We managed to coax a 10x veteran from retirement to join us on today’s hike. Met up with Agnes, Anne, Chris, Daryl, Lee and Mia at the beach park. Thanks to Alexis for dropping me off.

Ka’a’awa

The most dangerous start to any hike, crossing the road to get to the other side. Luckily, we made it without incident and it didn’t hurt that we were wearing bright colors.

Trailhead

Group photo left to right: Agnes, Sleepy, Mia, Daryl, Lee, Anne and Chris.

Cemetery Ridge

We skirted the cemetery and made our way up through the hala grove.

Cemetery Ridge

Climbing up the steep, rocky section.

Cemetery Ridge

Lee and Mia standing on Picture Rock, with views of Pu’u Piei and Kahana Valley. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Cemetery Ridge

The ridge widened at certain parts but kept the steady incline.

Cemetery Ridge

Agnes climbing up the moss carpeted ridge using the trees.

Cemetery Ridge

Daryl burrowing through the uluhell overgrowth.

Cemetery Ridge

The ridge leveled off somewhat with cloudy views of our destination to the right.

Cemetery Ridge

The right and wrong way of doing the oppa finger gesture. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Cemetery Ridge

The ridge picked up the pitch as we approached the top.

Turnover

Group photo at the 2,027′ summit of Manamana ridge.

Trail

Agnes plunging ahead into the mud and overgrowth.

Trail

Sitting in Agnes spot. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Lookout

Panoramic view from the 1,900′ spot before dropping down into the saddle.

Trail

Climbing down the steepest section before I realized this was where webbing would have helped. I didn’t even recognize this spot from five years ago.

Trail

Chris lashing his webbing to the rock for the rest of the crew. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Trail

Sweeping view of Kanehoalani, the detached spur mountain range, that sits on Kualoa Ranch.

Trail

Traversing the undulating saddle.

Trail

Mia contouring around a boulder on the narrow ridge. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Puka

Peering into Ka’a’awa Valley. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Trail

Daryl contouring on the Windward side around a knob.

Trail

Passionately psychedelic flowers on the ridge. Photo by Mia Garrison.

Trail

Panoramic view of Pu’u Manamana and True Manamana.

Trail

Heading to the summit that was reportedly first ascended back in 2010. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

True Manamana

Group photo at the roughly 1,530′ summit. What it lacked in elevation, it more than made up for the sweeping views of the valleys, ridges and mountains from our tiny little perch.

True Manamana

The Pepsi Challenge, going strong since 1975. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

True Manamana

This tour helo buzzed us pretty close. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

True Manamana

Trying to bushwhack through the back door. Nobody’s home. Checking out another interesting ridge dropping off Pu’u Ohulehule. Another hike for another day.

True Manamana

Leaving the postage stamp sized summit.

Trail

Making the return trip on the crumbly and jagged ridge.

Puka

How many hikers can you fit into a puka? Apparently only three. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Trail

Making our way out of the saddle.

Trail

Lee climbing her way back up the steep section. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Trail

Pushing our way up through the uluhell overgrowth. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Turnover

Mahalo for the mountain hospitality.

Manamana Ridge

Rainbow sighting off Kahana Bay.

Manamana Ridge

Going down the broad section of the ridge. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Manamana Ridge

It was a magical moment to witness the sunbeams piercing the clouds and bathing Kahana Valley. Photo by Mia Garrison

Manamana Ridge

Passing through the forested section of the ridge.

Manamana Ridge

Climbing our way up the steep, rocky ridge section. Photo by Agnes Bryant.

Manamana Ridge

Making our way down towards the pointed and narrow peaks of the ridge.

Manamana Ridge

Mia climbing her way up to join Chris and Daryl at the top.

Manamana Ridge

Looking back at the sun slowly settling down behind the mountain range.

Manamana Ridge

Following the well trodden path on the ridge.

Manamana Ridge

The group negotiating their way down the rock face.

Manamana Ridge

Daryl the praying mantis whisperer.

Manamana Ridge

Chris pointing to one of many interesting curios left behind in the mountains for others to witness.

Manamana Ridge

Descending down towards the Crouching Lion rock formation.

Manamana Ridge

The ridge soon broadened and leveled off as we neared Kahana Bay.

All pau

We made it down to Kam Highway under the cover of darkness. Thanks to Richie for giving us a hop back to our cars.

GPS Tracks

Our dawn to dusk hike covered 4.46 miles with a super fun group. Agnes can now put this hike back into retirement. Post hike meal at Zippy’s. Segregated by gender. I should’ve ordered the usual Oxtail Soup. Mahalo to Daryl for driving me home.

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.

Marvin put together another fun hike today, this one was Pu’u Piei out in Kahana Valley. We all met at the first parking lot and please silence your cellphones for the hike, as phone reception is zero in this area. The group consisted of Marvin, Chrissy, Hiram, Julz, Matt, Nani, Ray, Rob and myself. Photo by Julz Pruett.

Kapa ‘Ele’Ele Trail

The trail is a 1.2 mile loop that passes a fishing shrine and a lookout, today it was just going to take us to the ridge. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Follow the leader

We followed the trail into an open clearing and turned left into the forest. The trail soon led us to another junction, where we took another left to gain the higher ground.

Photo break

About halfway up the ridge, was a wide washed out clearing that served as an impromptu break area. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Rain forecast – 100%

Matt and I soon separated from the group and made our way up to the top of the ridge, where we turned left to head to the summit. We soon saw a rain shower making its way around the coastline. Yes, we did get soaked.

Pu’u Piei Summit

The summit of Pu’u Piei is postage stamp sized and overgrown. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Panoramic view from the summit

 The outstanding views of Kahana Bay and Valley. Photo by Nani Dee.

Smoking mountain

 Making our way back down to the group on the now slippery and muddy trail.

Leaving the summit

Another rain shower gave us a second good soaking. No wonder Kahana is one of the wettest valleys on the island. We soon met up with the group at the top of the junction and hiked up ahead to join Hiram as we continued on the Makai part of the ridge. No other takers wanted to join us on some fun rock scrambling. Next time.

Strike the pose

Matt took off his shoes to get better purchase on the small square footage of this thumb of a rock. I had climbed up earlier but didn’t trust my wet soled shoes to stand on the rock without slipping and falling over.

Which way?

Hiram checking out webbing left by previous hikers. We elected to simply hike up and over. Straight to the point.

Nice views!

Typical rocky ridgeline. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Rock climbing

We noticed paragliders circling over our heads as we had our fun and they had their fun. 

Fun, fun, fun!

We got another sprinkle which made the rocks somewhat slick, so we took our time.

Bugs eye view

Going down the first notch. You can either free climb and go down the front or contour to the left and use these handy ropes. Due to the rainy weather, we decided that ropes were our friends.

Birds eye view

Try not to put all your weight on the ropes, as these particular ones went over a small rock wedged between bigger rocks. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

First notch

I heard a fellow hiker fell off the first notch while free climbing and plunged about 100′. While these rocks seemed more solid than on other trails, you just never know.

Second notch

We came down the second notch by contouring to the left and then working our way down towards the middle of the notch.

Downclimbing

We got our last sprinkle of the day as made our way down the last set of rocks. Once again, ropes were our friends due to the slick rocks. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Punaluu Valley

The Army in WW2 had Jungle Training Camps in Kahana and Punalu’u Valleys.

Checking out the views

The fun rock climbing is over! Time to relax and check out the scenic views of Kahana Bay and Valley.

Back to hiking

This part of the ridge was heavily overgrown with vegetation.

Leaving the rocky ridge behind

I can see why the valley and surrounding areas are so green and lush with vegetation what with all the constant watering that Mother Nature provides.

Last group photo

Our last group photo together. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Trail snacks

Snacking on the abundant, ripe and chilled guavas on the trail. Spit out the seeds.

The ridge going down

The trail ends at the last spur ridge going back down into the valley.

Paragliders

Watching the paragliders circle lazily above the ridges, made me want to try that one day. It looks like fun!

Back on the road again

Hiram popping out of the bushes as we followed Kamehameha Highway back to our cars. Lunch at Uncle Bobo’s!

GPS Tracks

The fun filled scramble was a short 3.75 mile hike, but well worth the climb!