Taking advantage of the three-day weekend, I did another more inclusive exploratory hikes. The more the merrier. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Manoa

Met up with everybody in the back of the vast valley, some chose the paid parking and others chose the public parking. Group photo left to right: Aida, Lilyn, Tessa, Ani, myself, Barry, Quan, Dale, Donna, Marilyn, Edgar, Cat, Narissa and Art.

Paradise Park

We had to detour around perceived homeless voices before entering the now shuttered bird zoo that closed back in 1994. Photo by Art Young.

Paradise Park

Strolling through the mud trail under the canopied tunnel that looped around the decaying park. Photo by Art Young.

Paradise Park

Apparently not all of the birds left the park. Some chose to stay for the free handouts and fallen fruit. Photo by Marilyn Bermudez.

Paradise Park

Ducking underneath the sagging parts of the tunnel.

Paradise Park

Striking or passing resemblance?

Paradise Park

We found a lot of fallen mountain apples and ripening red bananas on the path.

Paradise Park

Walking through just a tiny part of the sprawling 76 acre lot. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

Paradise Park

Poking around the abandoned buildings that have fallen to the same fate as others of their kind – graffitied. The TV show “Lost” also used this location to film some of their episodes.

Paradise Park

Going through the interrupted tunnel section. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Paradise Park

Taking our seats for the next Hawaii Stars show. Bring back the bird on the bicycle.

Paradise Park

It was good that we took a collective photo, rather than individual shots. Otherwise, we would have been here all day until closing time. Photo by Art Young.

Paradise Park

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Paradise Park

Birds of a feather flock together or is that monkey see, monkey do?

Paradise Park

Tessa looking for fresh cut flowers. Cheaper than the swap meet. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Paradise Park

Marilyn caught the bouquet of the bird of paradise that left 10 other individuals sorely disappointed.

Paradise Park

Everybody chose a slightly different exit point to get back to our cars.

Manoa

Some of the group went to wash their spikes and then plucked some low hanging avocados. We then all piled into our cars to make the long drive towards the West side, with the exception of Barry who returned home. Photo by Dale Yoshizu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NwzWXYEU1w

Video by Edgar Gamiao.

Keawa’ula Beach

We drove to the westernmost tip on the island for our next exploration. Photo by Art Young.

Heart Cave

Looking at the anatomically incorrect shape of the cave with the lava tubes pumping salt water in and out. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Heart Cave

I crawled into one of the inner caves to try and stick my head out into the big cave to get captured by the drone. No such luck. I would have ended up in the churning waters and battered by the barnacle encrusted rocks. I’m sure that would have been a source of amusement for the others, but not myself.

Heart Cave

Different … Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

… perspectives … Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

… of the pumping cave. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

Cat standing on the arch. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

Some of us climbed down into the outer caves. Photo by Ani Lagpacan.

Heart Cave

Edgar flashed us a shaka from the top where he was … Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

… safe from the rushing waters that completely soaked the lower half of my body.

Heart Cave

Peering up towards the irregularly shaped hole. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

Looking out towards the ocean. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Heart Cave

When the photo shoot is interrupted by the incoming waves. Photo by Marilyn Bermudez.

Heart Cave

Can you see the heart for the people?

Pohaku Kula‘ila‘i

We parked in the sandy lot and walked past the gate to see the stone where locals and tourists alike jump off into the water. A smaller version of Waimea.

Makua Beach

Group photo at the spot where the TV show “Lost” built Jacob’s statue for one of their episodes “The Incident.”

Makua Beach

Checking out the cave, inside and outside.

Pray for Sets

Looking out towards the rock where the weathered words “Pray for Sex” can supposedly still be made out. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Makua Beach

Is somebody going to help me get out? Thanks Dale! I mean, Donna.

Makua Beach

Dale, Donna and Quan basking in nature’s infinity tidepool before we left the beach, prayers unanswered.

Kea’au Beach

We bumped our way to the next beach park down the coastline. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Kea’au Beach

The product of erosion. Mother Nature’s work.

Kea’au Beach

High view.

Kea’au Beach

Low view.

Kea’au Beach

Goodbye view. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Kea’au Beach

When the big kid takes over the little kids water slide. We left the park to see turtles on a different street, but they were absent today, so we had a satisfying lunch at Coquito’s before heading to our last stop for the day.

Maili Beach

Is this the arch? No. It’s past the homeless camps, open pit toilets and stray dogs. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maili Beach

When you reach a certain age, afternoon naps are crucial to doing any activity, strenuous or otherwise. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maili Beach

Dale on top and Ani on bottom. The arch.

Maili Beach

As somebody pointed out, sequencing is everything.

Maili Beach

Marilyn warming up. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maili Beach

Quan cooling off. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maili Beach

Our last group photo for the day.

Maili Beach

We ended our day at Magnolia in Waipahu to all have some refreshing halo-halo’s. Many thanks to Dale, Edgar, Narissa and Quan for shuttling the group around the island and everybody for the fun times. Until the next adventure! Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8A4m0PEvjA

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our hike.

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.

I had always wanted to do a loop involving Waikeakua Falls, so Glenn and I tagged along with the Oahu Hiker’s group that was doing such a hike. Well, half of the hike.

Bridge #1

We met up with the group deep in Manoa Valley to start our hike.

Bridge #2

The trail is also known as the Seven Bridges Road.

Manoa forest

Walking under canopy. The road soon split, where we took the left fork to stay on trail.

Bridge #3

Toby was waiting at the third bridge, as he had started earlier in the day to take pictures.

Bridge #4

There are stories that this trail is haunted by a banshee. Nothing heard. Keep moving.

Waiakeakua stream

Waiakeakua means water of the gods in Hawaiian.

Abandoned car

One of two cars slowly being swallowed by the forest. Maybe they ran out of gas?

Bamboo forest

The group making their way through the bamboo forest.

You guys coming?

The trail started to disappear amidst the heavy foliage and fallen trees, but we kept to the right and eventually made our way up a flight of cement stairs.

Queen’s bath

We soon came across this pool of water fed by a small waterfall known as Queen’s Bath. A couple of us partially climbed on the overhead pipe. We then picked up the trail again on the right of the stream at the top.

Bridge #5

This was the last bridge seen or counted. What happened to the other two?

Landslide

The group taking a break at a recent landslide.

Waterfall #1

Khym making his way up the first waterfall. Didn’t even get his feet wet.

Waterfall #2

Time to take the plunge. The water was over waist high and icy cold. Most of the group took the trail on the left to stay dry. Photo by Richardson Mike

Slippery rope

Glenn climbing up. Karen soon followed and gave everybody a scare when she lost her footing and was dangling from the rope. She eventually regained her footing and made her way up.

Waterfall #3

The tallest of the waterfalls at roughly 60′. Photo by Chris Hiona.

Up we go

Climbing up the waterfall with the help of several ropes that were anchored to the trees. Photo by Naomi Bruneau.

Made it!

Glenn making it to the top.

Looking down

We left the group behind as they stayed at the base of the waterfall and eventually turned around. Our group grew by one, as Khym decided to join us as we continued towards the Koolau Summit.

Leaving the streambed

We followed a faint trail to the right to make our way up the ridge. Going left will take you to Manoa Middle Ridge.

Uluhe trail

Fighting the uluhe to gain the summit.

Looking back

View of Manoa Valley. It was a nice clear day.

On the KSRT

Group photo at the top, left to right: Glenn, myself and Khym.

Windward view

Looking out towards Olomana. It was a super nice clear day.

Follow the slippers

We soon turned right and followed the spine of the Koolaus.

Mount Olympus

The summit of Mount Olympus or Awaawaloa was unusually cloud free, it’s actually the second peak in the picture.

Going up and down

We didn’t actually summit Olympus as we followed the KSRT and connected to the Waahila Ridge Trail.

Dirt slalom

Glenn doing a controlled slide down the dirt trail, while Khym took the middle rut down.

Kolowalu junction

We took the Kolowalu trail to loop back down into Manoa Valley.

Fallen tree

When a tree falls in the forest, you sit and stand on it.

Kolowalu trail

The trail eventually connected to the Puu Pia trail which was the way out.

Splash of color

Red ginger flower?

Walking out

We soon walked out onto Alani Drive where Glenn had staged his truck.

GPS Tracks

The loop that took us through rainforest, waterfalls and mountains covered 4.31 miles with good company all the way. Post hike meal was at Peppa’s Korean BBQ. Courtesy of Glenn. Never bet on hiking time!

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.