The birthday boy wanted a repeat of Kalihi Saddle for his hike. So we did it with a twist today.

Kalihi Valley

Thanks to Matt’s dad for dropping Akira, Amber, Matt, Roger, Tessa and myself where we possibly glimpsed a rare yellow striped macropod hopping through the valley.

Camp Centipede

Group photo where we stashed extra food and water for our return trip back down.

Kalihi Saddle

Scenic pisses. Not to be confused with golden showers.

Kalihi Saddle

Traversing on the narrow ridge line as we approached Witch’s Hat.

Witch’s Hat

Somebody was probably thinking “Didn’t we just do this two weeks ago?”

Witch’s Hat

Tessa climbing her way down against the backdrop of Windward Oahu.

Witch’s Hat

Scooting our way down the front side or back side. Depends on which way you’re going.

Kalihi Saddle

Climbing our way up on exposed rocks on the eroded ridgeline. Or was it the other way around?

Kalihi Saddle

Amber looking back at the scenic spot of Witch’s Hat.

Hump

Climbing over the hill to get to the destination. Wishing each other happy hump day, to acknowledge that the hike can be challenging.

Wave

Hiking with the flow.

Kalihi Saddle

Watching our steps as we made our way along the uneven, narrow and crumbly ridge line.

Kalihi Saddle

Roger scrambling up past the tabletop rockface.

Rock Triangle #1

Rope inspection. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Rock Triangle #1

Akira pulling himself up to safe ground.

Rock Triangle #2

Clouds started to roll in that was accompanied by passing sprinkles.

Hot Wheel Tracks

The group making their way over the shelf of rock and dirt seemingly hanging precariously off the cliff.

Rock Triangle #2

Matt flashing the obligatory shaka in the mountains. Many theories abound as to the origin of the state’s official gesture; ranging from a train guard, to a shark bite and to immigrants. But most all agree that the shaka means the aloha spirit.

Broken Wave

The mountains seemed to be steaming as we made our way up the eroded runway of a ridge line.

Dirty Slide

Contouring our way on the uneven and overgrown flank of the mountain. The hardest part of the hike.

Dirty Slide

Why pull, when you can claw your way up the eroded top? Exactly!

Kalihi Saddle

Staying on the cloud free side of the ridge line.

Kalihi Saddle

Roger making his way around the short stretch of exposed and eroded ridge line.

Kalihi Saddle

Falling rocks.

Kalihi Saddle

What goes up must come down. Truer words have never been spoken by Isaac Newton.

Kalihi Saddle

Getting back on the ridge line.

Broken Wave

Roger watching Amber make her way down the rain of rocks.

Kalihi Saddle

Matt descending down to the section where a fellow hiker had fallen over a year ago, after the webbing had snapped on him.

Kalihi Saddle

More falling rocks.

Kalihi Saddle

Play Misty for Me. And now here’s a pretty one for lonely hikers on a cool, cool day. Creative license taken.

Rock Triangle #2

Matt climbing his way down. Somebody put shiny webbing on this rockface that can be seen from miles away. Slight exaggeration.

Hot Wheel Tracks

Roger leaving the rock fall prone area for safer ground. Relatively speaking.

Hot Wheel Tracks

Happy Birthday Akira-san! Many more smoky returns.

Hot Wheel Tracks

Amber going down the eroded shelf of dirt barely passing itself off as a ridge line.

Rock Triangle #2

An aerial perspective as Matt launched his drone.

Kalihi Saddle

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a drone!

Rock Triangle #1

Looking for my next foothold as I made my way down.

Rock Triangle #1

Drone view of the group climbing down the rockface.

Kalihi Saddle

Amber going over the new dirt dragon.

Kalihi Saddle

Waiting for the rest of the group as we soaked in the views on the postage stamp sized seats.

Tabletop

Leaving as we didn’t have reservations.

Wave

Going against the flow.

Hump

Climbing down an obstacle is infinitely less preferable than going up. You got to do what you got to do.

Witch’s Hat

It was too early for Halloween.

Witch’s Hat

Amber looking back at the steep climb we had just descended.

Witch’s Hat

Watching the rest of the group making their way down along with some stray rocks that made their way down as well.

Kalihi Saddle

Hiking back to our starting point.

Camp Centipede

Lunch in the mountains. Beef and cheese sticks, musubi, ramen and spam and of course, steak and rice. All washed down with carbonated sodas and H20. Shall we continue?

Powerlines

Passing the powerlines as we pushed towards the direction of Lanihuli.

Shark Fin

Climbing and contouring our way around this particular rockface.

Kalihi Saddle

This side of the saddle is longer, but generally less steep and not as denuded as the other side. Just my opinion.

Kalihi Saddle

Making our way towards the peak of Lanihuli. Pipe dream.

Kalihi Saddle

Akira balancing on the thin ridge line. First rule of falling. Don’t fall. Second rule of falling. If you have to fall, fall on the Leeward side.

Bunny Ears

Standing on the magic mushroom rock. Natural high in the mountains.

Bunny Ears

The group climbing their way up the thin, weathered ribbon of rocks.

Bunny Ears

Making our way to the clump of pine trees on the peak of the first rockface.

Bunny Ears

Roger climbing up to another clump of pine trees on the second rockface.

Kalihi Saddle

I can see the Dirt Dragon! Look, but don’t touch.

Doorstop

Akira climbing his way down the eroded rockface. Hey, where is everybody else? The spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak. The rest of the group decided to call it a day. I had at least wanted to make it to the Dirt Dragon. But it was not in the cards. Well, the mountains will always be there.

Pimple

I climbed to the top and briefly stood up as the gusty winds buffeted me, so I lowered my center of gravity lest I become a pimple on the saddle myself.

Doorstop

Akira trying to fruitlessly secure the ropes against the strong winds that were fighting against his good intentions.

Doorstop

Making my way to the top.

Doorstop

It was time to turn around and go back home.

Doorstop

The group hiking to rejoin Tessa who had stayed on the last Bunny Ear due to leg cramps.

Bunny Ears

Scooting our way down the crumbly side of the rockface.

Bunny Ears

Tickling the Bunny Ears as we traversed between the two rockfaces.

Bunny Ears

The group climbing down the last Bunny Ear. Too late for Easter.

Kalihi Saddle

Hiking on the edge. Luckily, the islands have trade winds for the most part, which pushes us away from the sheer drops. Kona winds are not your friend in the mountains.

Kalihi Saddle

Drone view of the group climbing down from Shark Fin.

Powerlines

Making our way down to the col in the saddle.

Powerlines

Last group photo of the day.

Powerlines

The drone has landed. No severed or cut fingers.

All pau

Amber and Matt playing on a natural teeter-totter in the woods. Mahalo to Matt’s dad for picking us up and taking us back to our cars!

GPS Tracks

Our back and forth hike covered less than four miles of focused climbing and scrambling all day. While we did not complete the intended goals, it was a fun day for all and there is always a next time. Kudos to the group for agreeing to my plan and coming down safely in one piece.

Max’s of Waipahu

Akira has a new love in his life now. Just look at that smile. Any more wider and his face would split open. Move over Tessa.

Max’s of Waipahu

Thanks to Agnes, Aileen, Cat, Dale, Edgar, Mari, Marilyn, and Mona for coming out to celebrate Akira’s birthday with good company and fun times.

Photos taken by Akira Suzuki, Amber Fonte, Matt Vidaurri, Roger Schiffman, 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.