There is a saying that Winter is for Waianae, in other words it’s best to hike these ridges and mountains in the cooler weather. It was also somebody’s birthday hike. It was also Superbowl Sunday. It was also the day before Valentine’s Day. So many occassions going on in a single day.

Lady of Kea’au

Met up with Aida, Art, Braddon, Chris, Enrique, Jimmy, Marilyn, Matt, Mona, Ryan, and Tessa on the grounds of the spiritual retreat, which would be our hiking retreat today. Photo by Art Young.

Trailhead

Checking in. To bow or not to bow? The question was already answered by hunters ahead of us. Photo by Marilyn Bermudez.

Kea’au Valley

Matt giving us the shadow briefing. Don’t be scared of them.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Pushing our way up on the steep and grassy ridge.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

The ridge began to narrow somewhat as we gained elevation.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

The group crossing over a relatively flat and eroded spot on the ridge.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Tessa spreading her legs to climb up.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

We contoured to avoid the imposing rockfaces blocking the ridge.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Matt and Ryan comparing notes as to who’s the best dressed hiker. The jury is still out on that one.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Enrique climbing up and over a rockface.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Matt contouring around a rockface.

Kea’au Middle Ridge

Are we there yet? 15 more minutes. Really!

Kea’au Summit

Ryan waited with bated breath in anticipation of seeing Mount Ka’ala in all her glory. Jimmy and Mona had to hold him back as he was sorely disappointed. Again.

Kea’au Summit

Group photo at the 2,952′ summit left to right: Art, Tessa, Ryan, myself, Chris, Mona, Jimmy, Aida, Braddon, Marilyn, Enrique and Matt.

Kea’au Summit

Happy birthday with a cherry on top.

Kea’au Summit

Left, left, right. Your other right. Cancel the call to Dancing with the Stars. Photo by Art Young.

Kea’au Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kea’au Ridge

Assisting the assister with the assist. Say that three times real fast.

Kea’au Ridge

Look but don’t touch.

Kea’au Ridge

Art checking on the Superbowl as he made his way down.

Kea’au Ridge

Plane wreckage scattered on the ridge. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kea’au Ridge

Fun fact. Sliding down gets you there faster. Bonus: You get to yell “Look ma, no hands!”

Kea’au Ridge

Does one still yell timber when pushing over crumbly rocks?

Kea’au Ridge

What’s going on here? Matt talking to strange men on the trails again. Bumbai he learn.

Kea’au Ridge

Matt and Braddon passing through the eroded spot in the middle of the saddle.

Kea’au Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri of the group traversing the dike.

Kea’au Ridge

Climbing to the next false peak.

Kea’au Ridge

Ryan putting his hours spent at the climbing gym to good use.

Kea’au Ridge

Aida contouring to the side. No climbing gym membership.

Kea’au Ridge

Following another dike as it lead to another false peak.

Kea’au Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri of Chris and the ongoing development in Makaha Valley.

Kea’au Ridge

Aida climbing her way up.

Kea’au Ridge

Drone group photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Kea’au Ridge

Making our way to the last peak on the ridge.

Kea’au Ridge

The hike’s so bright, I gotta wear shades. On top of the shades I’m already wearing.

Kea’au Ridge

Art looking into Kea’au Valley and beyond.

Kea’au Ridge

Everybody took their own approach on climbing and contouring the dike. To each their own.

Kea’au Ridge

No climbing gym membership. Too expensive. Photo by Enrique Chavez.

Pu’u Kea’au

We straightened out the flag pole, however the tattered flag has seen better days and fished out the log from the ant infested ammo container to sign our names for posterity’s sake before taking our group photo.

Dragonfly Ridge

The colorful flying insects soon appeared around us and validated the ridge name.

Dragonfly Ridge

All downhill.

Dragonfly Ridge

Mona recovering from her precarious position. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Dragonfly Ridge

Scrambling down the rocky ridge.

Dragonfly Ridge

Enrique telling us that the drop’s bark is worse than its bite.

Dragonfly Ridge

Drone photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Dragonfly Ridge

Fun fact about scenic spots. Time becomes inversely proportional to the photo opportunities.

Dragonfly Ridge

Shouts to wrap up the photo shoot as the gate was going to close soon, fell on deaf ears. Priorities. Not my priorities.

Dragonfly Ridge

Chasing the goats down the ridge. A fruitless exercise.

Dragonfly Ridge

The keymaster soon caught up with us and was not amused by repeated yells of “rock” as we scrambled and slid our way down the eroded ridge.

Dragonfly Ridge

Crossing the ubiquitous fence that is found wherever hikers roam in the mountains of Hawaii. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Dragonfly Ridge

Seeking sanctuary from the ankle rolling rocks as we beelined to the church.

Kea’au Valley

Jimmy’s group making their way out and back home. Matt doubled back to retrieve Aida, Chris, Marilyn and Tessa who had decided to take the longer and more scenic route that involved contact with a homeless camp and a loose pit bull running around.

Sunset

The sun was slowly going down which meant the gate was going to be locked and that meant our cars could be locked inside as well, since nobody brought their tents to camp overnight and one person can’t possible move all four cars by himself, no matter how hard he multi-tasks, we all shuttled our cars out of the compound. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

All pau

The group catching a ride from the one-eyed truck after they found their way out to the highway. I guess showing some skin helped. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

GPS Tracks

Our birthday loop hike covered roughly six miles over new and old terrain for some of us that was enjoyed with old and new faces. Next stop was Zippy’s. We had to show the boy from Chicago the talk of the town. Breakfast is what’s for dinner. No alcohol to wash it down.

Video by Matt Vidaurri of our hike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiaifpzZDN8

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.