Kalihi Valley to Pali Puka

We returned to the saddles for unfinished business and trail maintenance. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Thanks to Quan for dropping Art, Lilyn, Narissa and myself off in the land of wallabies.

We gained the ridge where the wind almost drowned out the snap, crackle and pop of the power lines above us. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Approaching the dorsal shaped rockface that Pete Clines “gave silly names to these menacing pinnacles.” Photo by Art Young.

Somebody was drowning in the Windward views. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Narissa contouring off the ridge line and gaining a brief respite from the howling winds.

The winds had seemingly cranked up a couple notches from our last weekend visit. Photo by Art Young.

Somebody got stung. Watch out for the bees Art!

What bees? Photo by Art Young.

Hiking on the edge.

Sitting on the edge. Photo by Art Young.

The group climbing up the second “silly” pinnacle.

Going up one crumbly rock at a time. Luckily the gusting winds kept us from overheating. Photo by Art Young.

The group scooting their way down the backside or frontside. Perspectives.

In between the ears. No coverage. Just a lot of wind passing through. Photo by Art Young.

Going up the last of the upright and relaxed pinnacle.

Narissa making her way down one of the harder pinnacles on the saddle. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Art climbing his way down the wedge shaped pinnacle. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Contouring our way around a rather thin piece of real estate. Photo by Art Young.

Looking back as we left the Doorstop behind us.

Elevator service is alive and well in these mountains. Photo by Art Young.

The group making their way out of the notch.

Climbing up the “terraced” steps to our lunch spot. Photo by Art Young.

Group photo with the backdrop of all those “silly” pinnacles we had climbed. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Contouring below the Can Opener with the menacing sofa sized block of rock just waiting to fall out.

Going up the grassy slope scattered with rocks of assorted sizes. Photo by Art Young.

Narissa coming up the lower tier with the backdrop of the saddle behind her.

Lilyn pulling herself up the steepest part of the wall. Photo by Art Young.

The group contouring their way back to the ridge line.

With a little help from my friends. Photo by Art Young.

Battling the fierce winds as we climbed up the ridge.

The group straddling the sliver of its former dusty self.

Climbing out of the saddle. One down. One more to go.

Time to take a panoramic photo of the Windward views. Photo by Art Young.

How many false peaks to the summit? Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Greg ran into our group as he was coming up behind us on the saddle and went down the Kapalama Trail.

Ready to drop into the next saddle. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

The group resisting the urge of gravity to just go with the flow on their descent. Photo by Art Young.

Nobody captured my “action movie” move. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Narissa didn’t need any action moves and simply stepped over to begin her climb.

Climbing up the sliver of a rockface. Photo by Art Young.

The group climbing and contouring their way around the triple dike obstacle.

Going up the Leeward side offered us brief shelter from the battering winds. Photo by Art Young.

Art waving at us to come back so we can re-take the action movie.

Narissa making her way up the eroded and crumbly ridge line. Photo by Art Young.

Lilyn trying not to get tangled in a web of her own making.

The group descending down the narrow ridge line. Photo by Art Young.

Lilyn watching Narissa making her way down.

No climbing. Just contouring. Photo by Art Young.

Narissa climbing down from one of many rocks on the saddle.

Trying to be one with the tree. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Climbing up the last hill on the saddle. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Narissa going down the slippery slope. Photo by Art Young.

Final group photo of the day.

Looking down at the historical pali (cliff) where over 700 warriors were either pushed or jumped to their deaths after being defeated by King Kamehameha’s army.

Mahalo to Quan for bringing us frozen cokes and picking us up. Super windy hike that saw everybody having a good time and finishing safely. Post hike meal at Easy Que where we were joined by Aida and Quan. Taste wasn’t up to snuff according to a certain picky eater. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

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.

Tagged as: anvil, bunny ears, can opener, dirt dragon, donkey kong, doorstop, incisor rock, kalihi saddle, kalihi valley, koolau summit ridge trail, ksrt, lanihuli summit, lanihuli wall, nuuanu saddle, pali lookout, pali puka, pimple, powerlines, shark fin, w