Took four virgins to Hell today. Not for a sacrificial offering, but for scenic purposes. Thanks to Sakura for dropping Asami, Aya, Dana, Shari and myself off at the beginning of the Aiea Loop Trail.
Aiea Loop Trail
Not even ten minutes into the hike and we discovered somebody had made a campfire in the middle of the trail. The things that make you shake your head.
Aiea Ridge Trail
We turned off the loop trail and decided to have a break. Have a kit kat. Oops. Make it have a reese’s sticks. Owned by the same company, so no matter.
Aiea Ridge Trail
Passing the landslide area that is not even recognizable anymore as such, as Mother Nature has slowly covered it with a carpet of uluhe ferns.
Aiea Ridge Trail
Traversing the long ungraded ridge trail where somebody fell off the side and got back up with a little help from her friends.
Pu’u Kawipo’o
Somebody was happy and still warm at the last major false peak before the actual summit.
Aiea Ridge Trail
The peace sign or the f*ck you sign at the base of the powerlines tower. Depending on your cultural interpretation.
Aiea Ridge Trail
Contouring around the powerlines as we made our way to the top.
Aiea Summit
Looking for the sign at the socked-in 2,805′ summit.
Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)
Hiking into the clouds and wind. Mother Nature’s air conditioning was on full blast.
KSRT
Contouring our way around the fenced habitat for endemic fauna and flora.
KSRT
The group coming down one of many hills.
Stairway to Hell
Who said hell was hot? The gusting winds and rolling rain lowered the temperature close to freezing. Well, from the perspective of somebody born and raised in these islands.
Stairway to Hell
Trying to maintain a semblance of a group photo at the top of the dilipidated stairways that goes nowhere.
Stairway to Hell
Asami trying to keep warm. A mostly futile exercise.
Stairway to Hell
Why didn’t we have our lunch in here?
Stairway to Hell
Going down the stairs that time forgot.
Stairway to Hell
Sections of the stairs are either missing rails, steps or just completely gone.
Stairway to Hell
It’s just a matter of time before the stairs will dissolve and disappear. Rust to rust, dust to dust.
KSRT
Umm, can we get a picture of the green and red ‘ama’u fronds without any humans? Thank you.
Red Hill Summit
We all agreed to avoid the originally planned exit from Red hill and continue down towards Kulana’ahane and avoid the relentless rolling hills that Red Hill is known for.
Moanalua Saddle
Traversing the eroded section. Having a solid balance will keep one from taking the express route down to the valley.
Moanalua Saddle
Scrambling down the rocks, one at a time.
Moanalua Saddle
The saddle keeping the clouds at bay on the Leeward side.
Moanalua Saddle
Climbing down the eroded rockface with a weathered webbing anchored to a shallow rooted tree. Safety first.
Moanalua Saddle
Going down the overgrown dirt corridor.
Moanalua Saddle
The group coming down and over the last major steep section on the saddle.
Moanalua Saddle
Quick photo on the rock before the winds knocked me off.
Moanalua Saddle
Passing an unplucked lehua flower. We still got rained on.
Moanalua Saddle
Hiking on the crumbly edge of the saddle with “hurricane weather” that robbed us of our body heat and surrendered it to the surrounding atmosphere.
Moanalua Saddle
The rest of the group hiking over the last hump before the summit.
Kulana’ahane Summit
Last group photo of the day before we got off the summit and left the howling winds behind us.
Kulana’ahane Trail
Making our way down the spur ridge to the floor of Moanalua Valley.
Kulana’ahane Trail
The girls making their way across #13 of #28 stream crossings, dry and wet. Yes, I counted.
All pau
Making our way out of the trail and finishing our almost twelve mile hike for the day. Washed our muddy shoes and tired feet at the bathrooms and walked back to our cars. Post hike meal at Alley Restaurant where everybody had their steaming hot oxtail soup with white rice. Easy peasy for the waiter.
Photos taken by Asami Waseline, Aya Asanuma 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.
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