Ulimakoli Ridge ( Eleao Windward ) to Manana Ridge

by kenji SAITO on October 4, 2014

Hiking Ulimakoli Ridge ( Eleao Windward ) to Manana Ridge

Back on the Windward side to tackle another less traveled ridge. We staged our cars at the Manana trailhead and carpooled to Kaneohe, where Chris was nice enough to drop us off in Waihee Valley. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Trailhead

Trailhead

Four hikers set foot this day, for a nineteen hour hike, for a nineteen hour hike. Group photo left to right: Matt, Ryan, Jose and myself. Photo by Chris Hiona.

On the ridge

On the ridge

We skirted the enclosed water tank to start our hike.

Sunrise

Sunrise

Caught a nice sunrise breaking over the Windward coast.

Going up

Going up

Found rubbish and ribbons at the beginning of the trail. I know of a group of three; comprising of Jeremy, Matt (a different Matt from today) and Thessa, that summited this ridge several years ago. Others have scouted the ridge. That would explain the ribbons, but not excuse the rubbish.

Uluhe hell

Uluhe hell

You can’t escape from the tangled infestation of uluhe ferns that are a hiker’s bane.

Kalahaku Ridge

Kalahaku Ridge

The “sister” ridge to our left that we hiked several months ago.

Waihee Valley

Waihee Valley

Chris mentioned of a trail that ran up from Waihee Falls to this ridge. Another hike for another day.

Over the tree

Over the tree

The ribbons and rubbish were soon replaced by overgrowth that seemed to increase as we advanced.

Down the rock

Down the rock

Pays to be skinny on these trails.

Under the tree

Under the tree

The weather was sporadically sprinkling and according to Chris, the Windward side had gotten a good soaking the night before. Forecast showed 20% chance of rain. We decided to make it to the first “tooth” and see how the weather was holding up. Meteorologists in training. Future Guy Hagi’s.

Up the root

Up the root

Hiking tip 101: solid roots makes for good handholds and footholds. Glad they were a lot of them on this ridge.

Hug the rock

Hug the rock

Between a rock and hard trees. To be repeated ad nauseam throughout the hike.

Contour or climb?

Contour or climb?

Matt came upon the first “tooth” and tried to climb it. Too wet and crumbly. Hardheaded, I tried and ended up with the same results. We ended up contouring to our left that was marked by old rope.

Point of no return

Point of no return

A man with a machete makes a compelling argument. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Fun, fun, fun

Fun, fun, fun

The weather conditions seemed somewhat stable from the first “tooth”, so we decided to push ahead. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Kappa?

Kappa?

Matt trying out his makeshift hat. Hope it’s waterproof.

Going down

Going down

Matt climbing down one of the rock faces while testing the holds. Many rocks gave way. Typical chossy or crumbly rocks found on Oahu’s trails.

Scooting

Scooting

Sometimes it’s safer to scoot than stand. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Don't trust the rope

Don’t trust the rope

Coming down the second “tooth”, for the most part we didn’t use the rotted ropes that were scattered throughout the trail. Better safe than sorry. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

One step at a time

One step at a time

Shouts and showers of rocks was a constant heard throughout the hike. Some were intentional, most were not.

Panoramic view

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Clear to the summit

Clear to the summit

Click here for the larger image. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Climbing up

Climbing up

Matt climbing up the fourth “tooth.” Heavy overgrowth masked the steep drop offs. Photo by Ryan Leano.

Climbing down

Climbing down

Making our way down the backside of the third “tooth.” Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Climbing across

Climbing across

Ryan and Jose making their way across a section of the skinny, exposed ridgeline. Huge drops on both sides.

Climbing back up

Climbing back up

The hiking centipede. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

One foot in front of the other

One foot in front of the other

Walking on the exposed ridgeline. No overgrowth. For now. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Back up

Back up

Matt going up the fifth “tooth.”

Coming down

Coming down

Ryan making his way down the backside of the fourth “tooth.”

Climbing up

Climbing up

You’re in my way mann! Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Hanging on

Hanging on

Unable to climb over the sixth “tooth”, we were forced to contour to our left, literally hanging onto the plants for dear life as we made our way across.

Straight up...

Straight up…

We had lots of trees to grab on as we climbed our way back up.

...up...

…up…

Trees thinning out to…

...and up

…and up

…thickets of trees.

So close, yet so far

So close, yet so far

Scrambling up the wet and crumbly seventh “tooth”, Matt found little purchase to plant his spiked feet on. Where was that rotted rope when you needed it?

Passing the webbing

Passing the webbing

Ryan passed us Jose’s short webbing to help us continue the climb.

Panoramic view

Panoramic view

Click here for the larger image.

Turn around?

Turn around?

Running out of options. Short list. We couldn’t contour to the left. Straight up was too slick and crumbly. The only feasible option was to contour right. Matt tried a couple times using my 100′ webbing lashed to a tree, but the rocks kept giving way and found little purchase to climb up. Perhaps it was time to think about turning back?

Catch me if I fall

Catch me if I fall

I decided to give it a try. Tied one end of the 100′ webbing around my waist and climbed up. Had to claw, grab and pull myself up the crumbly side. Pretty much sums up the ridge hike. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Is this solid?

Is this solid?

After making it to the top, I secured my trailing webbing to a solid tree and the others soon followed me up.

Clouds rolling in

Clouds rolling in

Cotton candy clouds and rain started to roll over the ridge.

Trail clearing

Trail clearing

Going up one particular crumbly section, Matt and Jose climbed up and knocked out most of the holds. Jose then dropped his webbing to Ryan who knocked out the remaining holds. My turn up, the section gave way and sent me sliding me down about 10′ where a tree arrested my fall. Between my legs. Ouch. Double ouch.

Rainbow

Rainbow

A rainbow reward for hiking on the rainy ridge.

Looking back

Looking back

Looking back at the ridge, doesn’t even look that hard from this angle. Looks are deceiving.

Bushwhacking

Bushwhacking

The steep, sketchy and crumbly parts were behind us. Still had to deal with insane overgrowth on the ridge. I discovered that my ribs were bruised from my earlier fall. Sucking wind.

Hobbit holes

Hobbit holes

Chris sent us text messages that flash flood warnings were issued for our area. A day late and a dollar short. Booming thunder gave us pause on the hike as to whether we should hunker down and ride out the storm or continue to the summit. No lightning strikes. Good call Ryan.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls

The rain resulted in over a dozen waterfalls cascading down the side of the Ko’olaus. It was quite a show.

The last hump

The last hump

Rotted rope marked the way up, but was of no use to us. We had to use the uki grass to pull ourselves up in the rain. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Are we there yet?

Are we there yet?

My face says it all. Anybody got Advil? Thanks Ryan. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Not quite

Not quite

Matt, Jose and Ryan alternated in plowing through the overgrowth.

Ko'olau Mountains

Ko’olau Mountains

The clouds and rain started to break apart at the top.

Almost there

Almost there

We could finally see the summit at the end of the ridge. It was still daylight. But not for long.

Pu'u Eleao

Pu’u Eleao

Group photo at the 2,654′ summit with Eleao Meadows in the background. The wind was noticeably absent. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Cloudy summit

Cloudy summit

Looking back into cloudy Waihee Valley bordered by Eleao and Kalahaku Ridges. Both ridges are sketchy and overgrown. But I would give the edge to Eleao.

Time to turn the lights on

Time to turn the lights on

We made our way out of the meadows as darkness fell.

On the KSRT

On the KSRT

This hike had it all. Scenic views. Cardio. Rock climbing. Rock showers. Skinny ridge. Steep climbs. Thick vegetation. Thunderstorms. Hiking at night. Complete package.

Manana bound

Manana bound

We followed the undulating ridge trail to Manana.

Manana summit

Manana summit

Took a short break at the 2,660′ summit. The night views were just superb.

Headed down

Headed down

Making our way down the rollercoaster trail of Manana. Six more miles of walking under the sparkling stars.

Last look at the Ko'olaus

Last look at the Ko’olaus

The Ko’olaus silhouetted against the night sky.

Headed out

Headed out

Walking back to the trailhead under a bright moon.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

The 6.22 mile hike, believe the tracking application was off by several miles, ranks as the hardest hike I have experienced to date. Wet weather combined with overgrown, crumbly, steep and a skinny ridge pushed us to our limits. Glad that I did it with an awesome crew and that we all made it out safe and sound. No post hike meal. It was one of those long hikes that you just wanted to take a hot shower and crawl into bed. And that’s exactly what we all did.

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

Matthew Vidaurri October 23, 2014 at 7:48 pm

Glad to have done this hike w/ this crew. I’ve done a lot of hikes w/ many people and I never understood when people said “I’m at my breaking point.” Now I know what they meant. This hike threw everything at me. Crumbly, sketchy ridges where I found myself saddling it instead of trekking. The wall uluhe and overgrowth that was exhausting and slowed our progress. And not to mention the long 6mile roller coaster trek down mañana at night. But it was at “Catch Me if I fall ridge” where we were really tested. It was the first time ever on a hike that I think I really pushed the envelope on life. Glad you lead the way up Kenji. But never again will I trek on Eleao. I can enjoy waterfalls in valleys too. lol

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kenji SAITO October 23, 2014 at 9:53 pm

Howzit Matt,
Glad I did it with you bushwhackers! That was a challenging hike to say the least. I don’t think any of us plan a repeat visit to Eleao anytime soon! Thanks again for your company! Until the next challenge!
Mahalo

Reply

Ryan Leani October 24, 2014 at 7:06 am

Nice write up mann. This hike definately pushed me to do things I thought I could never do and even had some doubts sometimes but the “No turning back saying”, seeing you guys stepping it up, got my adrenalin pumping, and my mind set. This was literally some raw hiking, I wouldn’t mind doing similar hikes like this, just not this one again :D… Thanks for the adventure!

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kenji SAITO October 24, 2014 at 8:49 am

Hey Ryan,
Well you said you wanted to kick it up a notch or 30 notches! Great hiking with you as usual. Your diploma’s in the mail!
Mahalo!

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Wing C. Ng December 2, 2014 at 5:41 pm

It is surprising that there are rotten ropes up all the way to the last Tooth, indicating people have done this before long ago. Whereas on Kalahaku across the valley, there seems to be no previous human activity beyond the 2nd Tooth or so.

-Wing

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kenji SAITO December 2, 2014 at 7:35 pm

Aloha Wing,
Yup, I believe Jeremy’s group left these ropes years back on Ulimakoli. But they are too rotted to be of any use now. On Kalahaku, there was a rope after the sixth tooth, which I think was Cory’s group bailout ridge on their first attempt. Either way, both ridges are challenging hikes. Thanks for stopping by!
Mahalo

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Mel yoshioka December 2, 2014 at 9:09 pm

Thanks for the pictures and narrative.
You guys are just awesome!
Mel

Reply

kenji SAITO December 2, 2014 at 9:45 pm

Aloha Mel,
Glad you enjoyed the post!
Mahalo!

Reply

Lonnie Hammack April 11, 2016 at 9:46 pm

Kenji, Awesome write-up as usual! I study your site like the bible. :) I guess it is the bible of extreme hiking on Oahu. :) Would you mind sharing the track for this hike with me? It’s next on the agenda for the Rugged Outlaws. The rocky climbs look like more fun than Kalahaku Teeth….the overgrowth on that ridge wore me out, especially when I had point. One of the rotted webbings snapped on me, but luckily I wasn’t really depending on it. If anyone wants to do Kalahaku Teeth, now is the time….with 10 people on our hike, we definitely made a temporary trail up there.

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kenji SAITO April 11, 2016 at 11:51 pm

Aloha Lonnie,
Thanks but please don’t use my blog as a so-called “bible.” It’s more along the lines of entertainment and inspiration and a lot of perspiration :). Let me see if I can dig up the tracks, I remember the tracking stopped for some reason, so most of what you see is actually filled in and may not be accurate. Kudos to your group for knocking out a lot of hikes lately. Be safe and have fun.
Mahalo

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