I found myself in the company of Aida and Lilyn and back in the wild country of the Northern KST on Kamehameha Day. Not a bad way to spend the holiday. Maybe I spoke too soon.

Cattle crossing

Who needs a cattle dog when you have a Toyota 4Runner.

Trailhead

Thanks to Edgar for driving us up the jeep road and whose parting words were that he would check on our cars the next day. Little did we know how true his words would turn out to be. Photo by Edgar Gamiao.

Poamoho Trail

The summit looked clear and promising as we set foot on the graded and cleared trail.

Poamoho Trail

Stepping over a small blow down. Little did we know it was going to be a primer for bigger things down in the valley.

Poamoho Trail

Heading into the pea soup gulch. So much for the views at the top.

Cline Memorial

The winds were blowing something fierce at the summit and visibility was near zero. So we settled for our group shot at the somewhat sheltered spot. I should’ve wiped the condensation off the lens.

Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST)

Aida and Lilyn making their way on the board walk.

Poamoho Cabin

No stop at the cabin today. Speed was of the essence today and not shelter. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KST

Seeking temporary refuge on the Leeward side from the battering winds. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KST

We got treated to magnificent vistas as we stepped foot on the “runway.” Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

KST

The girls leaving the last gate on the trail behind us.

Pauao Junction

Panoramic view of Kahana Valley and points beyond.

KST

Following the trail as it contoured and dropped below the ridge line. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KST

Misty mountains. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

KST

Lilyn crossing over one of many land slides on the trail. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Schofield-Waikane Junction

Group photo with Kahana Valley and all her peaks. I should’ve wiped the condensation off the lens. Slow learner.

KST

Lilyn coming around the sheltered side.

KST

Looking ahead to the junction. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

Waikane-Waiahole Junction

When the wind hits you in the face like a Chicago pizza pie.

KST

Crossing over one of the bigger land slides on the well trodden path. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KST

Hiking on the Leeward side offered a reprieve from the whipping winds but in exchange we had to deal with overgrowth and many false holes. Photo by Aida Gordon.

LifeCall

Spoke to soon? Somebody was saying something about false holes? Lilyn helping Aida get back on the trail.

KST

The bipolar weather followed us on the ridge line. Clear. Cloudy. Clear. But the gusting winds kept us company throughout the hike.

KST

Switching back to the Windward side. Photo by Aida Gordon.

KST

Psst. Over here. Navigating the twists and turns of the trail.

KST

Aida making her way on the Leeward side. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

KST

Why can’t the whole trail be like this? Then it wouldn’t be fun otherwise known in some circles as character building.

KST

Following the fence line down to the cloud soaked meadow. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Tree of Life

Capturing a rare moment when the backdrop views against the horizontal tree presented themselves. The condensation cleared up.

Tree of Life

The winds seemed to blow us every which way but up. The struggle was real.

KST

Passing through another grove of sugi pine trees.

KST

The girls passing through the notch which meant that we were close to the base of the summit. The cross over was finished, now we had no idea what lay in store for our descent. Surprises can be a good thing. Not on this hike.

KST

Climbing up to the summit I last visited over four years ago. I was in for a big surprise.

Waiahole Summit

The winds seemed to have picked up in intensity at the boggy summit. The condensation came back.

Waiahole Uka

The socked in summit, gale force winds and heavy overgrowth had me second guessing if we were on the right ridge. We eventually came across faded ribbons which gave us assurance. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiahole Uka

The clouds soon cleared revealing the lush and green Waiahole Valley. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiahole Uka

The overgrowth seemed to increase in density as we dropped in elevation. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiahole Uka

Lacking clearing tools, we had to use our body weight and appendages to force our way through the uluhe ferns and vines that masked the ridge and drop offs. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Waiahole Uka

Lilyn going down the second rope section.

Waiahole Uka

Vines served to impede further progress on the ridge. Just ask Aida.

Waiahole Uka

Last picture of the day before we got swallowed up by the head high uluhe ferns. We slid off the insanely overgrown ridge as darkness hit the valley floor. Lights on. It was a perfect storm of washed out trails, massive blow downs, and overgrowth as far as our headlamps could illuminate. We knew East was the way out, but our GPS kept returning mixed signals. Props to Lilyn for her dogged determination to find our way out as she had teeth to pull the next day. But the dragging time and the fact we were tired to the bone, took its toll so we eventually just took a nap on the trail itself until sunrise to shed some light on our way out.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed

We were awakened from our short slumber by the rising sun around 0530 and discovered that the trail was directly across us. Daylight can bring such clarity to the subject at hand.

Waiahole Valley

Passing underneath the tree that was both horizontal and vertical.

Waiahole Valley

Getting our feet wet.

Waiahole Valley

Now we can enjoy and appreciate the valley trail. Look at all these trees! And they’re not blocking the trail!

All pau

A big shout out to Quan who came and picked us up bearing gifts of KFC, hot and cold beverages and drove us back to Mililani to recover our cars where we met Edgar “self-fulfilling prophecy” Gamiao washing his car.

GPS Tracks

Our exhilarating and exhausting hike all rolled up into two days covered 13.7 miles through spectacular scenery (when it presented itself) and a descent down an insanely overgrown ridge and valley with an amazing bunch that never gave up. Now it was time for us to go to work on one hour of sleep.

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.

Back on the mountains again. The Ko’olau Mountains. The weather seemed to be cooperating this time around; so I met Chris, Jose and Ryan at the Manana trailhead tucked deep in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood.

On the trail again

We had company at the gate. Hunters with dogs. We passed after exchanging pleasantries and assurances that the dogs were friendly.

Stairs to the Ko’olaus

Slats doubling as steps which help to retard erosion.

Follow the sign

We followed the trail to the left which leads to the Ko’olau Summit. Keeping to the right will descend down into “Cardiac Hill” and Waimano Falls.

Wide open trail

Wide open dirt trail, enjoy it while it lasts.

Bench with a view

Hmmm, it would be a tight fit for four.

Too early for a picnic

Leaving the last signs of civilization behind us.

Sunrise

Sunrise breaking over the Ko’olau mountains.

The rollercoaster ride begins

Manana trail is known for its seemingly endless assorted sizes of hills that goes up and down.

Not too bad

The trail starts off through thickets of invasive Eucalyptus and guava trees.

Hmm, I show 2.9

Ryan’s GPS Garmin and the sign marker had to agree to disagree. We figured the extra .4 miles was because he started tracking from the road and the mileage actually started further into the trail.

Getting steeper

Chris and Ryan climbing up a somewhat steep section. Those uluhe ferns are everywhere!

Where’s the helicopter?

Taking a quick break at one of the few flat clearings on the trail.

Halfway there

Manana trail is roughly six miles long to the summit.

Rollercoasting

Pushing deeper into the native forest as we left most of the invasive flora behind. For the life of me, I still can’t identify most of them. Need to work on that.

Waianae Mountain Range

Looking towards the Waianae Mountain Range, which includes the highest mountain on the island – Mount Ka’ala – normally capped or swathed in clouds. Today was no exception.

Almost there

Enjoying another break on the last flat clearing before the summit. These guys were setting a good pace. Left to my own devices, I would still be down at the picnic shed chugging down my Gatorade.

The final stretch

Time to finish off this trail.

Need water?

Looking down to our left, we spotted Waiawa stream barely trickling down from the mountains.

Manana summit

Beautiful blue skies frosted with clouds greeted us at the summit.

Elevation 2,750′

Group photo at the summit overlooking Kaalaea Valley left to right: Jose, Ryan, myself and Chris. Panoramic views from Kualoa to Makapuu were laid out before us.

Hiking on the KST

After digesting the views and snacks, we turned left on the Ko’olau Summit Trail.

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Passing the meadows

The Ko’olau spine soon veered to the left, passing a grassy meadow with great views of Waiahole Valley, and then resumed a northerly direction with Leeward views of the island.

Rollercoaster ride resumes

The up and down Manana trail was a primer for this section of the Ko’olaus.

Headed towards the Waiawa Gap

We lost hundreds of feet in elevation as we made our way towards the lowest point in this section of the Ko’olaus.

Come down this way

We slid and scooted our way down from a higher ridge to a lower ridge to stay on trail.

Waiawa Gap

Lunchtime at the 2,150′ dip in the Ko’olaus.

One leg at a time

Chris stepping over a tree on the trail. Watch the drop on your right!

Time to go back up

What goes down the Ko’olaus, must come back up the Ko’oalus.

Getting that elevation back

Shaking off the “Hawaiian Paralysis” by climbing up some steep hills. Also gets the heart racing, lungs busting and calories burning.

Clouds rolling in

The sunshine couldn’t last all day, especially on top of the Ko’olaus.

Waiahole Uka sighted

We spotted the flat hill and ridge descending down into Waiahole Valley. The end was in sight!

Not too steep

Typical KST trail – narrow, overgrown and with steep drop offs plunging thousands of feet down. Just another day at the office.

Kipapa summit

The sign that we missed on one of our last hikes that took us on an unexpected detour down the Kipapa trail.

That’s the ridge we need to be on

Clouds blanketed the mountains, making navigation somewhat of a chore. Hiking tip: When traveling north, stay to the right or the windward side. That usually works.

Sugi pine tree grove

Ryan and Chris checking out the Sugi Pine Trees, native to Japan, while standing on the remnants of the old Kipapa Army Cabin.

Waiahole Uka summit

What would a windward ridge be without rain? Exactly.

All downhill

Going down Waiahole ridge is going with gravity. There is no up and down. Just down. Straight down in some places. Ropes and rain made it manageable.

Uluhe country

What’s even better than wading through thick patches of Uluhe ferns? Doing it in the rain!

Waterfalls!

Looking to our right, waterfalls were flowing. Waterfalls are like rainbows after a heavy rain.

Kuolani-Waianu Trail

Leaving behind the tangled mess of uluhe ferns. And then the rain stopped.

Waiahole Ditch Tunnel

Ryan discovered a shaft that ran perpendicular to the tunnel. One word – tubing.

Timber!

We came across a huge landslide that had dumped massive trees and rocks onto the trail. And it started to rain again. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Fresh water

Ryan sampling for lepto.

Stream crossing

The last stream crossing. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Road out

Jose and Chris found their second wind and jogged down this jeep road. Ryan and I just walked it back.

All pau!

We finished the hike with enough daylight to spare. Thanks to Jasmin for picking up four muddy, smelly and soaking wet hikers.

GPS Tracks

The 10.25 mile hike, 13 miles if you go with Ryan’s Garmin, started off sunny and ended up raining on our parade. Still a great grinder with a great crew. We ended the day with dinner at Koolau Drive Inn.