Laie to Pupukea Trail

by kenji SAITO on December 9, 2023

Back in the mountains after weekends of pounding the pavement. Met up with Aida under flashing lights in trees which probably kept the chickens up.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Going up the heavily eroded and rutted section of the trail.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Walking underneath the towering Norfolk pine trees.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Traversing over the cleaned up landslide. Hats off to HTMC for all their hard work and trail clearing.

Laie Falls

Laie Falls

It’s not only the sounds of running water, it’s also the sign that results in the urge to urinate. Fresh water was wasted in the making of this photo.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Passing the steep cliff on the right and huge drops on the left.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Reaching the replacement sign as we soon crossed paths with the KST.

Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST)

Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST)

Stepping foot on the most overgrown section of the KST.

KST

KST

Where’s the other shadow?

KST

KST

Fluttering and weathered flags marked the trail’s path through the dense overgrowth.

KST

KST

Trudging through a somewhat exposed section of the trail.

Malaekahana Junction

Malaekahana Junction

Reaching the junction with the ridge that goes back down the namesake ridge that also has another waterfall.

KST

KST

Following the faint trail with the pinwheeling windmills in the background.

KST

KST

Forced smiles at one of our small breaks on the trail.

KST

KST

Halfway there!

KST

KST

Going under, contouring and convoluting our way through the trail was the common denominator of the day.

KST

KST

Pushing through a seemingly impenetrable barrier of uluhe ferns, clidemia, strawberry guava trees, strangling vines and other plant life that seemed determined to poke, pull and generally make life miserable for hikers passing through their land.

KST

KST

Face in the forest.

KST

KST

Passing a pruner in the branches.

KST

KST

Are we there yet?

Pu'u Hina

Pu’u Hina

Group photo at the Pupukea Summit, which is also the junction for the “lost” Kahuku Trail.

KST

KST

Dropping off the summit as we raced the sun sinking below the horizon.

Black Junction

Black Junction

The official end or start of the Ko’olau Summit Trail.

Pupukea Trail

Pupukea Trail

When you don’t get the scare that you expected. Picked the wrong person. Thanks to Tessa for meeting us up on the trail and picking us up.

Pupukea Trail

Pupukea Trail

Where the trail meets the road. Don’t miss the junction Auntie!

All pau

All pau

Walking in the darkness back to our cars where not paying attention gets you a bloody nose at the gate.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

Our overgrown KST hike covered 13.2 miles through a punishing trail that abused you six ways to Sunday. Post hike meal at Kenko-ya, where the location needs to be updated on Google so everybody can meet up at the correct spot.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, 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.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Wahinee01 December 22, 2023 at 11:05 pm

Wow! You guys are beasts!! I was getting paranoid thinking I missed the trail entrance. Good thing I asked those boys if they knew where it was! lol
Watch out for the gate! Oops! Too late lol

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kenji SAITO December 24, 2023 at 6:49 pm

Aloha Tessa,
Thanks for meeting us on the trail and picking us up. Too bad your scare didn’t go off as planned.
Mahalo

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