We took a break from the KST and went hiking on the West side today. West side is the best side.

Trailhead

Thanks to Janell and Shirley for dropping Anne, Art, Chris, Katie, Lilyn, Tessa and myself off in Waianae Valley.

Waianae Valley

Luckily we only had to walk a short distance up the paved road before plunging into the forest.

Waianae Valley

Enjoying the wide open service road while we can.

Dog Shit Luck

Lilyn decided she needed extra luck for the climb ahead of us and put her backpack down in dog poop. The smell that keeps on giving. We kept our distance, before social distancing became popular.

Waianae Valley

Scrambling up and over through overgrowth and blowdowns. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Hobb’s Ridge

The ridge started off broad and at a slight grade, enough to get our lungs pumping.

Hobb’s Ridge

Art staying low in the agave plants that dominated the lower slopes of the ridge.

Hobb’s Ridge

No switchbacks here, just an honest straight up climb.

Hobb’s Ridge

Our quadriceps were getting a good workout today. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Hobb’s Ridge

Looking back at all the elevation we had gained through sweat, sweat and sweat.

Hobb’s Ridge

The unrelenting climb soon became marked with faded webbing strewn on the ridge that narrowed and became slightly steeper to the top. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waianae Summit Trail (WST)

I can’t speak for the others, but I was never so glad to see a fence line in the mountains as I was today.

WST

Group picture left to right: Lilyn, Art, Tessa, Katie, myself, Anne and Chris.

WST

Bushwhacking our way through a tangled mix of thorny thimbleberry vines, trees and overgrowth. Photo by Chris Bautista.

WST

It was puncture city what with us sandwiched between the thimbleberry bushes and the sharp edged fence line.

WST

Following the fence line as it passed through a patch of dry grass. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

WST

Tessa at one of the mossy spots that contoured around the fence line and gave us a break from the thorns in our side. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Hawaiian Mint

The endemic plant that takes the mint out of mint. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

WST

Leaving behind our painful session of mountain acupuncture. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

WST

Some were more convincing than others.

WST

Are we climbing that? Photo by Art Young.

Swing of Life

Swinging myself over the small gap between the boulders. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Swing of Life

Katie’s turn.

Swing of Life

Lilyn stretching before her turn at the swing. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Sitting Stones

Tessa climbing up the moss covered boulders. Photo by Art Young.

Sitting Stones

Chris pulling himself up.

Sitting Stones

Art looking for his next handhold. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Ka’ala Bog

We soon found ourselves skirting the massive bog that sits on top of the highest point on the island.

Ka’ala Bog

Lilyn squeezing herself between the fence and the vegetation. At least it wasn’t more thimbleberry vines. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Oahu Tree Snail

Is this one of the 13 surviving species?

Ka’ala Bog

Shaking hands with Groot’s relative.

Ka’ala Bog

Enjoying the views as we broke out of the bog. Photo by Art Young.

Bolohead Ridge

Sliding our way down the uluhe infested ridge line. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Bolohead Ridge

Katie went feet first, Lilyn went head over heels and Art decided to climb his way down. It pays to be last sometimes.

Bolohead Ridge

Making our way down the grassy ridge line that masked the loose and rocky under footing. Photo by Art Young.

Butt Grab Ridge

Gender segregation in the mountains. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Bolohead Ridge

Art making his way down to the lunch spot. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Bolohead Ridge

Lunch time. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Bolohead Ridge

Nap time. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Bolohead Ridge

Dropping down the grassy ridge line. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Bolohead

Our first view of the rock face named by Waianae Steve due to the appearance of a bald head. Looks like its been taking rogaine as of late. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Bolohead Ridge

Chris with a commanding view of the West side. Photo by Art Young.

Bolohead Ridge

Approaching Bolohead. The bark is worse than the bite. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Bolohead Ridge

Anne and Lilyn waiting their turn to climb up Bolohead.

Bolohead Ridge

Katie climbing up. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Bolohead Ridge

Art following Tessa and Lilyn on the way up. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Bolohead Ridge

Making my way down the front side. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Bolohead Ridge

Katie raining rocks on the unfortunate individual standing below her.

Bolohead Ridge

Anne following the short section of fence that straddled the two main rock obstacles on the ridge line.

Bolohead Ridge

Silhouetted hikers against the valley. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Bolohead Ridge

Climbing down the second rock face on the ridge line. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Bolohead Ridge

The rest of the group making their way down the rock face.

Bolohead Ridge

Walking along the short stretch of narrow dike. Photo by Katie Bingham.

Bolohead Ridge

The narrow ridge soon widened to sidewalk proportions.

Bolohead Ridge

Tessa overlooking the Leeward valleys. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waianae Valley

Dropping off the ridge and onto the valley floor.

Waianae Valley

We took several twists and turns on the trails as we followed the yellow bottle caps on our way out.

All pau

As we pushed our way through the pesky and itchy California grass, we were treated to the rare blood moon that peeked out and became brighter and larger as the hike dragged on.

GPS Tracks

Thanks to Janell and Shirley for picking us up in the valley of the barking dogs after finishing our 6.37 mile hike. At least they were not attacking dogs. Amazing adventure with a fun crew and everybody had dozens of puncture wounds as their hike souvenirs.

Post Hike Meal

We met up with Dale, Janell, Jasmin, Quan, Sally and Somphet at The Beach House by 604 where we helped celebrate Aida’s birthday, where the wait for the steak was so long you had to bag it for take out.

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.

We decided to boldly go where many a (wo)man has gone before today. Thanks to Troy for the beta on this West side hike.

Trailhead

Mahalo to Jasmin and Tricia for dropping us off deep in the Waianae Valley to start our hike. Group photo by Tricia Adams, left to right: Chris, Daryl, Ferlino, Analyn, Lopaka, myself and Owen.

Ka’ala Road

Fortunately we only had to spend scant minutes on this much hated road before …

Trail

… plunging into the forest and hopping over a rock wall that runs through the woods.

Trail

Where the buffalo grass roam.

Junction

To the old country or where no man has gone before? Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

Jumping over one of many manmade structures sprawled throughout the valley. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Junction

Why follow the arrows when you can make your own arrows? Bad choices lead to unnecessary “exploring.”

Green Mile

Following the color of nature as it switch backed us through the valley.

The Rock

Analyn taking her photo with this rather large boulder sitting in isolated silence of the woods. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

Passing a rotting log decorated with ghost capped mushrooms.

Trail

The rest of the group scrambling up towards the ridge.

Trail

Our pic … Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

… for your pic.

Trail

Climbing up the narrow corridor with the help of some weathered webbing.

Trail

Making our way up one at a time. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

Group photo by Ferlino Carinio at the top of the picturesque cliff.

Trail

Who you calling an ape? Photo by Chris Bautista.

Trail

Making our way on the narrow shelf of a ledge. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Trail

The grade got significantly steeper as we had to rely on the trees to pull ourselves up the ridge.

Trail

We may have lost the trail as the ridge became ridiculously steep and the dirt was soft and shifting underneath our scrambling feet.

Trail

Owen coming up Star Trek II: What the hell am I doing here?

Waianae

Topping out on the spur ridge with commanding views of the valley.

Ridge

We can see the fence for the ridge!

Ridge

Looking back at the spur ridge that we threaded our way up through the thick clumps of trees.

Waianae Summit Trail (WST)

Group photo at the fence line.

WST

Following the fence, a common and necessary eyesore in the mountains.

Waianae

Watching the rain showers off shore as it slowly migrated towards our way.

Wahiawa

Enjoying the dry spell on the eroded section of the ridge. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

WST

Hiking in the rain towards the second highest summit on the island.

Pu’u Kalena

The sun dance, devoid of any personal sacrifices, failed to produce the desired outcome. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Pu’u Kalena

Might as well sit down, as misery loves company and take our group photo at the 3,504′ summit.

WST

Waiting in the freezing rain for the rest of the group to make their way down the ridge.

WST

Lopaka traversing the notched ridge.

WST

Splash of color on the other side of the fence.

WST

Fighting and pushing our way through the uluhell overgrowth, with trailing thorny thimbleberry plants thrown in for good measure.

Junction

Leaving the exhausting overgrowth as we climbed over the fence to take our leave of the WST. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Hobbs Ridge

Analyn coming down from the 3,200′ junction.

Hobbs Ridge

Lopaka going down the initial steep descent of the ridge.

Hobbs Ridge

The ridge soon leveled off to a more “walkable” grade as the rain decided to stay with us for a little while longer.

Hobbs Ridge

Dwarfed and outnumbered by the huge and plentiful agave plants on the lower section of the ridge. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Hobbs Ridge

Walking down the easy part of the ridge.

All pau

We made our way back to the road just as darkness dropped over the valley where Jasmin and Tricia were waiting for us. Our hike through charted and possibly uncharted trails covered just shy of six miles. Great day with new and old friends on the West side. Post hike meal at Outback Steakhouse where the prime ribs are gone but the clam chowder cups are still full.

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.

Back in the Waianae Mountains. The wet Waianae Mountains.

Weather forecast?

Met up with Jasmin, John, Jose and Steve in Waianae Valley. Clouds were already spilling over the mountains.

Branch break

Taking a break on Hobbs Ridge. Rain had started to fall earlier while we were in the valley. Jose punched up the weather and the forecast was rain all afternoon. Group photo left to right: John, Jose, Jasmin and Steve.

Agave plants

Steve looking for the worm to put in the bottle.

Follow the arrow

Pretty hard to get lost on this ridge.

Follow the can

We lost over half of our crew after this section. Jasmin and Jose were not feeling well, so they turned around. Steve didn’t like the weather, so he joined them. John and myself were left to finish the hike.

Huffing and puffing

John making his way up the ridge.

Follow the webbing

The final push to the terminus of Hobbs Ridge.

Follow the fence

We took a right on the Waianae Summit Trail. Into the clouds.

Have pole, will hike

John’s hiking pole came in handy. He cleared a swath through the overgrowth and especially the thorny plants.

Fence break

There were several sections on the trail where the fence broke its continuity due to landslides or changing terrain.

Is this the WST or KST?

Some people think that the Waianae Mountains are arid and dry. I beg to differ.

See anything?

Still socked in.

Blackberries

Tempting trail snacks.

Summit?

We missed the 3,504′ summit of Pu’u Kalena. I still can’t believe it. We just summited and continued down the fence line.

Primordial forest

Looking down the ridge. The clouds and light rain added to the effect.

We can see

We dropped below the cloud deck as we lost elevation.

I can see my car

Looking into Waianae Valley.

Clouds are clearing

Click here for the larger image.

Road open?

The Kolekole Pass Road connects Schofield Barracks to the West side of the island. Some confusion as to whether the road is semi-open or permanently closed due to unsafe conditions.

Looking back

Click here for the larger image.

SeXXXy ridge

The spur ridge that is the photo opportunity for many a hiker. Not us. Not today. Photo by John Garrity.

Ridge going down

We continued hiking down the ridge by following the fence. Can’t get any easier.

What happened to the fence?

Exposed dike sections replaced the fence line on the trail.

Optical illusion

Looked like I’m standing in a hole. Just the exposed dike section. Photo by John Garrity.

Pu’u Kalena

Our summit in the background photo.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Camouflage

Grey hiker on a grey dike. Photo by John Garrity.

Looking back or up

John making his way down the ridge.

Stop and smell the flowers

Bunches of these bright red flowers were sprinkled throughout the trail.

Don’t miss the junction

Coming down, we missed the flagged junction and was making our way down on the exposed ridge when we realized our mistake and backtracked.

Left or right?

The trail continued to the left. The right looked like a dry stream bed.

Crumbly

This section was heavily exposed and eroded. Every step we took sent cascading showers of dirt and small rocks down range.

Kolekole Pass

The lowest point in the Waianae Mountains. We saw several cars come up the road and turn around at the barrier. No hiking for them. That’s what they get for taking the easy way. LOL.

Open for business?

Who let the dogs in? Thanks to Jasmin for picking us up and driving back to Waianae Valley. Photo by John Garrity.

GPS Tracks

Our cloudy and rainy hike was 6.9 miles. Still had some stunning views. Back to Outback for our post hike meal. Can’t get enough of that wood fire grilled prime rib.

Today’s hike was to tidy up some unfinished business with Ka’ala Road.

Waianae Valley

At the crack of dawn, I met up with Chris, James, John, Jose, Marvin and Thessa at the end of Waianae Valley Road.

Goodbye paved road

We spent scant minutes on the much hated road and then turned right into the bushes. No complaints here.

Into the boonies

The grass was only about waist high in the beginning of the trail. It would get much higher as we went deeper into the valley.

To boldly go…

The junction for the Star Trek trail. Another time to boldly go where many have trodden.

Nice trail

The trail opened up at times, giving us a break from all the overgrowth.

What trail?

Shoulder high California grass soon swallowed the trail. We spotted the faded pink ribbon that marked the ridge to our right. Up we went.

Hear any buzzing?

Other hikers had warned of a nest of yellow jackets at the beginning of the ridge. No buzzing heard or stings inflicted.

Hobb’s Ridge

Learning the color coded bottle caps helps a lot when hiking in Waianae.

Steady climb up

No switchbacks here. Just an honest climb straight up the ridge.

Looking back

We had gained quite a bit in elevation.

Bolohead Ridge

Looking at Bolohead Ridge to our left.

Final push up the ridge

Chris climbing to the top of the ridge with his Spanish bread about to spill out of the plastic bag.

The fence

Back on the Waianae Summit Trail, where we turned left towards Ka’ala.

Follow the fence

We jumped over the fence to avoid the prickly thorns that seemed to dominate the Waianae side of the fence line. Some got it worse than others. John’s legs can attest to that. His days as a leg model are over.

Flower and the fruit

No trail snacks for us today.

At least you can’t get lost

No prickly thorns on this section.

The end is near

Looking ahead, we could see the fence coming to an end before a huge rock face.

I can’t hold it much longer

Playing around with a huge boulder. One day, this boulder is going to roll down the mountain. Don’t want to be around when that happens. Or nobody else for that matter. Photo by John Garrity.

Major obstacle

I thought we were going to have fun climbing over these pile of rocks. Dry rocks.

Slippery when wet

Instead we contoured to the right and found mossy covered rocks and a steady trickle of water coming down. As we were helping each other cross over a gap, we heard a yell and found out that John had slid down about 20′. Luckily he was holding onto the ropes when he lost his footing. Just a bruised butt and ego. Photo by John Garrity.

You got this

Going up this slippery section took a lot of energy and effort on our part. If it were under dry conditions, it would have been a piece of cake.

Mount Ka’ala

The white dome of the tracking station started to loom larger in our sights.

Central Oahu

Looking out towards the central plain of Oahu. We could hear live fire training coming from Schofield Barracks.

Lualualei Valley

Looking into the largest coastal valley on the West side. Oahu is said to have originated from this spot when volcanic eruptions formed the island.

Are we there yet?

The expression says it all. The last pitch coming up made you work for it.

Lobelia

Sighting of the Koolau Range Lobelia. Hey, aren’t we are on the Waianae Mountains?

Bogging

We were not out of the woods or bog yet. We picked up the ribboned trail. Lost it. Picked it up again. Lost it. Picked it up again. You get the idea.

On the boardwalk

On solid ground. Err, planks. We simply followed the planks out of the bog.

Ka’ala Bog

Top of the highest mountain on Oahu, at 4,025′ elevation. Group photo left to right: John, Thessa, James, Marvin, Chris, myself and Jose.

FAA

End of hiking trail…

Mount Ka’ala Road

…Start of paved road. All seven miles. Yeah.

Goodbye Ka’ala

We checked for any incoming traffic, found none and proceeded down the road.

Road with a view

The view coming down the road from 4,000′ elevation was breathtaking. Let’s build some homes up here!

End of hiking?

Where is the start of the hiking trail?

Let’s all take a selfie

The ultimate group selfie. Yeah, we are a bunch of narcissistic individuals collectively lumped together.

Dupont trail

I believe the end of hiking sign refers to the Dupont trail when it was open. Now it’s closed due to access issues.

The long road down

Wish we had those sneakers with wheels. Life would have been much easier.

Roadside flora

What is this? Photo by John Garrity.

Give us a lift?

A truck sped past us at this section. Didn’t even stop to ask if we needed a lift.

Inspection team

The crew lining up, for their chance to climb the famous Ka’ala ladder. Only Thessa went up.

Ohikilolo ridge

Squinting hard enough, we could see the cabin past the pyramid peak of Ohikilolo.

Scenic view all the way down

Hard hats optional.

Kamaileunu and Ohikilolo Ridges

Click here for the larger image.

Erosion at work

Since the road was blasted out of the mountain, the exposed sides are in a state of erosion, with rocks and dirt being showered on the road. Who cleans this stuff up?

Safe from hunters

We can take off our fluorescent safety vests now.

Coming down the mountain

No sign of the friendly dog from last time. Sad. Since we were coming down the road, we didn’t see the signs until we hopped over some gates and looked back. This road is closed to hikers. I will miss you Ka’ala Road. Not.

GPS Tracks

The 11.6 mile hike was filled with rock scrambling, summit and road hiking and thankfully no yellow jackets. All in all, a nice day on the West side. Post hike meal at Ramen-Ya. Don’t expect the hot tea to be free. Buck fifty. Sheesh.