The rain had gone away and so with it the excuses. That is how Jeremy, Roger and myself found ourselves in the mountains today.

Kalihi Valley

Thanks to Aida for dropping us off at the trailhead.

Powerlines

We walked up the service road and made the short climb to the saddle where the usually stiff winds were absent, only gentle trade winds to tickle us on our hike today.

Shark Fin

Climbing up the dorsal shaped rock whose edible counterpart is banned from restaurants that never advertise.

Kalihi Saddle

Jeremy and Roger walking on the edge of the pali (cliff). Or is this what living life on the edge looks like?

Kalihi Saddle

Working our way on the narrow ridge line as we briefly alternated between contouring into the bushes and back onto the “trail.”

Kalihi Saddle

Jeremy looking at each step with wide-eyed anticipation.

Bunny Ears

Climbing up the first of the not so soft long and triangular rocks.

Bunny Ears

Making our way down the “thinner” side of the obstacle.

Bunny Ears

Climbing our way to the only soft spots on the “ears,” the tops that were feathered by pine trees.

Doorstop

To trust or not to trust the webbing that has been exposed to the elements for 24/7 for God knows how long. Always bring your own stash.

Doorstop

Jeremy spotting Roger on his way down.

Pimple

Roger contouring the small bump of rocks while Jeremy climbing his way down.

Can Opener

One struggled while the other two easily walked their way up the shifting under footing. It’s all in the approach.

Can Opener

Group photo under the shadow of the bulging “fridge” rock that hopefully never opens its doors while hikers are around.

Kalihi Saddle

Is this a trail?

Lanihuli Wall

Jeremy scrambling up the lower tier.

Lanihuli Wall

Contouring our way around the crumbly ridge line.

Lanihuli Wall

The struggle is real. The face says it all.

Lanihuli Wall

Roger climbing his way back to the ridge line. The grounds that had been saturated by the heavy rains the week prior had made the climb especially taxing for all of us.

Dirt Dragon

There was nothing left to train.

Kalihi Saddle

Crumbly much?

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

All the hard parts were behind us. For this section.

Lanihuli Summit

Group photo at the 2,700′ peak that lived up to its name, “swirling heavens.” Technically, the summit was a peak over. Old habits die hard.

KSRT

Working our way towards the other half of the saddle. The fun never stops.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Descending down the hill that was somewhat steep in parts.

W

Somebody was watching us. Specifically three kids who turned out to be Mason, Blake and Caden. Turns out they were deciding if they should push further. I guess if we fell, then they would’ve turned around.

Anvil

Roger carefully making his way down the more direct of two routes. The contour still exists, but we took the more direct approach. Got to beat the forecasted afternoon rain showers. What’s a couple more minutes?

W

Forced smile.

W

The boys perspective of us making our way on the saddle. Thanks!

W

Climbing and contouring our way on the triple diked obstacle.

W

We talked to the young boys a bit about the trail and they decided to push off for the summit of Lanihuli and return back to the Pali.

Anvil

Seems like they preferred the direct approach as well.

W

Leaving the 23rd letter of the alphabet behind us.

Nu’uanu Saddle

The forecasted rain showers showed up 15 minutes early. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Luckily the rain showers were more sprinkles and passing.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Backward and forward motion.

Incisor

Checking for cavities.

Incisor

Clean bill of health.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Roger still had the direct approach baked into his brain.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Going up what I like to call the “runway.” And that ladies and gentlemen, ends our saddle tour for the day.

KSRT

Scrambling down the slick, rooted and rocky hill.

Pali Puka Trail

We soon left the Puka where the three boys soon caught up to us to head back down to the Lookout. They must have hustled to get back down that quick. To be young again.

All pau

Did we all have fun today?

GPS Tracks

Our blood, sweat and tears hike covered just a little over three miles with Roger who was now one step closer to finishing the KST and Jeremy who finally got a taste of the saddles. All in all, a good day with good company. Post hike meal at the original Lilihia Bakery that opened its doors in 1950. But, if you want prime rib at this location, you’re out of luck. Should’ve got the loco moco. Oxtail soup is not in their wheelhouse.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Jeremy Cannone, Roger Schiffman, 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.

This was our third and successful attempt at hiking Pali Puka to Lanihuli. The previous two attempts were rained out. I picked up my friend from the top of Alewa Drive and we found ourselves at the Pali Lookout as the chickens were greeting the new day as we were to start our longest hike to date.

Panaromic view of Kaneohe

We entered the trailhead where the tour buses park on the left, climbing over the broken section of the rock wall to start our climb through the bamboo grove. We quickly gained elevation to see a sweeping view of the Windward side of the island. Click here to see the original and much larger panoramic image.

Pali Puka

One can easily overlook the Pali Puka, a natural hole in the mountain, as you have to climb down from the ridge right before the towering peak, to get to it.

The Peak

We contoured to the left of the peak, hauling our butts up to the ridgeline with the aid of an old electrical cord. You actually see a wide assortment of assists on the trails on Oahu ranging from electrical cables, nylon straps, parachute cord and ropes. Whatever works is my motto!

The fun begins

The fantastic views of the Windward side popped up after we regained the ridgeline. That’s the main reason I love these ridge hikes, is the fantastic views afforded to those that make the effort to get out there.

The trail to Lanihuli

We started climbing the narrow ridge trail towards Lanihuli, the trail was thickly covered with vegetation which proved to be a blessing and a curse. Blessing as it seemed that it provided some sort of false security on the narrow ridge and a curse as you had to constantly contend with pockets of thick vegetation which seemed to more hinder than help. Click here to see the original and much larger panoramic image.

Puu Suicido

I believe this part of the ridge was named Puu Suicido by some other hikers due to the “toothy” look of the ridge that has to be climbed. Luckily, there was a rope that we used to climb down the backside of the “tooth”.

Looking back towards Konahuanui

Looking back at the ridgeline we had just climbed. The weather was perfect as we saw the top of Konahuanui, which is usually cloaked in clouds.

The "W"

Scrambling towards the “W” or “Donkey Kong” which some hikers consider the “True Pali Notches.”

Donkey Kong

The “W” wasn’t particularly hard as we climbed down to the left side of the first notch and climbed over the last two notches. Then we came to the “anvil rock” where a rope was tied around this piece of rock that didn’t look particularly stable. Ahead of us, the ridge had eroded to the point where it was concaved and the only way around it was to climb down the rope from the anvil rock to the left side of the mountain. After we got to the bottom of the rope, we had to perch precariously on some clumps of grass as we looked for the non-existant trail. After resting a bit, we finally pulled ourselves up to the ridgeline. Thank goodness for all that vegetation as there was no rope to help us get up to the ridgeline.

Top of Lanihuli

We arrived at the top of Lanihuli at an elevation of 2,700 feet. Clouds rolled in and out, partially obscuring the view, but what a great view it was.

Clear and Cloudy

We started to head down and it looked like the windward side of the mountain was holding the clouds at bay from rolling over to the town side.

Headed down

We came across a trunk that had almost a dozen colored ribbons that marked the junction to turn left towards Alewa.

Forest for the trees?

As we started our descent, it seemed to go on forever. We thought we took the wrong turn down, as the sun soon started to set and the end of the trail was nowhere in sight. We ran across what looked like a camping site with a couple pitched tents and thought we might have to make use of it that night.

What happened to the sun?

Half hour after the sun had set, we heard dogs barking and knew civilization was near. We then came across an enclosed fence and followed it to the right to an unlocked side gate where we found our car. This was the longest in duration hike that we have done to date. It took us almost twelve hours to finish. I didn’t think it would take so long after reading other hikers blogs. Either we were very slow that day or somehow took a wrong turn. But we finished it safe and sound.