We decided to stay off the mountains and stick to the foothills today.

Trailhead

Met up with Akira, Allison, Deborah, Mari, Mona, Tessa in the backwoods of Waimanalo, a stones throw from The Village.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Stepping foot on the trail that was originally scouted and marked out by HTMC hiker, Richard Dick Davis.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We soon passed the junction that would have took us to the back of Olomana and countless other side trails that exist in this area.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The temptation was too great.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Just like monkeys, even horses fall from trees.

Maunawili Demo Trail

That trail was originally called Ko’olaupoko and work was started in 1991 by the Sierra Club.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The group weaving their way through the downed trees.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Climbing was not on today’s agenda.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Prisoners from OCC were recruited to help finish part of the trail in the summer of 1991. Voluntarily?

Maunawili Demo Trail

Meandering our way around the base of the the Ko’olau Mountains.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Standing in the verdant forest with a dead and twisted tree.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Winding our way in and out of multiple gullies.

Maunawili Demo Trail

No steak today. Chocolate dipped banana bread is what is on the menu.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Group photo with the three peaks of Olomana, Paku’i and Ahiki in the background.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Foraging for trail snacks on the path.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We passed the junction for the connector to Maunawili Falls and approached Maunawili Bigs, the waterfall chutes that are quite the spectacle when Mother Nature turns on the spigot.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing a fruitful branch of fiddlehead ferns.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Unfiltered. Straight from the tap. Lepto straight to the belly.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The trail was finished at the end of 1993 and it was renamed Maunawili Trail. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Sierra Club, OCC prisoners, Boy Scouts, Marines and volunteers that contributed to make this trail a reality.

All pau

Illustrating what next week’s hike will look like. A picture is worth a thousand words.

GPS Tracks

Our hike in the shadow of the mountains covered just shy of nine miles with a great group. Thanks to Mona’s son who picked us up and took us to Tokyo Central for our post hike meal before returning us back to our cars.

Photos taken by Allison Banks, Akira Suzuki, Deborah Tom, Mari Saito, Monaliza Guillermo, Tessa Bugay, 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.

Lanipo Windward ridge was last reportedly done by HTMC hiker Dick Davis in the 1940s when he lost all his fingernails going down. Ouch. I wanted to scout out the ridge for a possible future hike. Joining me today were Jose, Ryan and Thessa.

Trailhead

We parked at the top of Maunalani Circle and found two condoms on the ground. Used. At least somebody had safe sex.

Corridor

The beginning of the trail is sandwiched between a BWS tank and somebody’s private property.

Mau’umae ridge

It was a rainy day on the ridge. Can’t catch a sunny break.

Walking up

The Lanipo trail has been described as a rollercoaster hike. A light version of the Manana Trail. Up and down. Repeat until you get to the top.

Looking back

Click here for larger image.

Steve Becker bench

Group photo at the bench left to right: Jose, myself, Thessa and Ryan. Sound advice that was posted: Never hike alone, carry a cell phone, and leave your hike plan with someone.

Trail snacks

Strawberry guava trees fruiting along the trail.

What’s that?

Ryan and Thessa looking at some red flowers nestled amongst dead branches that caught their eye.

Dew drops

Something you only see in the morning or after a good rain. We had both.

Captain Morgan?

Where’s the rum? BYOB on the trails.

Shaka rainbow

It’s all about perspective. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Waterfall

The third waterfall cascading down from Ka’au Crater.

Palolo valley

Looking out all the way to Diamond Head.

Baby fern

A fiddlehead.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Almost there

Ryan and Jose going up the last hill to the summit. The rollercoaster ride has ended. Please remain seated until the car comes to a complete stop.

Mount Olympus

The cloud deck was skipping and skimming the top of the Ko’olaus. Caught a rare glimpse of Olympus not capped in clouds.

Kainawa’aunui summit

A severe infestation of gnats or flies replaced the rain at the 2,520′ summit. Bring back the rain.

One less pollinator

A bumblebee chose this branch as its last resting spot.

What the?

Jose spotted this peculiar looking beetle that had some white stuff clinging to its body. Imperial bug trooper.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Cloudy summits ahead

The gnats or flies were feeding off the fruits and seeds of the ‘ie’ie woody climbers. I think we ended up feeding on some of them.

On the KSRT

Back on the rollercoaster. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Koolau Summit Ridge Trail

Keep your arms and legs on the Leeward side at all times.

Lanipo Windward

Approaching Lanipo summit and Windward ridge. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

True Lanipo

Socked in summit. What are we looking at?

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Scouting

Doesn’t look that bad. So far.

Lanipo Windward

Jose coming down the ridge.

Checking it out

Some pretty hairy sections further down. Warrants further scouting from the bottom of Aniani Nui Ridge that connects to the backside of Ahiki. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Looking back

Side view of Lanipo Windward Ridge. Steep and sketchy. I know other hikers have scouted it from top and bottom and decided it was too dangerous to complete. Something to chew on.

Cloudy ridge

Going down to the cluster of HECO power lines.

That’s my name

Little known fact is that Ryan works for HECO.

HECO power lines

Imagine working up here. Must be nice to get choppered into work, instead of taking the bus.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Almost to the last summit

Ryan and Jose making their way up the last hump.

Wiliwilinui

Another socked in summit. Typical day on the Ko’olaus.

Communications relay site

Headed down the Wiliwilinui trail.

Steps

Familiar trail footing, slats buried into the hillsides to retard erosion.

Looking back at the Ko’olaus

Looking at the path we had traveled from Kainawa’aunui to Wiliwilinui on the Ko’olau Mountains.

Swingers

Made use of a popular swing at the bottom of the stepped trail. Look under the seat to find clues to other swings.

Easy trail

The rest of the trail down was a dirt road. Wide open. Nice change of pace.

Connector trail?

We passed the connector trail that descends down into Wailupe Valley. Another hike for another day.

One last view

The trail afforded us one last view of East Oahu ranging all the way to Koko Crater.

Hike pau?

Headed towards the trailhead gate.

Not yet

Going up an access trail which leads to several WW2 bunkers and gun turret emplacements formerly known as Battery Wilridge (Kirkpatrick) that were built in 1942.

Bunker #1

Thessa sliding down to the first bunker.

Exploring

This bunker could have been the control station. The holes seen in the recessed area were possibly data and power lines for a naval computer. Computer in 1942?

Bunker #2

The second bunker was much larger and possibly had a powder room that contained the magazine/conveyor belt that fed the shells to the guns.

Camouflage

We followed the powder room where it lead to this barbette, which once housed an 8″ gun turret that was removed from the carrier USS Lexington.

Looking down

This was one of two 8″ gun batteries. We could not locate the other. There are numerous tunnels that connect to other bunkers on this ridge, but most of them have been walled off by private owners that own some of them.

Rich mans bunker

One of the bunkers sitting next to somebody’s house that was converted into their private man cave. Tours? Release the hounds Mr. Smithers.

GPS Tracks

Our hike clocked in at 6.44 miles. Got to explore two new trails and scouted out a potential third one with a great group. Post hike meal at Big City Diner. Love Uncle Ray’s Poke.

Only had time for a quick hike today. Mokoli’i Island or Chinaman’s Hat as it is more commonly known fit the bill.

Getting ready

I met Jasmin at Kualoa Regional Park, which was crowded with weekend campers. We managed to launch the kayak in the water without flipping ourselves in the process. Always an accomplishment in my book.

Prepare to land

The waters were a little choppy and the current kept us making corrections to make sure we landed on the island. As we got closer, we could see several kayaks already on the beach and people on top of the island.

Pu’u Kanehoalani

Roughly 15 minutes later, we found ourselves on Chinaman’s Hat. Looking out towards the impressive Pu’u Kanehoalani which sits on Kualoa Ranch.

Panoramic view from the top

It was a quick 10-15 minute walk to the top. From the 210′ elevation, we could see the Ko’olau Mountain Range, Pu’u Ohulehule and Pu’u Kanehoalani. Quite a treat. Click here for the larger image.

Swimmers

We saw swimmers, SUP and more kayaks approaching the island. Guess this place gets a lot of traffic. The island is owned by the City & County and is open from dawn to dusk.

Cove

Looking down at the small cove on the northern side of the island.

Rain shower

The swimmers came ashore on the island just in time to catch a rain shower moving in from the ocean.

Mauka view

Looking towards the mountains.

Makai view

Looking towards the ocean.

Looking towards Kaneohe

Climbed down to get a better view of the island. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Looking back towards Kualoa

A different view of the island.

Rock climbing

Small kine rock climbing on the Kaneohe ocean side of the island. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Kayaking away

Leaving Chinaman’s Hat. It was fun.

GPS Tracks

Round trip mileage including kayaking and exploring the island was a whopping one mile. Short and sweet. Almost makes me want to buy a kayak. Next island to visit: Gilligan’s Island!

Ever since I met Ted and his crew coming up from Piliwale ridge to Lulumahu Falls when we were coming down that same ridge, I have always wanted to follow in his footsteps so to speak. But having no knowledge of the route down to the falls, that hike was shelved for awhile. Today Ted was nice enough to lead ten of us up the ridge and to the falls.

Ted briefing us on the hike

We all met at the Pali Hunter’s check-in, left a couple cars there and carpooled to Maunawili where we parked on Lopaka Place. Going this way is a more direct route than starting from the Pali Lookout.

Sunrise breaking over Olomana

Walking up the slightly graded trail and catching the sun break over Olomana and Maunawili was a nice way to start the morning.

Piliwale Ridge trailhead

Half an hour later, we found ourselves at the start of the trailhead going up Piliwale Ridge. Now the real cardio workout began, well at least for me it did.

Waiting our turn to go up past the notch

When we got to the notch in the ridge, Ted decided to break us into two groups of five each. This was for safety reasons as this is the part where the ridge got steeper, crumbly and prone to loose rocks being dislodged by people climbing on them. Luckily, this section is heavily roped which comes in mighty handy when you’re searching for some kind of handhold to pull yourself up.

Watching and waiting

Glenn, Jay, Matt, LyZel and myself waiting on the notch. Photo by Jim McKown.

Admiring the intermittent view

Having been down this ridge before, I can say it was much easier going up. I’d rather climb up a steep ridge, than come down it and fight gravity.

Looking back towards Maunawili

This was one of our last clear views we got before the clouds swallowed us up, as we climbed higher towards the summit of Konahuanui or K1.

I’ve got you!

Jason illustrated how the vegetation can sometimes mask the narrowness of the ridge, as he slipped and was hanging on the edge when LyZel came from behind and pulled him up to safety. Another good reason not to hike solo and not to be spaced too far apart, in case assistance is needed. Photo by Jim McKown.

Socked in at the top of K1

The highest point on the Koolau mountains was totally socked in, affording us zero views. Top row left to right: myself, Ted, Matt, Glenn, Jim, Will and Jason. Bottom row left to right: LyZel, Tom and Jay.

Slippery slope down

Going down from K1 was literally by the seat of my pants, due to to the steepness, wetness and mud lubricated trail.

Breaking views

As the steepness gradually leveled to a walkable grade, we started making our way down below the clouds.

Panoramic town view

Click here for the larger image.

Nuuanu Reservoir

Eventually we went down the side of the ridge towards the reservoir. As we got lower, it became a jumbled maze of pig and eroded trails. It seemed that somebody had removed the prior ribbons that clearly marked the trail. Without the ribbons and an experienced guide, one could find themselves bushwhacking for quite a spell. Jay put up a bunch of pink ribbons to mark the key junctions on the trail, hopefully nobody will remove them for future hikers.

Lulumahu Falls

Once we got down to the bottom, we followed the rock strewn stream up to Lulumahu Falls. These falls are fed from the top of K1 and cascade all the way down into Nuuanu Valley.

K1 still capped in clouds

After taking a short break at the falls, we followed the stream out into a clearing that surrounds the Nuuanu reservoir. There is a cleared trail through the bamboo forest that leads back to the hunter check-in station on the Pali.  

GPS Tracks

The 4.5 mile hike took us about 6.5 hours to complete. But the day was not yet done! I had always wanted to check out the summer palace ruins of King Kamehameha III.

Tree tunnel

We drove to Nuuanu Pali Road and parked on the side along with a bunch of other cars that were already there. Walking down the road, we found the trail that lead us into a bamboo forest.

Summer Palace Ruins

A short 5 minutes later, we were standing among the ruins of Kaniakapupu, which was King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace.

Kaniakapupu

According to the informational plaque, it was built in 1845 and was host to a number of celebrations involving locals and foreign guests.

King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace

Walking around the ruins, one can feel the “history” of the place.

Singing of the Land Shell

Kaniakapupu means “Singing of the Land Shell” and was a place of rest and refuge for King Kamehameha III. Apparently it soon fell into neglect, as an 1874 map pegged the summer palace as an “old ruin.” We didn’t have time as we were hungry for lunch, but Luakaha Falls is a short hike away from the ruins. Another hike for another day.

What was supposed to have been a crisp hike from Pali Notches to Manoa Middle turned into an abbreviated hike due to lack of time. We decided to just do the Pali Notches and check out the Old Pali Highway.

True Pali Lookout

After scrambling up the steep slope through the forest and hau trees, we quickly gained elevation and saw a great view of the Windward side and the Koolau mountains.

First Notch

We made short work of the first notch as it’s relatively easy to climb down and out going to the second notch.

Second Notch

We got to the second notch and discovered that the rope we had used the last time was now gone. My friend went down first basically going from left to right. I decided it would be easier and safer climbing down without my backpack, so I threw it down to him and missed and it hit the ground and bounced off the mountain, where it joined my friend’s cap that he lost the last time we did this hike. Oh well, better the backpack than me.

The Chimney

I climbed up the bump in the ridge right before the Chimney to get a better perspective of what we had to climb the next time we tackled this hike. The wind was howling and the tops of the mountain was covered in clouds, giving a surreal appearance to the whole thing. Not wanting to press our luck and running out of time, we turned around and climbed back down towards the Pali Lookout.

Old Pali Highway

From the Pali Lookout, we turned right to head down the Old Pali Highway. We followed the heavily overgrown road that hugged the sides of the mountain all the way down to the current Pali Highway and turned around. As we were walking back towards our car, we ran into Masi Oka, the actor from Heroes and Hawaii Five-O. Since today was such a short hike, we ended up having breakfast at Andy’s Sandwiches & Smoothies in Manoa, quite the tasty place.

Having hiked Haiku Stairs from the Windward side before the sun has even cracked the day due to access issues, I have found there is another way to get to the top of Haiku Stairs, without skulking around in the dark! That being said, I picked up my friend in Kaneohe and drove into Moanalua Valley and parked at the end of Ala Aolani Street which is right before the park. We climbed over the fence and came across some hunters who were opening the second gate to the trail. They asked us if we were hiking to Haiku Stairs and gave us a couple of pointers and we started out on the old Damon Estate road now known as the Kamananui valley road that took us an hour to reach the Kulana’ahane trailhead.

Middle ridge

We walked about 30 feet past the trailhead markers and crossed the river bed and started working our way up the ridge. If you cross the stream at the trailhead markers, that will take you to the Moanalua Saddle which also leads to Haiku Stairs, but I understand it’s intense okole busting.

Moanalua Valley

Here we are looking back into Moanalua valley with the ridge splitting the valley into two. We also caught glimpses of the Windward side over the Koolau mountains.

Clouds rolling in

Pushing up the ridge, the clouds started to roll in and the wind started to pick up, Mother Nature’s air conditioner was cranking full blast.

Where's the ridge?

At this point in the hike, the clouds and the wind made it a real challenge to walk on the ridge. Luckily, heavy mud glued our feet to the ground as we trudged along the heavily vegetated trail.

Pu'u Keahiakahoe

We came upon the geodetic marker for Pu’u Keahiakahoe at an elevation of 2,820 feet after hiking for about three hours. We had zero visibility thanks to the clouds that had enveloped us at the peak. But we knew the CCL building had to be close by, so we branched off to the right from the sign, hoping the clouds would clear up soon.

CCL building

After hiking for about 10 minutes, our hiking prayers were answered and the clouds cleared up to reveal the CCL building.

Kaneohe

We carefully made our way along the ridge towards the CCL building, with steep drop off views of H3 and Likelike highway snaking through Kaneohe.

H3 freeway

From the CCL building, we saw the H3 freeway disappear into the cloud capped Koolau mountains. To the left, is the ridge that comes up from the Moanalua Saddle, another trail for another day.

Mokoli'i Island

From this direction, we could see all the way up to Kualoa Ranch and Mokoli’i Island sitting offshore, or more commonly known as Chinaman’s Hat.

Haiku Stairs

Looking down at all 3,922 of Haiku Stairs. One thing that was strikingly missing from this hike was the absence of other hikers. We had not run across another soul from the start of Moanalua valley to the top of Haiku Stairs. Where did they all go?

Olomana

Coming down the stairs, we saw the Mokulua Islands, Olomana and Waokele Pond before the clouds started spilling over the Koolau mountains and splattering us with a light rain.

Hoist house

We stopped to take a breather at the graffiti covered hoist house. Hmm, A-frame, pulley, could a zip line be in the works one day?

Going down

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, the guard asked us if we saw a dog up there. On the stairs? He said hunters were looking for their missing dog. Then he casually threw in that he had called the cops about 15 minutes ago when he saw us coming down the stairs. He said there were some recent injuries, so they were really cracking down. That explains the lack of hikers. We beat a hasty retreat, found out that the hole in the fence that we had used months ago was now fixed up, so we had to scale the fence and walked back to my friend’s house in Haiku Gardens, where he drove me back to Moanalua Valley.