Kaena to Mount Ka’ala

Team no sleep gathered to help Aileen finish the WST this particular weekend.

Mahalo to Edgar for dropping off us at the trailhead in the middle of the night.

All bright eyed and bushy tailed. Or maybe not.

Skirting the predator proof fence that protects 59 acres of land that are home to endemic fauna and flora.

The westernmost views from the first bunker on the ridge.

Climbing our way to the second and third WW2 bunkers.

Akira climbing over a clump of boulders.

Tessa scrambling her way up.

Traversing the open area littered with loose rocks, barbed wire and hale koa shrubs.

Skirting the visitor proof fence that protects 153 acres that are home to the US Space Force. Not be confused with Spaceballs.

Wait. Inside or outside?

I had to f*cking lie flat down. I had f*cking thorny seed pods on my legs. Maybe it was the lack of sleep or time of day that resulted in the outburst of profanity from somebody.

Going through a gate meant to keep out the large bovid ungulates? No cow tipping.

We spent an inordinate amount of time bushwhacking even with the artificial illumination being cast our way before we got back on track.

Taking a break at the picnic shelter. Too much excitement is not good for the heart of outbreaks of profanity.

Back on the trail again.

Starry night. A view best savored in person and more enjoyable than the Dutch post-impressionist painting of the same name.

Are we taking a power nap? No, then we wouldn’t be living up to our name.

Leaving the 4×4 road for a trail more suited to hiking.

Catching the breaking sunrise after the exhausting cardio climb up the deeply rutted hill.

Gloves optional at the geodetic marker.

Hiking through the 685 acres set aside to protect endemic fauna and flora in the lowland mesic zone. Stay on trail.

When you fall, get up and fall down again.

Looking back at how far we had come. Optical illusion?

Skirting past the native snail habitat.

We left the tree line and broke out into the open ridgeline to view the stunning vista of the verdant valley that belies its scarred history of when the US Military evicted all the valley residents after the Pearl Harbor attack. White crosses were then painted on the church and homes and were then bombed, infrastructure was razed and demolished, fishing holes bombed,
and fresh water wells were used as dumps for waste oil. Planes and ships shelled the valley for target practice which basically rendered the valley uninhabitable. In fact, the US Army in 1955 declared the valley as so contaminated that it was not practical to return the land to the previous owners. Despite promises by the US Military that after WW2 ended, the valley was promised to be cleaned and cleared and returned to the Commissioner of Public Lands after six months. To this date, the land still remains off-limits much like Waikane Valley that was rendered indefinitely contaminated by the US Marines for live fire training during the war as well.

Akira grooming Tessa. Or something close to it.

Following the fence line as we made our way on the ridge line.

Passing the Mokuleia Shelter on our left. No stop needed for water, avocados or oranges.

Group photo at the bench with a different view of the valley. The Hawaiians believe this is where man was first created, hence the name makua, which means parent in Hawaiian.

Hiking up hills after hills, or that’s how it seemed to us.

Enjoying the relatively flat section of the trail while it lasted.

Going down the steepest part of the trail.

Somebody can sleep anywhere anytime at the drop of a hat. Not living up to the team name.

Group photo with valley views of Makua, Makaha and Mokuleia.

It was time to go swimming in uhule.

We had to do multiple fence crossings, more than the illegal migrants down South.

Now you see him. Now you don’t. The uluhe ferns was so thick and seemingly impassable at several spots.

We could soon see the road for the overgrowth.

Aileen down climbing a steep spot with slippery stakes masquerading as steps.

Pushing through the last of the insufferable uluhe ferns as signs of civilization was just a step away.

Transitioning from trail to road.

There is no lack of visibility here at this spot.

Pounding the pavement. Literally.

Walking commentary. If you understand Japanese, aside from hai hai arigatou gozaimasu.

Sometimes you just have to stop, turn around and enjoy the views.

The slow and punishing walk of a little over two miles of incline road was quite tiring to say the least.

#22 – Customary champagne celebration dousing of the (un)lucky recipient. Congratulations to Aileen for completing her last section of the WST. Two feathers in her cap. KST and WST.

Can I get a nickel for this bottle?

Group photo at the highest peak on the island. Glad that Chico made it up here to bear witness and garnered a personal best in his time ascending the 4,025′ mountain.

Traversing the roughly 3/4 mile boardwalk that cuts through the 1,100 acres of native cloud forest where we also ran into dozens of volunteers from the OANRP.

Climbing down the steep trail as we descended off the summit.

Aileen climbing down the ladder on the first set of boulders.

Tessa and Chico enjoying the mountainous views on the second set of boulders.

Akira ready to drop down into the valley from Three Poles.

Walking down the much maligned paved road.

Shout out to Chico who not only met us at the summit but picked us up and drove us back to our cars at Mililani.

Our night to day trek through the Waianae Mountains covered just shy of 17 miles with good friends. Congratulations again to Aileen for f*cking completing the Waianae Summit Trail. Dessert before dinner. Soft serve ice cream cones at McDonald’s. Craving for loco moco was satisfied and substituted by latin food at Coquito’s. We all went home to take a hot shower and get some much needed shut eye.

Photos taken by Aileen Agustin, Akira Suzuki, Chico Cantu, Edgar Gamiao, Tessa Bugay, 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.

Tagged as: kaena point, kuaokala trail, mokuleia lookout, mount kaala, pahole natural area reserve, three corners, waianae mountains, waianae summit trail, waianae valley, waianae-kaala trail, wst