I started off the New Year with a trail I have never hiked in its entirety.

Trailhead

Thanks to Cinja and Kathleen for dropping Aida, Edgar, Lilyn, Marilyn, Quan, Roseann, Tessa and myself off at the hairpin turn off the Pali Highway.

Olinda relative

Sighting of a feral cat possibly mistaken for a black jaguar under shadowy circumstances. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing the junction to the Pali Lookout.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Determining the quality of the tank water.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The trail intermittently breaking out of the canopied forest with exposed views of the Ko’olau Mountains.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We heard disembodied voices floating from the top which we later found out belonged to two friends, Bill and Shirley.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The group may have been physically separated on the trail at times but was always connected through the loud carrying voices of certain individuals.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Roseann looking at the dry waterfall chutes. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Rounding the bend on the mostly wide trail. A marked departure from the trails that we usually hike. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Falls Connector

Another way to access the popular Maunawili Falls since the subdivision trailhead was shut down this past July for two years. We just decided to enjoy the views of Olomana. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Skydio

Follow me if you can. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing some questionable but colorful mushrooms on the trail.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Hiking through the large ferns that dotted the trail that used to be known as the Ko’olaupoko Trail. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Foot Locker

Somebody needed a longer shoe. Lost in translation.

Skydio

The drone propwash was providing the only breeze on the trail today.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Do not try this at home. Photo by Marilyn Bermudez.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Two falls for the price of one. Caught on camera. Priceless. For a certain schadenfreude person. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Making our way on the foothill hike pioneered by the legendary hiker, Richard Davis and completed by the Sierra Club. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

I swore the discharge volume increased after somebody sat on the rock.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Posing on unstable and rotten trees. The only excitement found on the trail today.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The rooting wall, a distant relative of the weeping wall. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Sitting on one of many downed trees on the trail. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Why are we doing this? For the director’s cut.

Maunawili Demo Trail

I’m glad we didn’t decide to practice our equestrian skills today. Group photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

To touch or not to touch? Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Expanding views of Maunawili Valley, Waimanalo, Ko’olau Mountains and Manana Island. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

All flower and no fruit.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing another junction on our way down.

All pau

We met another fellow hiker, Bob Tyson at the exit to Waimanalo where Roseann also met her boyfriend’s cousin who gave her a ride back to the house, which helped to not increase our mileage for the day.

GPS Tracks

Our mostly flat hike that contoured the base of the Ko’olau Mountains came out to a little over nine miles with fun company. Post hike meal at Big City Diner where the photo taking service exceeded the food delivery service.

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Maunawili Demo Hike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNpnXR6Y-Sk

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.

Like a gullible fool, I believed the weather forecast for a stormy day and passed on the pass. What can I say? I went to public school.

808randomhikes

Aida, Art, Cathy, Cisco, Edgar, Lilyn, Quan, Sally, Tessa and myself met up on the Windward side to figure out how to fit 10 people into two cars, so that we could carpool around the island. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Maunawili

Our first stop was at the land of discarded shoes. Art diving into the sign as he takes the directions literally. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maunawili

When a tree falls in the forest … Photo by Art Young.

Maunawili

… it’s much easier to climb it horizontal than vertical. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Maunawili

Walking under the forest canopy. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili

Touring the abandoned Boyd estate built in 1869.

Maunawili

The home has seen better days since being left to rot back in 1985 and used by B-Listers to re-enact Halloween stories.

Maunawili

The graffiti has run rampant throughout the decaying structure.

Maunawili

Sometimes they come back.

Maunawili

Will the real Queen please take a bath.

Maunawili

Weight capacity has been reached. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili

See vine. Swing on vine. See vine snap. See idiot fall down. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili

A colony of fairy inkcaps colonizing the neighborhood. Photo by Art Young.

Maunawili

On the way out, some of us had to answer the call of nature and attempt grade school calisthenics.

Waimanalo

Peeping into a slice of Middle Earth smack dab in the land of potable water. No open house for the hobbit house.

Waimanalo

Let’s see, 3.75 million divided by 10 comes out to empty your bank accounts and take a second job.

Laie

We drove to the land of the Mormons for our next exploration out on the spit of land that juts into the ocean. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Laie

Group photo with some of the five islands in the background that represent the remnants of the giant lizard that was slayed and chopped up by Kana in Hawaiian mythology.

Laie

Playing in the sharp and jagged rocks.

Laie

Deja vu. Lonely. I am Miss Lonely. I have nobody. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Laie

Trying to touch the ocean without getting wet or cut. We left the parking lot where somebody combined a compliment with laziness.

Kahuku

Missed opportunities for some. Lunch time for everybody.

Kahuku

Somebody was so hungry that a dozen garlic smothered shrimp was not enough and had to order another garlic drenched hot dog to top it off.

Waiale’e

We continued our circle island drive and stopped short of Sunset Beach to explore another abandoned building. How many hikers have disappeared here since 1916? Photo by Aida Gordon.

Waiale’e

Walking around the paint splashed ruins.

Waiale’e

Lilyn and Quan playing the instrumentals to their favorite song, “Hold on tight to your dreams.” Photo by Sally Chow.

Waiale’e

Climbing up the tree to see where the noise was coming from. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Waiale’e

The noise was coming from kids playing around in a custom built concrete skate park. Pretty cool.

Waiale’e

When one has a lot of energy, one expends it by climbing up the walls.

Waiale’e

A driver’s worst nightmare. Having a backseat driver and a slow driver in front of them. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiale’e

Quan climbing the twisted base to go out on a limb.

Waiale’e

Tree squatters.

Waiale’e

When you try to go fishing with a leaky bucket. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiale’e

Somebody was trying to goad me into going further out on a limb. Just hoping for a splash. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Waiale’e

Testing out the seaworthiness before taking our leave of the area. Photo by Sally Chow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGN9n9hISDw

Video by Edgar Gamiao.

Haleiwa

We got treated to free ice cream courtesy of Aida in the bustling art and surf town. Mahalo!

Pearl City

Getting lost in the Mad Max world of abandoned cars and boats and C&C workers cutting grass with equipment that doesn’t work.

Pearl City

We soon found our bearings and got back on the right track. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Pearl City

A bridge too far.

Pearl City

Entering the walled compound of abandoned buildings and stripped cars.

Pearl City

Checking out the first building in the sprawl that used to be a waste water treatment plant.

Pearl City

The rest of the group catching up to us. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Pearl City

Checking out the used car lot.

Pearl City

Edgar climbing up the steps to the second floor.

Pearl City

Looking down into the first floor.

Pearl City

Shitty reflecting pool. Photo by Art Young.

Pearl City

Checking out topside.

Pearl City

Sally going back down. Photo by Art Young.

Pearl City

We kept ourselves easily amused with what we had on hand.

Pearl City

Checking out one of the tanks.

Pearl City

Art dancing through the bushes. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Pearl City

We made our own AAA to get Lilyn’s car out of the muddy rut. It was either that or catch the bus. I didn’t have exact change.

Pearl City

Inside and outside riding through the muddy waters.

https://youtu.be/AOOGWnTKHOQ

Video by Edgar Gamiao.

Pali

Waiting for the #60 bus to take us to our last place on the list. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Pali

Entering the Indian murals ruins. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Pali

Life imitating art.

Pali

Our last group photo of the day left to right: Edgar, Art, Lilyn, Cathy, Aida, myself, Tessa, Sally, Cisco and Quan.

All pau

Siri, where am I? Hello? Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRif6fP5d0s

Video by Edgar Gamiao.

That concluded our scheduled program of exploring abandoned places and eating all day. Fun times with good friends. Special thanks to Edgar and Lilyn for being our tour drivers all day.

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 decided to stay at sea level elevation this week and went waterfall exploring with Chris and Jasmin. My body was still recovering from last week’s extreme hike.

A well traveled trail

We found parking on Nuuanu Pali Drive and entered the opening in the bamboo forest.

Follow the source

Hopping over the water pipe, the upper falls gurgling with fresh water soon greeted us.

Cascading waterfall

Looking down from the top of the falls. Don’t stand too close!

Going down the hill

Chris picked up the trail to the left of the falls and we made our way down the mosquito infested hill.

Luakaha Falls

The grass surrounding the falls was nicely clipped as it’s supposed to be on private land.

GPS Tracks

The short walk to the falls was only .75 mile round trip. Not enough to make a day of it, we proceeded to the next stop – Likeke Falls.

Trailhead A or B?

Most people start from the Pali Lookout to get to Likeke Falls, Chris knew of a shorter way from the Ko’olau Golf Course. There was a large sign saying no parking for hikers until after 11:30am. Hmmm, I guess that meant us? Luckily Jasmin was able to squeeze her car into the last “open” space in front of the Old Pali Road gate.

Old Pali Road

We walked up the Old Pali Road, passing the golf course’s shop and soon made a right into the forest where Chris and Jasmin are standing. This took us to the top of the golf course’s parking lot where the trailhead starts. Security was there to thwart any hikers that chose to ignore the sign that was posted at the bottom.

Can you see the puka?

A graffitied water tank blocked further progress on the trail, the junction is actually to the left just before the tank. Can you spot Pali Puka?

Big Tree Junction

We picked up the Old Pali Road again, slowly being reclaimed by Mother Nature, and took a right at where Chris is peeking out from.

Calathea lancifolia

Yellow and red rattlesnake plants lined the trail.

Likeke Falls

More mosquitoes greeted our arrival, fresh meat! These falls seemed to have become very popular recently, with more locals and tourists flooding the area. Today, we had the place all to ourselves.

Obligatory group shot

My camera has a 30 second timer, which comes in handy when scrambling up wet, mossy rocks.

Town view

Looking out towards town, one can actually follow the stream all the way back out to civilization.

Costus spicatus

Checking out the Indian Head plants on the way back out.

Walk down memory lane

Hard to imagine, that this used to be the main artery for folks to get to and from the Windward side.

GPS Tracks

The 1.45 mile hike led us to the second and last waterfall of the day.

Pali Puka is a short and sweet hike that starts from the Pali Lookout and takes less than half an hour to reach the Puka. I didn’t even know about this hike until I found it on the Internet, gotta love the Internet!

Pali Lookout

We left our car in the parking lot which is free for kamaainas and military personnel, and I still don’t know how they distinguish between tourists and locals. It’s not like they give you a sign to put on your dashboard that says “I’m Local!” We walked towards the tour bus parking lot on the left side, where there is a break in the wall, which is the trailhead. The peak sticking up from the ridge is where we were headed to see the Puka.

Windward Oahu

From the breached wall, we walked into the bamboo grove and started making our way up the ridge. In less than five minutes, we had this fantastic view of Windward Oahu.

The Peak

Another 15 minutes later, we were at the peak. If we were to contour around this peak, I head there is a trail that goes to Lanihuli, but that is for another day.

Nu'uanu Valley

There is also a great view of Nu’uanu Valley and the city, that beats the view from the lookout anyday.

Pali Puka

I was thinking of climbing into the hole as we did at the Makapu’u Puka, but thought better of it, as the wind was really cranking that day.

Pali Notches

Climbing back down towards the parking lot, we could see the next hike that lay ahead of us. The Pali Notches, which are the two notches that are on the ridge above the lookout. I have heard stories that the Pali Notches are “crazy to climb” and “dangerous.” We were about to find out ourselves firsthand if the Pali Notches lived up to that billing.

Pali Highway

The trailhead to Pali Notches is on the right side, before the wheelchair ramp going to the Pali Lookout. We found that out when we were coming down, as we had started from the parking lot side. Going up the ridge, we came out into an open area, where the wind had it’s way with us. We stood as close to the edge as possible and played “kite” with the wind.

First Notch

We got to the first notch in about 30 minutes, which we climbed up and down without breaking a sweat, as the gusting winds took care of that. Now we were going to find out if the second notch lived up to its reputation.

Second Notch

The climb down the second notch was made easier with a rope that somebody had left behind. We found the best hand holds and footing was coming down the left hand side. Depending on your climbing skill, I believe this can and has been done without ropes. My friend lost his cap to the wind when he was coming down, I convinced him it was in his best interests not to retrieve it due to the steepness and the high winds. The second notch was hard but doable, not as dangerous or crazy as we were led to believe. These notches were actually cut into the mountain ridge to be used as gunports in the Battle of Nu’uanu in 1795, when King Kamehameha conquered the island of Oahu. I can’t imagine how these guys hauled heavy cannons up to these ridge notches. I guess that’s why they were warriors and we’re just hikers.

Another view of Windward Oahu

After we climbed the second notch, we continued on the ridge while enjoying the fantastic views of the windward side and trying not to get blown off the ridge.

The Chimney

My friend didn’t want to go any further past the rock and ontowards the Chimney as the wind was really blowing. So we turned around and went back to the Pali Lookout. Climbing up the second notch seemed easier than climbing down, as you can see clearly where you need to go whereas climbing down, you are not exactly sure where to place your hand or foot.

Pali Lookout

The Pali Notches took us about two hours to complete. I would recommend to hike this trail only when the winds are not blowing that hard. But then again, this is the Pali, which is known for it’s strong winds.