This weekend was forecasted to be another chilly one with breezy conditions. Perfect weather to hike to the “nipple” peak out in Hauula. Quan agreed to show us most of the way. Key word on most.

Trailhead

Mahalo to Janell for carpooling Cisco, Dale, Quan and myself to the limited parking trailhead. Look closely at Dale’s Solemates cap that he’s holding in his hand. He will soon be donating it to the mountains. Involuntarily.

Pow! Wow!

You don’t have to travel to Kakaako to experience creativity on a wall.

Dry as a bone

Crossing over the assorted rocks.

Switchbacks

Zig zagging our way up the relatively dry trail.

Snoopy rock

I’ll be back. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Bouldering

Walk quickly and don’t look up.

Mickey Mouse

I don’t see the resemblance. Maybe it’s because I’m color blind.

Off-trail

This must be where we go off the beaten path.

Pink ribbons

Hugging the cliff as we followed the pink ribbons scattered like bread crumbs on a trail, until they stopped.

Lost & Found

Let’s see, we are here and should be there. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Waterfall?

This was not the right waterfall, so we followed the stream bed down hoping to pick up the trail.

Bushwhacking

We decided to go up something that faintly resembled a trail and ended up chewing leaves.

All clear

All smiles as the ten minutes paid off. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Contour trail

We left the nicely cleared trail in favor of traversing the ridge. We had enough of contouring and bushwhacking for one day.

Punaiki Ridge

Time to do some rock skipping as somebody called it. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Hauula

Looking back at the rural town of red trees. Must be the color blindness kicking in again.

Bendy

Which way does the wind blow? Take a wild guess. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Punaiki Ridge

Climbing rocks was infinitely preferable than battling the bruising overgrowth. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Punaiki Ridge

Knuckle walking under extremely gusty conditions.

Punaiki Ridge

Did I mention it was windy? Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Boto rock

Quan climbing down the side of boto rock. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Punaiki Ridge

Janell contouring her way around the boulder on a narrow ledge. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Boto rock

Is it a grower or a shower? Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Punaiki Ridge

Dale scrambling up one of many rocks on the ridge line. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Punaiki Ridge

Transitioning from quadrupedal to bipedal locomotion. Winds must be dying down. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Punaiki Ridge

Janell coming up the last rock climb.

Washout

Everybody taking a break from all the overgrowth and windy rock climbing.

Uluhe

Back to our regularly scheduled program of hiking.

The Nipple

We soon reached another junction and saw our destination in sight.

Old Trail

Faded and new ribbons blended together on the trail.

Hoof

I don’t think we want to meet the animal that made these prints. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Dry chute

Looking at what some speculate could be Waimanamana Falls? Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Pu’u Waiahilaahila

Panoramic view of the Hau’ula Forest Reserve. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Pu’u Waiahilaahila

Hmmm, what is that spur ridge behind Cisco? Another hike for another day.

Pinch me

The cookies have been activated and the polling has begun. Please vote for who you think did it best to ainokea@puinsai.xxx. The winner will be announced when it gets warmer.

Pu’u Waiahilaahila

Group photo at the 1,264′ summit, left to right: Janell, Cisco, Quan, Dale and myself. Somebody suggested that we pinch each other. I don’t think that would have gone down well with our spouses. On the other hand, Dale would have been pleased as punch.

Trail

The clouds slowly erased the views, so we took our leave of the summit.

The Nipple

Making our way back from the nipple. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Trail

Enjoying the relatively freshly cut trail. Thanks to whomever cleared a swath through the clingy uluhe ferns.

Junction

We followed the double ribboned branch as we went down the connector trail to get back to the loop trail.

Trail

Quan trying to beat the crap out of her cramps. I heard that works better than mustard.

Trail

It was all downhill from here. Slightly steep, but still downhill.

Trail

Making our way down the trail that was covered in loose and shifting rocks of assorted sizes. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Stream bed

Still looking for that waterfall. We picked up the ribbons and followed the trail out.

Ma’akua Loop Trail

Back on the State trail, where Cisco noticed another possible connector trail. Another hike for another day.

All pau

Finishing our titillating hike for the day. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

GPS Tracks

Our fun and windy hike covered 4.7 miles through ridges, valleys and summits. Shout out to Nandor and friends for reviving this old trail so that others can follow in their footsteps. Post hike meal at Waiahole Poi Factory where an extra side of poi is still not enough. Thanks to Janell for the meal, Quan for the semi-guided hike and everybody else for the good company.

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.