Back on the Windward side to tackle another less traveled ridge. We staged our cars at the Manana trailhead and carpooled to Kaneohe, where Chris was nice enough to drop us off in Waihee Valley. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Trailhead

Four hikers set foot this day, for a nineteen hour hike, for a nineteen hour hike. Group photo left to right: Matt, Ryan, Jose and myself. Photo by Chris Hiona.

On the ridge

We skirted the enclosed water tank to start our hike.

Sunrise

Caught a nice sunrise breaking over the Windward coast.

Going up

Found rubbish and ribbons at the beginning of the trail. I know of a group of three; comprising of Jeremy, Matt (a different Matt from today) and Thessa, that summited this ridge several years ago. Others have scouted the ridge. That would explain the ribbons, but not excuse the rubbish.

Uluhe hell

You can’t escape from the tangled infestation of uluhe ferns that are a hiker’s bane.

Kalahaku Ridge

The “sister” ridge to our left that we hiked several months ago.

Waihee Valley

Chris mentioned of a trail that ran up from Waihee Falls to this ridge. Another hike for another day.

Over the tree

The ribbons and rubbish were soon replaced by overgrowth that seemed to increase as we advanced.

Down the rock

Pays to be skinny on these trails.

Under the tree

The weather was sporadically sprinkling and according to Chris, the Windward side had gotten a good soaking the night before. Forecast showed 20% chance of rain. We decided to make it to the first “tooth” and see how the weather was holding up. Meteorologists in training. Future Guy Hagi’s.

Up the root

Hiking tip 101: solid roots makes for good handholds and footholds. Glad they were a lot of them on this ridge.

Hug the rock

Between a rock and hard trees. To be repeated ad nauseam throughout the hike.

Contour or climb?

Matt came upon the first “tooth” and tried to climb it. Too wet and crumbly. Hardheaded, I tried and ended up with the same results. We ended up contouring to our left that was marked by old rope.

Point of no return

A man with a machete makes a compelling argument. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Fun, fun, fun

The weather conditions seemed somewhat stable from the first “tooth”, so we decided to push ahead. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Kappa?

Matt trying out his makeshift hat. Hope it’s waterproof.

Going down

Matt climbing down one of the rock faces while testing the holds. Many rocks gave way. Typical chossy or crumbly rocks found on Oahu’s trails.

Scooting

Sometimes it’s safer to scoot than stand. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Don’t trust the rope

Coming down the second “tooth”, for the most part we didn’t use the rotted ropes that were scattered throughout the trail. Better safe than sorry. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

One step at a time

Shouts and showers of rocks was a constant heard throughout the hike. Some were intentional, most were not.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Clear to the summit

Click here for the larger image. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Climbing up

Matt climbing up the fourth “tooth.” Heavy overgrowth masked the steep drop offs. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Climbing down

Making our way down the backside of the third “tooth.” Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Climbing across

Ryan and Jose making their way across a section of the skinny, exposed ridgeline. Huge drops on both sides.

Climbing back up

The hiking centipede. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

One foot in front of the other

Walking on the exposed ridgeline. No overgrowth. For now. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Back up

Matt going up the fifth “tooth.”

Coming down

Ryan making his way down the backside of the fourth “tooth.”

Climbing up

You’re in my way mann! Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Hanging on

Unable to climb over the sixth “tooth”, we were forced to contour to our left, literally hanging onto the plants for dear life as we made our way across.

Straight up…

We had lots of trees to grab on as we climbed our way back up.

…up…

Trees thinning out to…

…and up

…thickets of trees.

So close, yet so far

Scrambling up the wet and crumbly seventh “tooth”, Matt found little purchase to plant his spiked feet on. Where was that rotted rope when you needed it?

Passing the webbing

Ryan passed us Jose’s short webbing to help us continue the climb.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Turn around?

Running out of options. Short list. We couldn’t contour to the left. Straight up was too slick and crumbly. The only feasible option was to contour right. Matt tried a couple times using my 100′ webbing lashed to a tree, but the rocks kept giving way and found little purchase to climb up. Perhaps it was time to think about turning back?

Catch me if I fall

I decided to give it a try. Tied one end of the 100′ webbing around my waist and climbed up. Had to claw, grab and pull myself up the crumbly side. Pretty much sums up the ridge hike. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Is this solid?

After making it to the top, I secured my trailing webbing to a solid tree and the others soon followed me up.

Clouds rolling in

Cotton candy clouds and rain started to roll over the ridge.

Trail clearing

Going up one particular crumbly section, Matt and Jose climbed up and knocked out most of the holds. Jose then dropped his webbing to Ryan who knocked out the remaining holds. My turn up, the section gave way and sent me sliding me down about 10′ where a tree arrested my fall. Between my legs. Ouch. Double ouch.

Rainbow

A rainbow reward for hiking on the rainy ridge.

Looking back

Looking back at the ridge, doesn’t even look that hard from this angle. Looks are deceiving.

Bushwhacking

The steep, sketchy and crumbly parts were behind us. Still had to deal with insane overgrowth on the ridge. I discovered that my ribs were bruised from my earlier fall. Sucking wind.

Hobbit holes

Chris sent us text messages that flash flood warnings were issued for our area. A day late and a dollar short. Booming thunder gave us pause on the hike as to whether we should hunker down and ride out the storm or continue to the summit. No lightning strikes. Good call Ryan.

Waterfalls

The rain resulted in over a dozen waterfalls cascading down the side of the Ko’olaus. It was quite a show.

The last hump

Rotted rope marked the way up, but was of no use to us. We had to use the uki grass to pull ourselves up in the rain. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Are we there yet?

My face says it all. Anybody got Advil? Thanks Ryan. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Not quite

Matt, Jose and Ryan alternated in plowing through the overgrowth.

Ko’olau Mountains

The clouds and rain started to break apart at the top.

Almost there

We could finally see the summit at the end of the ridge. It was still daylight. But not for long.

Pu’u Eleao

Group photo at the 2,654′ summit with Eleao Meadows in the background. The wind was noticeably absent. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Cloudy summit

Looking back into cloudy Waihee Valley bordered by Eleao and Kalahaku Ridges. Both ridges are sketchy and overgrown. But I would give the edge to Eleao.

Time to turn the lights on

We made our way out of the meadows as darkness fell.

On the KSRT

This hike had it all. Scenic views. Cardio. Rock climbing. Rock showers. Skinny ridge. Steep climbs. Thick vegetation. Thunderstorms. Hiking at night. Complete package.

Manana bound

We followed the undulating ridge trail to Manana.

Manana summit

Took a short break at the 2,660′ summit. The night views were just superb.

Headed down

Making our way down the rollercoaster trail of Manana. Six more miles of walking under the sparkling stars.

Last look at the Ko’olaus

The Ko’olaus silhouetted against the night sky.

Headed out

Walking back to the trailhead under a bright moon.

GPS Tracks

The 6.22 mile hike, believe the tracking application was off by several miles, ranks as the hardest hike I have experienced to date. Wet weather combined with overgrown, crumbly, steep and a skinny ridge pushed us to our limits. Glad that I did it with an awesome crew and that we all made it out safe and sound. No post hike meal. It was one of those long hikes that you just wanted to take a hot shower and crawl into bed. And that’s exactly what we all did.