Predictions of rainy weather over most of the island, found us looking for a dry trail to hike on the West side. Be careful what you wish for.

Trailhead

Met Glenn, Jasmin and Thessa in the parking lot across Makaha Beach by the pungent bathrooms. Jasmin knew of the Donkey Z trail that would get us to the ridge.

Bushwhacking?

No donkeys sighted, so we just headed straight up to the ridge.

Rocky road ahead

Rows of stacked rocks lined the uneven ground, that harked back to an earlier time.

Rocks…

We climbed over big rocks…

…and more rocks

…and walked over little rocks in the dry grass.

Waianae coast

Thessa checking out the view of Makaha Valley and beyond.

Blue sky

The sun shined down unfiltered on the parched ridgeline.

Ocean view

Looking down the ridge towards the ocean.

On the ridge

There was no shade, clouds or trade winds. It was turning out to be a hot Waianae hike. So much for winter.

Pull us up

An abandoned motor and winch long baked into the ground.

Kea’au Bunkers

Thessa and Jasmin on the WW2 bunkers overlooking Makaha Beach.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image spanning the North Shore to the Waianae side.

Walking the ridge

Glenn going down the slight slope towards the saddle of the ridge.

Looking back

Jasmin and Thessa making their way down.

Green mile(s)

The grass was greener on the other side of the ridge.

Geodetic marker

Unlike other geodetic markers I’ve run across, this one didn’t have the place name nor the elevation.

Tree sighting

The first of few trees on the hot and barren ridge.

Kaena point

Looking towards the “golf balls” at Kaena Point.

Summit in sight

The triangular summit of Kea’au on the left.

Junction

The junction we would use to go back down water tank ridge. The girls decided to wait here for us.

Rocky ridge

The ridge started to take on a slightly steep pitch.

Bleating goats

Bleating goats on nearby ridges explained the littered spent cartridges.

Climb or contour

We did both.

True Kea’au

Glenn and myself at the 2,650′ summit.

Sign in

A slight breeze at the summit explained the fluttering flag. It wouldn’t last long.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Going back

We snacked and guzzled water before making our way back down to the junction.

Water tank ridge

Group photo, with Makaha Towers in the background, left to right: Thessa, Jasmin, myself and Glenn.

Pausing

Glenn checking out the view. Nice day. Hot day. Trade winds would have helped. Cloud cover too. But, you can’t have everything on a hike.

Looking back at the summit

Jasmin and Thessa making their way down the ridge.

Watertanks

Glenn making his way down to the water tanks. So close, yet so far.

Erosion at work

The ridge seemed to be in a constant state of erosion. Some sections looked fresh.

Rock climbing

The last section of the ridge involved minor rock climbing…

Rock hopping

…and lots of rock hopping.

Follow the fence

The fence trail was a welcome relief from the rocky ridge we had just come down.

All pau

Glenn was nice enough to drive to the nearest 7-11 and grab us ice cold Cokes. Mahalo!

GPS Tracks

The hot and rocky hike covered 3.91 miles, made bearable with good company. Post hike meal at Tacos and More. Can’t go wrong with picking the Sea Bass. Extra side of salsa!

After a month of relatively easy hikes, it was time to get my “hiking legs” back. And what better way to do that, than an ridge hike with the Caveman? That’s why I found myself in Tamura’s parking lot along with Marcus, George, Jay, Tom, Brian R, Darren, Brian C, Peter, Helen and Scott at 7:45am sharp. Adjusted for Hawaiian time of course.

The long dirt road

We then drove North on Farrington Highway until we passed Kea’au Beach Park and parked outside of the Lady of Kea’au, which is the former FHB recreation center. After climbing over the gate, we walked for about half an hour upon a series of roads while the sun started to break over the Waianae Mountain Range. We soon turned left into the treeline to follow a fence uphill, which we eventually hopped over to make our way up one of the side ridges.

Cardio climb

It was a steady cardio climb up the rocky ridge that was thinly covered by dry grasses and shrubs.

The fence

We soon found ourselves at the top of the ridge to face the fenceline which would pretty much run up all the way to the top of Ohikilolo. Of course, they were several rockfaces along the way up, that presented climbing opportunities to those inclined.

Free range goat

The saying “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence” certainly applied to this goat that we found stuck in the fence. There seems to be much more green vegetation on the Makua Valley side, which is why this goat stuck his head through the fence to munch his lunch and was luckily freed by Jay, Darren and Peter.

Makua Valley

A nice view of Makua Valley from the ridgeline. The fence was installed to prevent goats and pigs from entering this valley and other protected areas. Photo by Tom Engle.

Skin and bones

Further up the ridge, we discovered the remains of a goat that wasn’t so lucky.

Scenic viewpoint

Taking two minutes to stop and enjoy the stellar views. I think Marcus gave us a break and actually gave us ten minutes.

Mountain cabin

Just before the summit of Ohikilolo, is a cabin in the mountains. Great timing as a passing rain shower pelted us briefly as we took refuge in the cabin. We took another short break inside the cabin, checking out the inside ( which can bunk up to 12 people ) and the great views of Ohikilolo and the surrounding mountain range. There is even an outhouse with outstanding views of Makua Valley, a good reason to take your time on the throne.

Pu’u Ohikilolo

We left the cabin to pick up the fenceline trail going up to the summit. While the fenceline is a blight on the landscape, it did come in handy in areas where the loose, brittle rocks made footing a little tricky.

Summit of Ohikilolo

We reached the 3,052′ pyramid summit of Pu’u Ohikilolo at 11:00am, with clear views of Makaha, Ohikilolo and Makua Valleys.

Panoramic view from Pu’u Ohikilolo

Click here for the larger image.

Going down the saddle to Pu’u Kea’au

We headed back down from the summit and turned left towards the saddle of Kea’au ridge. Photo by Scott Bowling.

Rock climbing ahead

We scrambled and climbed our way along the rocky ridge, absent was the fenceline. I guess there are places that even goats can’t climb over.

Climbing down the saddle

Climbing down the exposed dike formation was a litte tricky due to a small drop and gap in the rocks. Photo by Scott Bowling.

Top of Pu’u Kea’au

We topped out at the 2,650′ summit of Pu’u Kea’au at around 12:20pm, with the flat topped mountain of Ka’ala in the background. Bottom row left to right: George, myself, Jay and Tom. Top row left to right: Brian R., Darren, Brian C., Marcus, Peter, Helen and Scott.

Panoramic view from Pu’u Kea’au

Click here for the larger image.

Going down Kea’au ridge

We soon headed back down the ridge into Kea’au Valley.

Almost pau

George checking out a bunker on our way down.

GPS Tracks

The 6 1/2 mile hike took us exactly 6 hours to complete. The weather also blessed us by giving us cloud cover for most of the hike, which dialed down the notoriously hot Waianae sun.

Our last couple hikes were all in the wet and windy trails of the Ko’olau mountains, so we decided to switch it up a bit and hike the Kea’au Ridge trail in the Waianae mountain range. Since nobody volunteered to leave their car parked on the side of the road in Waianae, we all met and parked at a friends house in Waipio. She dropped us off at the entrance to the former First Hawaiian Bank recreation center right after Kea’au Beach Park and sped off to Yokohama Beach to catch some rays. We climbed over the locked gate and walked down the paved road, which eventually turned into a dirt road and hopped over another locked gate.

Middle Ridge

We walked up the road to the Makua-Kea’au Hunting Area B and crossed a dry river bed and worked our way up to the ridge. We also had to watch our steps, as the trail had liberal droppings of cow pies. As we gained elevation on the ridge, the cow pies were replaced with goat droppings.

Ohikilolo Valley

Looking back at the middle ridge that cuts the valley in half. The blue waters looked cool and inviting!

Cliffs

On the way up the ridge, we stopped to look at the amazing fluted cliffs to our left, which harbored numerous “pocket valleys” that carried the sounds of bleating goats.

On the ridge

Some parts of the ridge narrows to the point, where it accentuates the drop offs on both sides, especially on the side facing Ohikilolo ridge. But that’s why ridge hikes keep you on your feet and rewards you with fantastic views.

Mount Ka'ala

We reached the top of Kea’au ridge at an elevation of 2,650 feet with clear views of Mount Ka’ala, Makaha and the Waianae coast. It was also hot as hell! Good thing we had hats and sunscreen, otherwise we would have been toast.

Pu'u Ohikilolo

Due to time restrictions, we decided or rather my friend decided not to hike the connecting ridge to Pu’u Ohikilolo. As we made our way back down, we came across a herd of stampeding cows in the public hunting area that forced us to briefly stop, before we made it back out to the road. Our friend picked us up and we all had a nice big lunch at Big City Diner’s. Food sure does taste better after you had a long, hot hike!