We did two short hikes on the day that has its origins in pagan festivals that celebrated spring and fertility, hence the easter bunny and was later co-opted by Christianity to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Wa’ahila State Park

Met up with Edgar and Jeremy at the State Recreation Park where a quick morning shower dampened the grounds before our hike.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Catching a glimpse of Palolo Valley through the bushes and trees.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

We had to backtrack as we had realized we had gone astray off the track, but in reality, we all found out later that they inter-connected.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Bike trails criss-cross and share the trails it seems as the bike with one flat tire tried to go up the ramp.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Playing frisbee golf on the trail, the sport that originated in the 1960s, don’t think I’m going to be a member of the PDGA anytime soon.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

The podagee bike trying to jump on the trail.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

It finally dawned on somebody that they had already been on this trail. And here I thought this was virgin territory for the group.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

The end of the trail was anti-climatic as we had views of the fenced BWS water tank and distant and obscured views of the urbanized valley.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Jeremy suggested that we climb the ridge and loop it back to the park, so off we went.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Looking out as civilization seemingly spilled from the back of the valley to the ocean. Progress.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Edgar launched his drone to get a birds eye view of the surrounding area.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

Yielding to mountain bikers on the trail.

Kalaepohaku Lower Trail

We stopped to watch a couple of slackliners as they practiced their balance and coordination above the trails. Just amazing.

All pau

Climbing out of the trail where we soon parted ways with Edgar and drove to our next short hike.

GPS Tracks

Our loop hike covered a tad more mileage that the regular trail that clocked in at 3.08 miles.

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

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our loop hike.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Tessa joined us on the second hike, as we skirted this barbed wire fence that was meant to keep out four legged ungulates or two legged bipedal primates?

Koko Crater Rim Trail

We soon ran into two Navy guys, Cavyn and Evan, who were stymied by a particular rock on the rim. We invited them to join us and they accepted.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Jeremy drove all the way from the North Shore to do this hike for the first time. Are you sure?

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Cavyn going up the rock that had turned him around initially. Easy peasy.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Everybody took the “medium” route.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Detouring off the rim for a puka that most people just walk right over it.

Koko Crater Puka

Tight squeeze.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Scooting our way across the rim.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Leap of faith. It’s only a gap of two feet if that. GoPro makes it look more dramatic.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

The mauka side of the rim is more “technical” than the makai side.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

We choose to traverse rather than contour this section.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Group photo on the slanted slab.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Climbing towards the summit that is populated with WW2 bunkers and teeming crowds.

Koko Crater Summit

Group photo with the wooden cross that was temporarily attached to the new summit lookout that cost taxpayers $426,800.00 when it was installed back in July of 2023.

Koko Crater Summit

Looking down at the winch that used to pull rail cars to the 1,208′ summit during WW2.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

We continued our hike around the extinct tuff cone as the rim took us to the makai side.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Some ventured farther out than others.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Hiking on the trail that is often confused with the neighboring Koko Head. Tomato. Tomatoe.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Looking out towards the beach that if Stanley Chang had his druthers, would have been called President Barack Obama Sandy Beach Park in 2014. Political pandering at its worst.

Koko Crater Rim Trail

Cavyn not letting any rocks stand in his way on this trail. Once was enough.

All pau

We scrambled our way down through the dry brush and back to our cars. Time to eat.

GPS Tracks

Our rim hike around the crater whose original Hawaiian name was Kohelepelepe which loosely translates to fringed vulva or flying vagina covered 2.16 miles. How did it gets it name? I won’t go into the mythology, but just look at the tracks and take a wild guess. Post hike meal at Zippy’s. It wasn’t Thai but close enough. Two short and fun hikes with good company.

Photos taken by Edgar Gamiao, Jeremy Cannone, 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.

I joined Will and Chris on a slightly different route up Koholepelepe or Koko Crater Rim today.

Free admission

Instead of starting from the end of the rim, we were going to take a “shortcut” and go up from the spur ridge that was inside the crater.

Spur ridge

The spur ridge is quite noticeable once you look for it past the stripped tree tops. The waning moon was still visible as well.

Nature call

Not often that you find one of these on a hiking trail. Luckily we were in the middle of a botanical garden.

Equipment shed

We soon passed a equipment shed on our left, indicating that we were on the right trail. Thanks to Baron for the directions and idea.

Balls of cacti

If you see this, you have gone too far. Turn around.

Bushwhack time

The base of the ridge is just a stones throw from the equipment shed. Not really bushwhacking, but watch out for the sharp as steel cacti lurking in the tall grass. It hurts like a bee and then some.

Out of the bushes

Now we can see where we are going.

Time to go up

There was nothing tricky or technical with this ridge.

Still going up

Basic scrambling up a nicely inclined ridge.

Slab section

I took a shine to this spur ridge and will use this route when traversing the crater rim in the future.

Made it to the rim

Gusty winds greeted us at the top of the rim.

Watch your step

Dragon Fruit Cacti are in abundance on this section of the rim. Fruiting season occurs June to December.

Climbing up

Chris trying out his climbing skills. For those less inclined, the rim can be contoured on the left on fairly level ground. Photo by Will Lee.

Traffic jam

As we neared the summit, we met another group coming down. Who yields? The one that seizes the opportunity to pass the gap.

Photo bombed

The winds were making for a bad hair day.

Waiting our turn

Great town views at 1,208 feet high. Group photo left to right: Chris, myself, and Will.

Traffic jam

Going down the makai or ocean side of the rim, we ran into a couple that had come up from the arch. The crater rim seems to be getting a lot more traffic lately.

Elusive puka

Looking across the crater floor to see that puka or hole in the rim that I have yet to see up close.

Halona blowhole

The Halona Blowhole parking lot was surprisingly open, considering that this was the weekend.

Easy climbing

The last rock to climb on the rim. After this, it was all downhill.

Going down

We took the left trail down, which sits opposite the spur ridge that we had taken up.

Koko Crater Stables

I don’t think many people realize that there is a horse stable tucked away here.

Now you tell us

Looking back at the trail that we had just descended, we noticed this sign. Oops.

GPS Tracks

By most accounts, Koholepelepe means “traveling vagina” in Hawaiian. The route we had taken today, resembles something that visits said passage. Or is it just my imagination? I think I had too much sun today.

I met up with Glenn and Chris at the Koko Head Botanical Gardens to do a nice Sunday stroll up the entire Koko Crater rim, we have hiked up from the arch and from the tracks. But never have we completed the entire Koko Crater rim.

Koko Head Botanical Gardens and Makapu’u

The grassy and kiawe trees eventually changed to the rocky and cacti inhabited rim of Koko Crater or Kohelepelepe which means traveling vagina. Take a look at Koko Crater on a topographical map and you will see why.

Cracked Rim

Going up the rim presents an interesting view of the fractured rim and presents numerous climbing possibilities. This is a different perspective of Koko Crater that you don’t experience if you just go up and down the tracks.

Kamiloiki and Kamehame Ridges

Our hike was blessed with a nice thick cloud layer which blocked most of the scorching sun rays. Unfortunately, vog conditions were in effect as well, producing hazy viewing conditions.

A little climbing

Heading to the lookout is a nice and steady climb up the rim, punctuated by several opportunities to rock climb or for those less inclined, to simply contour around.

Going into the bunker

We had brough headlamps and flashlights to root around these long abandoned bunkers at the top of the summit that was left over from World War 2. The tunnel leading to the bunker was actually very low, forcing us to crouch over as we stepped on scattered debris and rubbish on the floor that was partially illuminated by our headlamps.

Inside the bunker

If you’re claustrophobic and nyctophobic, going into these bunkers would not be a good idea. It was pretty cool and anti-climatic at the same time when we got to the bunker, as it was just filled with more debris on the floor and a shaft that went up to the surface. Two things prevented me from trying to climb up the shaft, the bottom part of the ladder was torn off and the middle of the shaft looks like it’s blocked by some sort of ventilation shaft.

Top of Puu Mai

The top of Puu Mai was teeming with hikers that had come up from the tracks. This hike gets a lot of activity, especially on the weekends. I can see why, as it’s a relatively short hike that has payoffs with great views waiting at the top.

Hanauma Bay and Koko Head

As we started to climb down the rim, the plinking and cracking sounds coming from the rifle range were really cranking that morning. Must be a result of all those increased gun sales.

Counter-clockwise on the rim

We spent some time at the top, checking out the views and enjoying the breezy tradewinds that had just picked up. Going down the rim, the rocky parts continued until the knob formation.

Molokai

Once past the knob, the rim leveled off and it was a nice gradual slope on the way back down as we caught views of Halona Blowhole, Sandy Beach and the islands of Molokai, Lanai and Maui. We got back to our cars around 9:30am and had brunch at Zippy’s, thanks Glenn!

After catching the cloudy sunrise at the beach that ushered in the New Year, I met up with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club at the Halona Blowhole parking lot. Every New Year’s Day, the club hikes the back of Koko Crater. After being told the obligatory “hike at your own risk” speech and the most dangerous part of the hike is crossing the highway to dodge rushing cars, we started off with a group that numbered in the 40s.

The knob

After we crossed the road, we climbed up the connecting ridge that lead to the main slope of Koko Crater. The trail naturally lead to the pointy rock formation sticking up from the crater rim or more commonly known as “the knob.”

The arch

This is a natural stone arch that spanned a gully. An advance party had strung up some rope to help us get over the arch. It was a nice touch as club members were wishing everyone Happy New Year as they helped us scramble over the arch.

The rim

As soon as we hit the knob, we made a left and started for the summit. I personally thought that hiking up the back crater of the rim was much easier than going up the tram tracks.

Scenic view

Once everyone was gathered at the top, some of the club members had brought along non-alcoholic champagne to toast the New Year. Another nice touch.

Going down

Here we are headed down the tram tracks and running into a bottleneck, as hikers going up and down meet at the part where the tracks bridge a gully. Some hikers elected to take the more sure-footed trail to the left as seen in the picture above.

"Secret" Tunnel

After we hit the bottom of the tracks, we took a trail that lead us past the Shooting Range, which was the driving reason the city tried to close the Koko Crater hike back in 2008. They cited the potential danger from errant bullets hitting hikers, even though there have been no reported close calls. Luckily, the city changed their mind about the closure, for now. After getting back on the highway leading back to the Blowhole, we passed a scenic sign point and then hopped over the guardrail into a gully. The gully lead us into a tunnel that went under the highway, luckily we entered while it was still low tide, I’m not sure if the tunnel is submerged during high tide, nor did I want to find out.

Splash

We walked in the semi-dark tunnel for about 15-20 feet before emerging on the other side to be greeted by waves crashing onto the shoreline.

Fishing Shrine

The Honolulu Japanese Fishing Club put this lava boulder with a Buddhist guardian, Jizo, carved into the West face in 1939. Overlooking Bamboo Ridge and Halona Point, the shrine was to protect the fishermen. Since 2007, Vietnamese Buddhists began to take care of the shrine after they placed a statue of Quan Am Nam Hai, a Vietnamese goddess on the South side.

Halona Cove

Looking down into Halona Cove. This beach is famous for the iconic scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the movie “From Here to Eternity.”

Halona Blowhole

We approached the Blowhole from the beach side. Respectful of the ocean, we kept our distance from the natural lava rock spout that can shoot seawater up to 20 feet in the air. You can also see the white warning sign that marks where fishermen have drowned in the past. Back in 2002, a California tourist straddled the hole and got sucked in and died. His family filed a lawsuit against the State, claiming that not enough signs were posted to warn people about the dangerous conditions and also petitioned to have a metal grate installed over the hole. I’m sorry for his loss, but not for his lack of common sense. Why is that people can not just take accountability for themselves and their actions, and instead try to assign responsibility to others? The entire hike took around three hours and is relatively easy, it was a nice leisurely hike to start the New Year.