Back in the Waianae Mountains. Joining me on today’s trek were Gen and Jose. Others were doing the Spartan race this weekend. We had our own Spartan race in the mountains today.

Trailhead

We arrived early to beat the rush hour hiker traffic.

Junk Beach

Where old trucks go off the railroad tracks to die.

Kaena Point Natural Area Reserve

We skirted the fence, that protects the fauna and flora populating one of the last sand dune ecosystems in the islands, to the base of the mountain.

Memorial

I hopped into a somewhat obscure cave at the base, that is home to a memorial for Les Merrell, a well known hiker who unfortunately perished on Bear Claw several years ago. The heat and humidity dictated a short stay as we still had a long day ahead of us. A very long day.

Scrambling

Jose and Gen climbing up the rocky ascent sparsely covered with dry shrubs.

First bunker

Don’t fall in the hole.

Hiking to the top

Enjoying the shade while it lasted.

Second bunker

Group photo left to right: Gen, myself and Jose. Somebody forgot their sunglasses.

Waianae sun

Hiking on the sunny exposed ridge.

Kaena Notch

No shaka and double shaka.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Area 51

Approaching the Kaena Point Tracking Station.

Carrion flowers

Nothing like the smell of rotting flesh to start off your hike. Inhale deeply.

Kaena Point Satellite Tracking Station

Sorry, no tours today.

Life imitating art

I’ve fallen and I can’t get up. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Life failing art

Let’s try again, shall we? Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Satellite Tracking Station Road

Just out for a Saturday walk. No jumping in the bushes today.

Radome

Tracking space objects since 1959. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Walk the line

I am not drunk. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

Detour

We had no desire to catch the Yokohama Express, so we rang the bell and got off the beaten path.

Bushwhacking

Enjoying the back country of the North Shore.

Scouting

The coast is clear. Pays to wear a camouflage boonie hat. Photo by Genesaret Balladares.

Back on the road again

We popped back on the road and checked for traffic before continuing our hike.

Kuaokala trail

Waiting for somebody to open the gate. Got permit?

Wide trails

Jose going up the expansive tree lined road.

Wakey wakey eggs and bakey

Just have to find a pig now. A very, very small one.

Trail

The wide road eventually narrowed to a footpath that contoured along the Makua Valley.

Gated view

Gen enjoying the views. Time to move along now. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki

The fence line

The fence are becoming the invasive species, invading the mountains to control the invasive species. Irony.

Looking back

Leaving Kaena Point and her golf balls behind us.

Share the trail

Yield to hikers or was that the other way around?

Back at the fence

We soon left the main trail and headed back up to regain the fence line.

Follow the cable

We briefly left the fence line to make our way up the hill.

Moku

All shoes on the geodisc marker. Hey, no mud today. We must be on the West side.

Supply shed

Gen looking through the supply of condoms and KY jelly. What goes on up here in these mountains? Get a cabin.

Rolling ridges

No signs of civilization as far as the eye can see.

Pahole Natural Area Reserve

Entering the fenced area that protects 658 acres of native fauna and flora from feral pigs, rats and other invasive species.

Almost there

Somebody started saying that. Wasn’t going to be the last time.

See the sign?

Not all of us have 20/5 vision.

Mokuleia lookout

Group photo with Makua Valley in the background.

Almost there

The broken record kept on playing.

Up and down

The fence was an unsightly blight on the terrain, but it provided useful handholds and as an obvious navigational aid.

The Glove

Michael Jackson has left the mountains. The WST answer to the KST boot.

Three Corners

Group shot with Makaha Valley in the background.

Three Corners

Looking towards Mokuleia Valley.

Three Corners

Another view of Makua Valley.

Back to the fence

We resumed our hike after a short break and lunch by following the fence towards Mount Ka’ala. Almost there.

Goodbye fence

The fence was soon replaced with a wide swath of thick uluhe and overgrowth. Bring back the fence.

Kaala Road

We eventually dropped down from the ridge onto Mount Ka’ala Road. Photo by Genesaret Balladares.

Uphill

The long boring road. Hard on our feet. The only saving grace was the mountain views. While it lasted.

Double tuck

We ran into a fellow hiker on the road. He looked somewhat familiar.

Got water?

Running out of liquid nourishment. Time to share. Thanks Gen.

Last scenic point

Looking out at the Kawailoa Wind Farm before the cloud deck dropped.

Hiker in the mist

Gen walking up the road towards one of the smaller relay stations. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Mount Ka’ala

We are here!

Bog walker

Walking through the bog under twilight cloudy conditions. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Bouldering

Racing to beat the sun.

City lights

Twinkling lights of Waianae Valley.

Sunset

Enjoying the sunset as we made our way down to Three Poles junction.

Night hiking

Coming down from the highest mountain on the island.

Star gazing

When we arrived at the paved road, we sprawled down to enjoy the night skies and …

Creepy crawlers

…then we realized we were sharing the road with all these critters.

Light show

Twerking the glow light fantastic.

All pau

Now all we needed was a spooky story and roasted marshmallows to end our hike. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

GPS Tracks

The scenic and very long hike covered 18.76 miles, made bearable by good company. Post hike meal at Jack in the Box. It was the closest. 24/7 breakfast. We found out that a chronic had helped himself to some of Gen’s gas. Hope he got a severe case of indigestion.

We drove all the way to the North Shore to hike Kealia trail which starts at Dillingham Airfield. There were already several cars waiting at the gate at the end of the runway when we got there, as they don’t open until 6:30am. 

Kealia Trail

We pulled into the parking lot by the control tower that was quickly filling up already. As we walked to the trailhead that is right across the parking lot, we passed some Boy Scouts that were just waking up and taking down their tents.

Falling rocks

There are 19 switchbacks going up the face of the mountain. This all made for slow and steady climbing on the trail that was littered with boulders of all shapes and sizes, I guess that’s what the earlier sign meant by “falling rocks.”

Picnic table

The picnic table marks the end of Kealia trail. We stopped for a spell to gulp water down and chowed down on power bars.

Kuaokala Trail

From here on we were hiking on the red dirt roads of Kuaokala Trail. We turned right at the first junction which soon led to the Kuaokala Public Hunting Area. Didn’t see any pigs or goats. We turned left at the next junction and another left at the T-junction. We kept to the right at the last junction which led to the lookout.

Lookout point

We made it to this lookout and discovered that somebody had driven their Mercedes SUV all the way up to this point. There was also a campfire pit with a bunch of bottled water next to it. We found out later that somebody had staged it there for a hiking group that was coming from the Kaena Tracking Station side. Now that’s planning!

Makua Valley

We took the trail to the right from the lookout and soon had a nice view of Makua valley which is used by the military for live fire training exercises. Needless to say, it is not advisable to hike down into the valley.

Kaena Tracking Station

It was also at the point in the trail that we met the hikers from the Kaena Tracking Station. They offered to give us a ride back to the airfield if we wanted to follow them back, we thought about it but decided to just go back the way we had come. On second thought, we should have took them up on the offer as who knows when the next time we would be able to visit the Kaena Tracking Station?

Mokuleia and Haleiwa

Coming down the switchbacks, we had sweeping views of Mokuleia and Haleiwa. We also saw skydivers, hang gliders, ultralights and glider planes floating around the airfield. The hike took us about four hours to complete.