An upper level disturbance brought heavy rain and disturbed our camping and hiking plans this weekend.

Helemano

Aida, Chico, Jeremy, Roger and myself met up with Anne-Marie, Jenny, Emi and Akio at the base of HMR and then we all piled into Chico’s truck for the ride up.

Poamoho Trailhead

The drive up the six mile jeep road was remarkably dry and then of course the weather had to change for the worse. Welcome to the mountains.

Poamoho Trail

Setting foot on the trail where we had two different destinations but eventually the same outcome.

Poamoho Trail

The group crossing one of the major landslides that shut down the trail back in 2021.

Poamoho Trail

Chico’s group left the trail and went down the slippery slope to the stream. Their original destination was Poamoho Falls. Nature would have a say in that.

Poamoho Trail

When little waterfalls start appearing on the trail, you know you are in for a wet day and then some.

Poamoho Trail

Poamoho Falls in the distance. The rain started to increase as the trails become miniature flowing rivers of brown water.

Poamoho Stream

Meanwhile, down below, Chico’s group was in fast flowing brown water that rose six inches before their eyes. If it’s brown, turn around, don’t drown. A phrase that Chico’s group wisely decided to follow. No falls today.

Poamoho Trail

Up in the mountains, two trail runners who had passed us earlier, decided to let me ford the stream first in case I got washed away.

Poamoho Trail

Jeremy with a small waterfall pouring off the mountain behind him. That’s something you don’t see everyday.

Poamoho Trail

Aida pushing to the nearby summit in the heavy rain. We huddled below the Cline Memorial that sheltered us from the strong gusts sweeping the summit and muddled through our choices.
1) Continue to Koloa Cabin as per the original hike. The storm was supposed to intensity on Sunday.
2) Go back down the trail and catch up with Chico for a ride.
3) Head to Poamoho Cabin to ride out the storm and spend the night.
We chose the latter. We chose wisely.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

On the boardwalk.

Poamoho Trail

Chico taking a bite.

Poamoho Cabin

We dried out as best we could in the cabin with the “Carnivore Crew.” Played Shithead until we were carded out. The scores turned out to be:
Jeremy – 0
Roger – 4
me – 2
Aida – 2 ( but one of them was the Ultimate Shithead which was arrived at by playing with almost three decks of cards )
Lights out at six pm. Literally.

Poamoho Cabin

Day 2
We woke up the next day to find out that the storm had actually descended upon us a day early. Once again, proving that the weather is unpredictable, especially in the mountains. Cleaned up the cabin and left to head back down the trail.

KSRT

The winds continued to push us around in the mountains, proving who is boss.

Poamoho Summit

Group photo at the cloud screened, wind blasted 2,520′ summit view.

Poamoho Trail

Working our way out of the rain saturated gulch. The flowing mud water had largely been replaced by stagnant mud.

Poamoho Trail

Last group photo of the day with views of Waianae Mountain denied to us by the clouds in the background.

Poamoho Trail

Service with a smile. Inside smile.

All pau

Shout out to Chico who drove up the now less muddy road to pick us back up. Post hike meal at Chicken in a Barrel. You don’t need slippers to eat here. This is Wahiawa. Our aborted hike was still a fun hike with a good group.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Chico Cantu, Jeremy Cannone, Roger Schiffman, and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

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. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

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