Organized another hike for another no-show. Well, the hike must go on. Mahalo to Mrs. Gill for allowing us to go up Palehua Road which shaved off a couple hours of our hiking time.

Palehua Road

Many thanks to Thomas for driving Art, Chris, Lilyn, Matt and myself up the road that is only 2.5 miles long but seemed twice as long.

Trailhead

Heading towards the towering communication towers that marks that start of the trail.

Waianae Summit Trail (WST)

Matt walking through the bamboo forest.

WST

The trail below the hill has been severely eroded, but luckily has been shored up by the workers.

WST

Matt going through the stacked boulders that I like to call the “Indiana Jones Tunnel.”

WST

Lilyn finally got to see the tree that is plastered all over social media.

WST

Art going down the trail to Kunia that has been lost to the overgrowth.

WST

Contouring our way below the hill towards the cloud soaked grove of pine trees.

WST

Trying to identify endemics in this native rich section of the mountains. No Happy Face Spiders. No help from IG.

WST

Matt going up the iconic set of stairs in Palehua amidst the native rain forest.

WST

The group looking at the junction that takes one down to Heleakala ridge.

Palikea

There’s photobombing and then there’s photobombing on a different level. Thanks Matt!

WST

Making our way through the heavily wooded and overgrown trail.

WST

The group swimming their way down through the sea of uluhe ferns.

WST

Looking out over Pearl Harbor and the surrounding central plains.

WST

The group crossing through an exposed area before plunging back into the tree line.

WST

Going down the steep fence lined hill.

WST

The group controlling their descent down the pine needle covered hill.

WST

Looking down at the roughly 80′ climb. Made easier with the Christmas tree of webbings strung from the top.

Pohakea Pass

Checking out the holds and the webbing integrity as I climbed my way down.

Pohakea Pass

When orders get contradicted on the cliff during the climb down, compounded by the blowing wind.

Pohakea Pass

Art making his way down.

Pohakea Pass

Climbing down the crack. The one between your butt.

Pohakea Pass

Ate you go last. When that didn’t work, Chris came down last.

Pohakea Pass

Group photo at the bottom of the cliff.

WST

Trying to locate the trail that descends down towards Kunia. Our efforts were successful which warrants another trip back to this area.

WST

Matt stemming and climbing his way up the crack in the cliff.

WST

Sitting on the scenic rock while getting photobombed again.

WST

We didn’t see any Happy Face Spiders in the wild, but we did run across a Happy Face Joker, just in time for Halloween.

WST

Climbing down one of many rock obstacles on the ridge.

WST

Matt contouring and climbing his way around the tricky rock.

WST

The group climbing their way up one of the last rock obstacles on the trail.

WST

Chris looking back at the pass.

WST

The group having a deep discussion on where the terminus of our hike is located.

WST

Matt climbing over the fence line. Easy peasy. Just like the border crossings.

WST

Art sampling the local water supply.

WST

Following the fence line to the summit.

Pu’u Kaua

The group reaching the ti leaf marked grassy area.

Pu’u Kaua

The wind had died down enough for Matt to fly his drone to catch our group photo at the third highest peak in the island.

Pu’u Kaua

A 360 view of the 3,127′ summit.

Kaua Trail

Art going down the steep section leading down from the top.

Kaua Trail

Sliding down the leaf carpeted hill with the trees acting as our brakes.

Kaua Trail

Cat’s meow. Or does somebody smell a rat? Is it Christmas yet?

Kaua Trail

Sitting like a bump on a log while somebody wanted to pass.

Kaua Trail

Class reunion. Everybody looked pretty good for their age.

All pau

We climbed out of the hill to jump into Matt’s truck and picked up our cars at the top of Makakilo Drive. Fun hike through the Waianae Mountain Range that also connected the dots for Chris’s #4 and my #9 finish for the WST.

Post hike meal at Julie’z in Kapolei. Family style eating that ended with with a bunch of public school graduates deciding how to split the check at the end.

Photos taken by Art Young, Chris Bautista, Lilyn Avendano, Matt Vidaurri, 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.