Pupukea Trail to Laie Trail

by kenji SAITO on August 15, 2021

We went back to the land of cannibal chickens where the grass needed to be mowed and the bushes trimmed back. Wishful thinking.

Trailhead

Trailhead

Thanks to Daryl and Lilyn for shuttling Art, Barry, Chris, CJ, Quan, Tessa and myself from Laie. Photo by Daryl Cacatian.

Paalaa Uka Pupukea Road

Paalaa Uka Pupukea Road

When the scare doesn’t go off as planned.

Paalaa Uka Pupukea Road

Paalaa Uka Pupukea Road

Repairing the road for the return of the Stryker Brigade? Photo by Art Young.

Pupukea Trail

Pupukea Trail

Leaving the road for the trail. Don’t let the hunting dogs make you miss the turn off. Inside joke. Photo by Art Young.

Black Junction

Black Junction

Group photo at the traditional start of the 52 mile plus traverse along the Ko’olau Mountain Range.

Ko'olau Summit Trail (KST)

Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST)

Pushing our way to the first summit of the day. Photo by Art Young.

Pu'u Hina

Pu’u Hina

What do you do when not everybody wants to get up from their posterior to take the group photo. Ghetto improvisation.

KST

KST

Leaving the summit for overgrown pastures. Photo by Art Young.

KST

KST

Keep to the left to stay on track. Detour to the right to go off exploring the other side of the hill.

KST

KST

Pushing our way through the overgrowth.

KST

KST

Quan’s hair got into a tussle with Mother Nature. Guess who won? Photo by Art Young.

KST

KST

Flagging the trail. Accidentally.

KST

KST

Group photo at the halfway spot.

KST

KST

Making our way to the lunch spot. What? The lunch spot!

Maleakahana Junction

Maleakahana Junction

From one hand to another. The old glove marker was getting long in the tooth.

KST

KST

The overgrowth tapered off as … Photo by Barry Lau.

KST

KST

… the trail meandered through the Ko’olau Mountains. Photo by Art Young.

Laie Summit

Laie Summit

Group photo at the foxhole left to right: Art, Chris, myself, Quan, CJ, Tessa and Barry.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Leaving the 2,240′ summit.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

It was all downhill on the six mile graded trail punctuated with native forest, slippery rocks, uluhe ferns, landslides, pine trees and rutted trails.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Passing the steep cliff on our left and coastal views on our right.

Laie Falls Junction

Laie Falls Junction

Somebody’s idea of washing their spikes in the waterfalls went out the window as the day became longer than expected. Photo by Art Young.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Art in the middle of the stand of towering pine trees.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Keeping up with the goat. Photo by Barry Lau.

Laie Trail

Laie Trail

Some people come down in their own different ways. Photo by Art Young.

All pau

All pau

Catching the pine tree filtered sunset on our way down as we finished our 13 plus mile hike filled with stifling overgrowth and good company. Photo by CJ Mendiola.

GPS Tracks

GPS Tracks

Some people had to rush to go home and the beach. The rest of us had our post hike meal at Zippy’s where some people like to pay for expensive soup sans the oxtail.

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.

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Tom Whitaker August 29, 2021 at 4:25 pm

Right on advice for the uninitiated
Thanks

Reply

kenji SAITO August 30, 2021 at 10:00 am

Aloha Tom,
Purely entertainment value for the most overgrown section of the Ko’olau Summit Trail. LOL.
Mahalo

Reply

Previous post:

Next post: