Picking up from where I left off a couple weeks ago. Aida joined me today to help finish off the Southern section of the KST. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trailhead

Thanks to Quan for dropping us off deep in Palolo Valley.

Ka’au Crater Trail

We scrambled down the boulders, followed the streambed and then the water pipe as we made our way on the trail. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Aida walking in between the new and old water pipes.

Trail sprinkler

All wet already. And we didn’t even get to the first waterfall yet. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Water on tap.

Waterfall #1

Aida had the first waterfall all to herself before approaching hikers descended down to the base. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Climbing our way up to the left to get to the top.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Looking down at the first waterfall.

Waterfall #2

Aida at the second waterfall with the other group right behind us. This place is a popular watering hole.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Climbing up to the right and contouring above the second waterfall.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Looking down at the group taking their pictures. Not getting too close, as a woman slid off the top four years ago and luckily survived her fall to the bottom. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Waterfall #3

Aida going up the multi-tiered waterfall that had somewhat decent flow.

Waterfall #3

Making my way up the slippery rocks. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

We left the waterfalls and started counter-clockwise on the crater rim to the top. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Aida climbing up through the heavily rutted trail.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Looking down into the marshy caldera that was created when the demigod Maui’s giant hook landed in the valley resulting in the crater we see today. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

I decided to do a thing at the top. I proposed to myself. I said yes. Bill and Shirley have nothing on me. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Ka’au Crater Trail

We trailed behind a group as we followed the trail around the crater.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Group photo, left to right: Aida and myself.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Took a photo with the group (Bree, Brit, myself and Kim) that we were following since Aida instigated the picture. Found out that Kim used to hike with the KOMPT (Kronic Oahu Mixed Plate Trekkers). Small world.

Mount Olympus

Looking ahead to the 2,486′ peak that was our next stop. Too bad there isn’t a Zippy’s outlet up there.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Crossing over between the summits. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KSRT

Aida climbing up the steep hill towards the summit of Awaawaloa.

KSRT

Olomana in the background as I climbed my way up to Olympus. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Wa’ahila Trail

Aida going down the rutted trail with the cloud soaked ridge line in the distance.

KSRT

Ducking underneath the rainbow. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Manoa Middle Summit

Sitting underneath the rainbow.

Manoa Middle Trail

Descending down into the thick and vast valley that is Manoa.

Manoa Middle Trail

Climbing down the near vertical section before dropping down to the valley floor. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Queen’s Bath

Washing off the accumulated mud from our hike. Giving back. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Aida going up the muddy hillside where we met other two legged and four legged hikers coming down.

Pu’u Pia Trail

Going down the trail knotted with roots and padded with rocks. Photo by Aida Gordon.

All pau

We finished our fun little hike with daylight to spare. Quan met up with us for lunch at Serge’s. We ate in the shadow of Safeway.

GPS Tracks

Our crater to valley hike covered 5.8 miles through muddy and scenic views. Thanks to Aida for joining me on today’s 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.

Our last hike of the year started off at one of three tuff cones on the island, as it was a mighty tuff hike ahead of us. Not really.

Trailhead

Mahalo to Ferlino for dropping Analyn, Eric, Matt and myself off at the end of the darkened residential street.

Ka’au Crater Trail

We dropped down to Wai’oma’o stream and picked up the pipe to continue on the trail. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

H20

It’s always important to hydrate oneself during a hike.

Waterfalls #1

Eric and Matt decided to drop in on the first waterfall while Analyn and myself waited topside. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Climbing and contouring to the left of the first waterfalls.

Waterfalls #2

Analyn sitting pretty at the base of the falls. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Waterfalls #2

Matt standing pretty at the base of the falls.

Waterfalls #3

Beginning our climb as we switched from left to …

Waterfalls #3

… right as we climbed the remaining five waterfalls to the crater trail. Matt attempted to find another way up to the trail that bypassed the waterfalls, failing that, he rejoined us on the way up to the trail.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Leaving the waterfalls behind us, as we gained the trail with the marsh filled crater that feeds the aquifer and waterfalls in the background.

Ka’au Crater Trail

Eric pulling himself up the deeply rutted and eroded trail that has seen better days. We soon gained the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail with whiteout and windy conditions. Another wonderful day in the mountains.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

The group charging up the big hill with the wind in their faces.

Kainawa’au Summit

Group photo at the 2,520′ peak, left to right: Matt, Eric, myself and Analyn.

Lanipo Summit

We traversed two humps to make it to the 2,621′ summit.

Lanipo Windward

The trail to the steep Windward ridge that was descended by HTMC hiker Dick Davis back in 1944.

KSRT

We soon approached the power lines, which signaled that we were closing in on the summit of Wiliwilinui.

Wiliwilinui Summit

I don’t always drink Coke, but when I do, I prefer it with the bottle cap on.

KSRT

Analyn looking heroic or happy, take your pick, going down the ridge.

KSRT

Pushing our way through the dense uluhe fern foliage, a constant but necessary nuisance in the mountains.

Hawaii Loa Summit

Group photo at the 2,520′ knob.

KSRT

Back on the roller coaster ridge.

Pu’u O Kona Summit

The views finally started to open up as we summited the 2,200′ flat topped hill.

KSRT

Panoramic view of the Windward coastline. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

KSRT

One of the most photographed spots that emphasizes the fluted cliffs of the Ko’olau Mountains. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

KSRT

Matt making his way up the eroded section of the ridge.

KSRT

Sliding our way down the loosely packed dirt. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

KSRT

Eric and Matt making their way down.

KSRT

Looking down at the spine of the Ko’olau Mountains.

KSRT

Eric and Matt approaching the eroded summit.

Kuli’ou’ou Summit

Time to get off the chilly 2,028′ hill and head down for warmer parts. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Kuli’ou’ou Ridge Trail

Making our way down the strangely deserted trail, where a couple more photo shoots were in order before the hike was over.

All pau

Our end of the year winter hike covered 7.7 miles through waterfalls, ridges and valleys. Last post hike meal of the year at Outback Steakhouse. When a cup of their clam chowder won’t do, only a bowl will satisfy my cravings.

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.

Met up with Alex, Gary and Gen deep in Palolo Valley to loop a hidden crater nestled against the Ko’olau Range. Early hikers gets the limited parking spaces.

Trailhead

Going down the rabbit hole. Last time we took the wrong road and ran into two large dogs. Protective dogs. They are still around.

Going down

Making our way down the flagged trail.

Ginger Shampoo

Abundant awapuhi growing on the stream banks. Forget Paul Mitchell. Straight from the source.

Wai’oma’o stream

Morning yoga.

Water follows the arrow

We soon left the stream and followed the water pipe as it snaked through the lush forest.

Human picker

Catch! Alex tossing out mountain apples like they were free or something.

Landslide

The black pipe’s continuity was interrupted by white PVC piping, a testament to the power of Mother Nature.

Which one carries the water?

Crossing the new pipe to get over the old pipe.

Waterfall #1

We dropped down into the first waterfall.

Seeking the magic mushroom

Feed your head. Feed your head. Feed your head.

Going up

We climbed out of the waterfall and made our way up the rocky trail to the left.

Looking down

Water plunging down the 40′ fall.

Waterfall #2

Group photo left to right: Alex, myself, Gen and Gary.

Contour

We climbed the trail to the right and walked on tree branches to make our way up the cliff.

Memorial rock

Alex making his way around the bronze plaque dedicated to Heidi Marie Page.

Close to the edge

Water gushing over the 50′ fall and trickling down the valley stream.

Follow the stream

We followed the stream that lead us to…

Waterfall #3

…the longest and gradual of the waterfalls.

Kalo patch

Got poi?

Synchronized hiking

Gary and Gen crossing the waterfall.

Slippery when wet

Need rope? Maybe not.

End of the waterfalls

We soon crested the cascading falls and took the trail to the right to gain the ridge.

Ridgeline

Straight shot to the Ko’olaus.

Steep climb

The trail became steeper, muddier and sparsely vegetated as we neared the top.

Ko’olau Range

Looking towards Mount Olympus and points beyond.

Ka’au crater

The marsh filled crater that constantly feeds the waterfalls. One day I would like to paddle a small boat in there.

Cloudy Olomana

Checked out a couple windward ridges for future hikes.

2,395′ summit of Palikea

Afternoon siesta and yoga at the top.

KSRT

Traversing the Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail.

Another view

Peeking into the crater and the sprawling city of Honolulu beyond.

On the edge

Soaking in the cloudy views.

Zip line

If you build it, they will come. In droves.

Ridge hike

Hiking in the clouds towards the second power lines. Always a surreal experience.

Going down

Gary and Gen making their way down the ridgeline.

Connecting powerline

The trail soon leveled out. Easy peasy.

Barefoot hiking

Alex shed his shoes due to festering blisters as we took the ridge down that bypassed the waterfalls.

Rope vs branch

Whatever it takes to make your way down.

Pipe going down

The ridge dropped us back down into the stream trail.

Follow the arrow

Signs and ribbons sprinkled the trail like bread crumbs.

All pau

We came out of the canopy filtered trail and walked back to our cars.

GPS Tracks

The waterfalls, crater and ridge hike covered 5.33 miles. Post hike meal at Big City Diners. Side of Pad Thai.

Waahila State Park was wide open and empty as I pulled my solitary self into the parking lot at 6:45am to hike the last piece needed to complete the Eastern part of the Koolaus from Makapuu to Lanihuli.

First Clearing

Going into the hike, scenic views of Manoa Valley quickly opened up. The good thing about this trail, is that your car does most of the early climbing as you wind your way up through Saint Louis Heights to get to the trailhead.  

Second Clearing

After passing the first clearing, the trail splits into the Kolowalu Trail which descends down into Manoa Valley and the Upper Waahila Trail which takes you to Mount Olympus. I’m not sure if the Upper Waahila Trail is sanctioned or not, as the sign implores hikers to turn back. But turning back was not on the table today.

Third Clearing

The cloud ceiling started to get lower as I made my way to the third clearing. I was hoping that the views at the top would not be blanketed in clouds.

Windward panoramic view from the summit

Made it to the top of Mount Olympus in two hours to be greeted by relatively cloud free views of both sides of the island. Click here to see the larger image.

Koolau Summit Ridge Trail

I climbed back down to the foot of the peak from Mount Olympus to find the trail that would take me to the Manoa Middle Ridge. The trail coming down the hill was very muddy and wet, which led to major butt sliding all the way down.

Looking back towards Mt. Olympus

One hour was spent hiking on the ridge from Mount Olympus to Manoa Middle Ridge. But what a windy hour it was! The wind was blowing hard enough that I resorted to crawling on all fours on the narrow parts of the ridge to avoid being blown off.

Coming down Manoa Middle Ridge

Click here to see the larger image of the view coming down from Manoa Middle Ridge.

Jackson Chameleon

This is the first time that I ran across a Jackson Chameleon in the wild. A female one at that, as only males have the distinctive triple horns on their heads.

Waiakeakua Stream

After crossing Waiakeakua stream and passing several Chinese Fan Palm trees, I spotted the ribboned branches that led me up the hill. Pushing my way uphill through these small but numerous trees made me frustrated and tired. I eventually made it to the Puu Pia trail at the top of the hill and turned right until the trail ended in a clearing with a bench. From that point on, the trail was heavily overgrown and in need of extensive clearing by those good samaritans at the HTMC. I eventually made it out to Alani Drive after six hours of hiking and called 422-2222 to take my dirty and tired butt back to Waahila State Park.

Rain rain go away, come again another day. That childhood nursery rhyme was going through my head as I pulled in Wa’ahila Park at the top of St. Louis Heights to be greeted by morning showers. I met Jason there, as Glenn had bugged out due to the rain. We talked about it and hoped the rain would pass, so we got into my car and drove to Hawaii Loa to start our hike at 7:15am.

Going up Hawaii Loa Ridge

As we made our way up Hawaii Loa ridge, the clouds seemed to be settling lower and lower on the Koolau Mountain tops. The rain had not followed us, but what we got instead was clumps of dirty water drops.

Hawaii Loa Summit

We got to the top of Hawaii Loa Summit at 2,520 feet in whiteout conditions. The views of Waimanalo and the Windward side of the island were nowhere to be seen. Not having anything to keep us at the summit, we proceeded to follow the heavily vegetated trail on the left.

Wailupe Middle Ridge

We hiked the Koolau Summit Ridge in the clouds and at times, could barely see in front of us. The top of Wailupe Middle Ridge harbored the same whiteout conditions we had hoped we left behind at Hawaii Loa. There was a little sign on the ground that pointed in the direction of Wailupe Loop, didn’t seem too stable as somebody or something could easily move the marker.

Wiliwilinui Ridge

About an hour later, we still had no view at Wiliwilinui ridge. But we did see the communication tower appearing out of the clouds like a pirate ship. I was beginning to think the whole hike was going to be in these conditions, a total bummer.

Diamond Head

A funny thing happend coming down from Lanipo where we had our lunch, the clouds started to clear up. As we made our way down into this little valley and climbed back out of it, the views started opening up, which gave us renewed energy to push on.

Mount Olympus

We could finally see our goal ahead of us, which was Mount Olympus or Awaawaloa.

Panoramic view going toward Mount Olympus

Click here for the larger image which shows the split views of the Town and Windward side.

Ka'au Crater

As we passed the two powerlines on the ridge, we saw the marsh filled Ka’au crater nestled against the Koolau Mountains.

We're coming Zeus!

Little wisps of clouds started rolling in from the Windward side, threatening to cover the summit. That made me push harder to get to the top as I didn’t want to miss an opportunity for a clear view from the top, something which rarely happens. 

Olomana

Going up Mount Olympus, we had to climb a narrow and rocky ridge that was followed by a 10′ rockface and a somewhat steep hill. No ropes required.

Top of Mount Olympus

The top of Mount Olympus at a little over 2,400 feet was remarkably devoid of clouds, the last time I was here, there was zero visibility. The original plan was to continue until Manoa Middle Ridge and then double back. That would have completed the last part we needed to finish hiking the Eastern part of the Koolaus. But that idea was scratched due to lack of time and being plain tired on our parts. So we began the long descent down the Waahila Ridge trail towards our car.

Panoramic view of Manoa Valley and Town

Click here for the larger image of Palolo and Manoa Valleys.

The long trail home

Only twenty minutes until we get back to the trailhead (inside joke).

Need water!

We completed the hike in twelve hours, which was drawn out by being tuckered out and a tad dehydrated as we didn’t bring enough water. But how often, can you do three hikes all rolled into one?

This was my second hike to Mount Olympus, a trail that is a town favorite as evidenced by the abundance of hikers on the trail. The first hike was with the HTMC which was marked by rain, clouds and not making the summit. This time I was determined to reach the summit and hoped Mother Nature would cooperate and clear the clouds at the summit.

Trailhead

 We drove to the top of St.Louis Heights and parked at the Wa’ahila State Recreation Park which opens their gates at 7am daily. If you get there early, you can park outside and still walk inside.

Trail

The clearly marked trail goes up and down several times that are punctuated with rocky areas and the ever present strawberry guava trees whose fallen fruit had been trampled by countless hikers before us to release their strong, sweet smell.

Manoa Valley

We soon saw views of the city with Manoa valley taking center stage.

Up or down?

This marked the end of the lower trail, so we took the trail to the right to continue our hike to Mt. Olympus. The trail to the left continues down to Manoa Valley.

Palolo Valley

View of Palolo valley with Diamond Head in the background. Looking ahead we saw that the top of Mount Olympus was alternating between clouds and blue skies. We hoped to catch the latter when we made the summit.

Cloudy Mount Olympus

The last part of the trail is a somewhat steep hill that is mostly dirt, luckily there was a grassy trail to the left that we used to make the final push towards the summit. Clouds greeted us as we made the top of Mount Olympus at 2,486 feet. We stayed at the top for awhile hoping that the clouds would pass, we got several teasing glimpses of the windward side and then rain convinced us to turn back and go home.

The signs saying “kapu”, “keep out”, “private road”, and “no entry” all seemed to deter hikers from entering Ka’au Crater. What really gave us pause, after driving into Palolo Valley and parking at the end of Waiomao Road, was the two large barking dogs that sat in the middle of the road. After debating if we should hike another trail, my friend picked up a large stick and grabbed my can of bug spray, in case the dogs turned out to be more bite than bark. We took the left road which leads to the trailhead and the dogs left us alone.

First waterfall

We edged our way around to the left of the watershed fence, walked down a short paved road which eventually turned into the trail that took us to Waiomao stream and deep into the lush green Palolo valley. There is also a metal water pipe that runs along most of the trail and leads you straight to the first waterfall. We climbed down to the pool of the first waterfall from the trail and foolishly tried to blaze on our own trail to the top on the right of the waterfall, we did not succeed. Needless to say, the trail continues up the left side of the waterfall, after you climb back up from the pool and get away from all the mosquitoes.

Top of the first waterfall

We crossed the top of the first waterfall and peered over the edge to get a look, not too close, as we didn’t want to be doing a swan dive 40 feet down.

Second waterfall

The second waterfall looked just as nice as the first one, and for some reason had less mosquitoes. We followed the trail to the right to get to the top of the waterfall, there is a narrow ledge we had to walk across but we had tree roots and ropes to help us out.

Top of second waterfall

At the top of the second waterfall is a good sized boulder that has a memorial plaque for Heidi Marie Page, whose life seemed tragically cut short.

Third waterfall

We hit the third and final waterfall, which stretched the longest as the water cascaded from the crater down the side of the mountain. We started from the left hand side and eventually crossed over to the right hand side with the assistance of ropes and made our way up to the crater rim.

Lanipo Trail

We saw the still visible scars from the small plane crash off Lanipo Trail that happened back in January of 2010.

Ka'au Crater

When we reached the crater rim, we had our first good look inside the crater. Ka’au crater is a bowl shaped crater that collects water in a marshy environment that in turn feeds the three waterfalls. It looked surreal and out of place in a volcanic crater.

Windward view

We made it to the summit of the ridge and was treated to an amazing view of the Windward side complete with rolling clouds. After taking a break, we went back down the rim. There is another trail at the top of the third waterfall that took us down into the valley, so we didn’t have to climb back down the waterfalls. The entire hike took us about six hours and when we got back to the trailhead, the two dogs were still there and one of them actually chased us for a short distance. We took the hint and piled into our cars and went home for the day.