is why I found myself with the caveman crew at the end of Aloha Oe Street. Brad and Scott ferried us to the Maunawili Demo Trailhead in Waimanalo. This is the same trailhead where a fellow hiker’s car got broken into on our last hike. Exercise caution and discretion when parking in any areas, remote or otherwise.

The fun begins

Hoping the chronics would leave the beater trucks alone, we left the Maunawili Demo trailhead and walked up the road until we soon accessed an unnamed trail. Linda and Scott would be our water tunnel and waterfall guides for today.

Follow the pipe

We followed the water pipe through the tree lined trail to a pumping station.

Watch your step

Metal grating covered the open water ditch as we continued our hike.

Break out the headlamps

The group preparing to enter the Aniani Water Tunnel. It was going to be a dark and tight squeeze.

Missing the turf

Scott found this crawfish crawling on the ground. Invasive species. Time to eat. Where’s the butter?

Chances of water = 100%

No need to knock. The gate was open.

Not for the claustrophobic

The tunnel ceiling started out at around five feet.

The hiking grail

Choose wisely Bob Tyson.

Low clearance

Tunnel ceiling dropped to about three feet from this point.

Pays to be skinny

Towards the end, the tunnel ceiling was about two feet. We had to shed our backpacks to make it underneath the locked gate.

Follow the ditch

After we emerged dripping wet from the tunnel, we climbed a small hill and followed the open water ditch.

Recon & Rest

Taking a small break in this open area after leaving behind Government road that we had just traveled on. Brad ran up the hill to see if he could catch a view, while the rest of us waited.

Official trail

No horses, just hikers.

Up?

A large tree had fallen and blocked the trail. Some of us went up and over…

Down?

…while the rest of us went down and over.

Waterfall sighting

The first of many waterfalls we were to see on the trail, fueled by the constant rain.

Biggest waterfall?

Group photo at one of the largest waterfalls on trail, left to right: Tom, Will, Katherine, Marcus, myself, Linda, Brad (not in pic), Sara, Bob and Scott.

Stream crossing

Crossing one of multiple streams that canvassed the trail.

Double waterfalls

Sara and Bob between two waterfalls. They were everywhere!

Waterfalls everywhere you look

Ice cold water beating upon a rock.

Stream jumping

Sara jumping over a stream. She didn’t want to get her feet wet.

See that waterfall?

Marcus spotted a waterfall tucked deep inside a valley. So we detoured off the trail…

We’re here!

…and found ourselves at another waterfall. Surprise.

Rain forest

The constant misting of rain made for a cool hike, in so many ways.

Christmas berries

Splash of color in the forest.

Headed upstream

Like salmons, we went up this stream populated with huge ferns.

Waterfall, with a capital W!

The biggest waterfall yet, the photo does not illustrate it to justice.

Where did you come from?

At the base of the waterfall is Oshanassey Tunnel, that could extend 50′ or 500′ into the mountain. Nobody seems to know. Brad tried to find out, armed only with a headlamp and barely enough head room. After being semi-submerged in the tunnel for about five minutes, he came back. A dead-end. Perhaps.

See the hand?

Tom took a quick dip in the tunnel. No other takers. Scott soon climbed up the hill to gain the upper waterfall. The group followed suit.

Worth the climb

When we crested the hill, what awaited us was a spectacular waterfall soaring towards the sky. It made the hike.

Headed down

Going down the connector falls trail.

Looking back at all the waterfalls

The waterfalls were pouring down the mountains seemingly from every nook and cranny.

Rock hopping

We took another detour off the beaten trail, where we soon found Cook Tunnel. Totally submerged and clogged with roots. Back to the trail.

Headed out

Going down the trail, we passed the usually crowded Maunawili Falls. Not paying a visit today. We saw our fill of waterfalls today.

GPS Tracks

The 8 mile hike was filled with more waterfalls that you could shake a dowsing rod at. Time well spent with an awesome crew.

Having missed out on the first Waimanalo Ramble, I was glad to join the Caveman crew on the second time around exploring the backyard of Waimanalo.

Leaving civilization behind

We followed the fence that ringed the Waimanalo Reservoir, where thrill seekers often jump the barbed wire to slip and slide down the reservoir walls. Why would you muck around in people’s drinking water? Ugh.

Into the forest

Following the telephone poles as we headed into the forest.

Going down

Going down a small, steep hill towards a stream. One at a time as it was quite muddy and slippery.

Spotter!

Marcus calling for someone to help spot the rest of the crew coming down. Safety is hike#1.

Going up

Going up some jungle gym action. Hanging tree roots helped as we scrambled up this section.

Hilltop waterfall

Arrived at the now dubbed “Hilltop Waterfall” in honor of Nalo Bob. A dam of tree branches at the base of the waterfall provided our precarious perch as we took our group photo left to right: Ricci, Bob, Marcus, myself, Tess, Tom, Ted and Dorito. Photo does not do justice to this waterfall, it’s actually quite vertical.

Looking Makai

A cloudy view of Waimanalo.

The fruit doesn’t fall far from the seed

Ricci holding a fallen fruit and fruit to come.

Hunter’s stand?

Or maybe a place to get away from the feral pigs? Trust me, you don’t want to run into these pigs, especially at night. We ran into some hunters who said they were chased by some pigs at night, and we are not talking about the three little pigs.

Waimanalo reservoir

Coming back full circle or was that a full loop?

Well trodden trail

We found this trail that looked like it was recently cleared as there are several ranches or farms in the area that possibly uses them.

Banana flowers

Soup or salad? I heard the taste smacks somewhat of artichoke.

Land of the giants

The redwood trees of Waimanalo.

Splash of color

Christmas cheer in Waimanalo.

Chicken or the egg?

I guess we know which one came first.

What roams here at night?

We ran across some pig hunters that were checking on their motion tripped cameras strapped to trees on the trail. They were nice enough to show us the photos that these cameras snapped of pigs roaming in the forest. What they showed were some big hairy toothy sides of bacon running around in Waimanalo.

Farmer’s Market

Throwback to the grapefruit. Jabongs were everywhere, on the branches and on the ground.

Heliconia

Best left uncut.

Just a little more

Avocados ripe for the picking.

The mountains are calling

Not today.

Wheels?

Walking or wheeling, guess it will be walking today.

Who wants to go in first?

As we climbed up a small hill, we discovered this tunnel that looked like it ran straight through. Nobody had the urge to go exploring today.

I need a machete

Apple bananas. Yum.

Olomana

Ending our walk about in the Waimanalo forest, we were treated to a different perspective of Olomana.

GPS Tracks

Rambling around Waimanalo for about 3.7 miles was a nice way to spend almost five hours in the forest.