It was time to raise the bar or at least get the juices flowing on today’s hike. Or as somebody put it “get back in the windward ridge game.”

Trailhead

We all met up in Kahana Valley where Matt surprised us with 808 Random Hikers T-shirts that he had made in Korea. Group photo left to right: John, Cisco, myself, Aida, Allison, Ryan, Quan, Enrique, Marilyn, Narissa, Lilyn, Matt and Tessa. Lucky 13.

Kahana Valley

Passing through Hawaii’s only public ahupua’a or subdivision of land.

Trail

Enjoying the wide open and dry trail while it lasted.

Dam

Some of the group took their shoes and socks off so as not to get wet. You guys know there are a couple more stream crossings? Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Dam

All swing and no splash.

Trail

Welcome to the jungle.

Trail

Soak, rinse, repeat. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Trail

Matt gave an impromptu speech on the importance of promptness and then Chris showed up. The definition of irony.

Trail

Allison looking at True Manana and Two Apes Talking. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Trail

Last stream crossing for some of us. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Trail

Somebody was feeling good about themselves. It would not last for long.

Trail

Pushing our way through the patch of uluhe ferns that dominated the trail. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Trail

The group climbing up the first of many hills.

Trail

Verdant valley views behind us. Photo by Allison Banks.

Trail

We could see the saddle for the mountains. Photo by Allison Banks.

Trail

You guys don’t take 5 or 10 minute breaks? Who’s in charge of this hike? Oh, the death marcher. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Kahana Saddle

Group photo, left to right: John, Aida, Narissa, Chris, Marilyn, Matt, Cisco, Allison, Quan, Lilyn, myself, Enrique, Tessa and Ryan.

Kahana Saddle

Tessa belting out another rendition of Ms. Lonely.

Trail

Enrique scrambling up the steep hill towards the summit.

Trail

Gaining elevation with each step that we took. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Trail

Lilyn pulling herself up. All those hours in the gym were finally paying off.

Trail

Allison climbing her way to the summit. Photo by Aida Gordon.

Pu’u Ohulehule Summit

What’s going on here? A) Matt is slaking his thirst by drinking the water pooling in Ryan’s poncho. or B) Matt is administering a mountain massage with a happy ending.

Pu’u Ohulehule Summit

Photo bombers in the rain. Kahana was living up to its reputation as one of the wettest valleys on the island.

Pu’u Ohulehule Summit

Group photo at the rained out summit. Zero visibility. We sat out the summit as rain saturated the area around us. Ideal conditions for climbing an unknown ridge. Whose ideas was this?

Trail

We waited until the rain clouds blew over and then we separated into the hardy and the foolhardy groups.

Northeast Ridge

Somebody in blue said this ridge is not that bad. Famous last words. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Northeast Ridge

Time to break out the webbing. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Northeast Ridge

Pushing through the woody climbers as we made our way down the ridge. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Northeast Ridge

Descending from the clouds as we had to be mindful of the abundant dead trees and branches that broke off under our grasp. Instead of braking our descent, they could have easily accelerated our descent. Not a good thing.

Northeast Ridge

The ridge became narrower as the views got better with each drop we did. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Matt climbing as rocks got dislodged with each step. Luckily no rocks were dislodged during my climb down. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Chris hugging the sliver of a ridge as he climbed his way down.

Northeast Ridge

Somewhere in the mountains, there is elevator service. We also saw the hardy group going down the Northwest ridge from our precarious perch. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Northeast Ridge

Just call me Otis. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Northeast Ridge

The rest of the group waiting their turn to climb down the webbing secured with an existing anchor. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Northeast Ridge

The rolling rocks had rolling rocks on this ridge. They definitely gather no moss here. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Northeast Ridge

Matt checking out the next drop. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Going down. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Keeping my distance from the spiked shoes.

Northeast Ridge

Drop after drop. Do we have enough webbing? Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Bye bye. For reference’s sake, I was talking to an inanimate object and not a living person. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

Straddling the skinny ridge. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Northeast Ridge

The rest of us scooted down on our bellies, whereas Chris let his feet do the walking. Perhaps it had something to do with the beer belly. Perhaps not.

Northeast Ridge

Matt lowering himself down using the lip of the rock as an anchor.

Northeast Ridge

It was just a hop, skip and slide for Lilyn. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Northeast Ridge

Contouring and climbing my way up for what passes as a pile of crumbly rocks topped with skinny trees and dry grass.

Northeast Ridge

Tessa making herself comfortable as she hunkers down for the oncoming inclement weather. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Northeast Ridge

We temporarily suspended all climbing as we watched …

Northeast Ridge

… the rain showers slowly march in from the ocean and saturate the ridge and us with its watery cargo.

All clear

Tessa ready to start hiking again after the brief burst of H20. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Northeast Ridge

Matt climbing down the last drop for the day.

Northeast Ridge

Traversing the moss carpeted ridge line punctuated with trees of varying density and depth. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Northeast Ridge

Approaching the Kualoa ridge dominated by the peak of Kanehoalani.

Northeast Ridge

What’s going on here? A) I was so happy to find out that Matt’s test came back negative. Not saying what kind of test it was. or B) We were bucking the stereotypical roles while re-enacting the 2005 movie helmed by Ang Lee.

3 Corners

We took our individual and collective photos at the intersecting spot with sweeping views of the mountains, valleys and ocean.

Trail

Is this the way to the gardens?

Ka’a’awa Valley

Bench with a view. What a view. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Hakipu’u Valley

Bye bye. Inanimate object. I think I can speak for the group when I say that the Northeast ridge is one of the hardest trails we have done in recent memory. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Cow Patty

When you got to go, you got to go. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Jurassic Park

Watching out for droppings from the winged reptile. Who let the animal out? Oh, what long nails you have!

All pau

Where’s the beef? Thanks to Aida, John and Quan for picking us up on the side of the highway. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

GPS Tracks

Our adrenaline adventure that took us over old and new grounds clocked in under six miles. Glad to have done it with this bunch of friends. Thankful that everybody made it down safe, albeit the minor mishap of the out of towner that tumbled down and landed on the skinniest person. Post hike meal at Kenko-ya as the other choices were closed or did not offer dine in service.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LqR5vE96oOE&t=337s

Video by Matt Vidaurri of our ridge hike.

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.

Mahalo to Cisco for inviting and picking up the admission for Analyn and myself to a semi-guided tour of the backlot of Hawaii. Paradise is not free anymore.

Kualoa Ranch

We joined the teeming crowd of over a hundred hikers from the Hawaii Hiking Group as we headed into the ranch land that are home to three valleys.

Kualoa Ranch

Analyn standing next to a row of four tiki statues.

Kualoa Ranch

Passing the pua’a in ahupua’a.

Kualoa Ranch

Our first narrative of the day overlooked the 125 acres of Moli’i Fishpond where fish and oysters are being farmed for commercial sales to sustain the ranch as part of their business model. Also described was the tale of how the island commonly known as Chinaman’s Hat came into being as part of the tail of a giant lizard that was ripped asunder by the Hawaiian goddess Hi’iaka and thrown into the waters where it rests to this day.

Kualoa Ranch

Rounding the bend in the trail as the pyramidal peak of Pu’u Ohulehule loomed ahead of us.

Talk Story

Our last narrative for the day where it was explained to us that there are only four paniolo (cowboys) that tend to the 3,825 acres of undeveloped land that are owned by the Morgan family. We soon left to hike up to the top of the ridge before the next wave of tour buses deluged the area.

Ka’a’awa Valley

Trying to fit in our group photo with everybody else at the scenic point, left to right: Cisco, Analyn and myself.

Kanehoalani

Property pass you say?

Kualoa Ranch

Going down the muddy trail, where the kids were faster than their parents.

Zipline

Thrill seekers being pushed by gravity against the backdrop of True Manamana. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Kualoa Ranch

We couldn’t find the Kong bones, so we settled for location movie signs.

Kualoa Ranch

Some folks just don’t like getting wet.

Kualoa Ranch

At least we found these dinosaur eggs nestled in the grass next to a termite hill. I don’t know which one was more scarier. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Battery Cooper

Entering the coastal defense revetment that burrows over 150′ deep into the mountain. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Jurassic World

The bunker rooms are now used to house props and artifacts from the multiple movies that have filmed on the ranch.

Galaga

Apparently Locke did not blow up the submarine, but moved it to drydock.

Battery Cooper

Passing through the gate whose electric bills have not been paid in a long time. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Battery Cooper

Giving birth.

Battery Cooper

Giving birth by C-section. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Battery Cooper

I must be stronger than I thought or Kong had osteoporosis. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Battery Cooper

Analyn and Cisco checking to see if they’re real or fake. The jury is still out.

Battery Cooper

What happens when somebody takes too long on their photo shoots. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Battery Cooper

Leaving the bunker as we straggled back onto the trail as the group had long gone ahead of us.

Pua’a

When all that separates you from a couple of interested pigs is an electric fence, something that a hiker found out the hard way. Photo by Cisco Quintanilla.

Happy Birthday

A couple days late but nothing a sloppy Reese’s Peanut Butter Ultimate Doughnut can’t fix.

All pau

Relaxing day spent on our fun exploratory hike that meandered its way through picturesque valleys and a WW2 bunker chock filled with more movie props than you can say lights, camera and action. Post hike meal at Waiahole Poi Factory. Thanks to Analyn for treating us to an ono Hawaiian lunch.

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.

Met up with Ben, Ethan, Nandor, Scott, Serene and Shirley at one of the wettest spots on the island. Luckily, today was an exception to the rule. Photo by Scott Bowling.

Trailhead

Where the paved road soon meets the trail.

DAM XNG

Group photo. Can you see us in the distance?

Nakoa Trail

Left for the trail. Right for the urinals.

Stream crossing

Ankle deep.

Kahana Valley

Hala trees along the trail, with their distinctive aerial roots.

Stream crossing

Barely wet.

Kahana Valley

Going off the beaten path.

Kahana Valley

Land of lost signals. Hannah, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Virginia anymore.

Kahana Valley

Walking through waist high uluhe ferns as we saw our destination ahead.

Kahana Valley

Trail clearing in progress. Ultra light saws just don’t cut it. Get a home depot saw or Bear Grylls machete.

Kahana Valley

B&W Bamboo break. Photo by Nandor Szotak.

Kahana Narrows

The trail eventually became defined by high, narrow rock walls.

Kahana Narrows

I guess these stones haven’t been rolling for quite some time. Photo by Nandor Szotak.

Chock stone #1

Why do you call it chock stone? Ask the English teacher.

Chock stone #1

Shirley killing it. The plant life that is.

Chock stone #2

A booming voice from Kauai erupted and yelled ” I told you not to touch the tree! ” Sanitized for family consumption. Color me embarrassed. Photo by Ben Hinders.

Kahana Valley

Scott’s group took a different path to Two Apes Talking. We were left with cliff notes for the unknown trail ahead of us. Go straight and up the ridge. Okie dokie.

Kahana Valley

The “trail” was eventually swallowed by the dense forest.

Kahana Valley

Making our way up the steep flank of the ridge, swinging by trees to get to the top of the saddle.

True Manamana

Thoughts of climbing it went out the window, it lingered awhile, but died a slow death.

Kahana Valley

Meanwhile, a couple ridges over, Serene was having fun with the uluhe ferns. Photo by Nandor Szotak.

Spire

Doesn’t look that bad. Famous last words. Photo by Shirley.

Spire

The booster team.

Spire

So crumbly close and yet so fawking far.

Two Apes Talking

As close as we were going to get to it today.

Spire

Spreading my cheeks. Oh, did I get it wrong? Was it turn the other cheek? Photo by Ethan Clavecillas.

Ka’a’awa Valley

A refreshing view of Kanehoalani after Ben had his head up my you know what. Photo by Shirley.

Spire

The man train coming down. Photo by Shirley.

Spire

Shirley being of the wrong gender and not wanting to be the caboose, making her way back down to join the rest of the group. Photo by Nandor Szotak.

True Manamana

Taller than it looks.

Kahana Saddle

Group photo back to front: myself, Serene, Scott, Nandor, Ben, Ethan and Shirley.

Kahana Valley

Scott taking the steep shortcut down. Watch the poop.

Kahana Valley

Looking out towards Pu’u Piei.

Kahana Valley

After three tiered webbing descents, the grade of the ridge transitioned from steep to walkable.

Kahana Valley

The group making their way down the rock strewn “trail.”

Chock stone #2

When I first heard Nandor talking aboout these rock obstacles, I heard ” chalk stone. ” I guess that’s why it had to be explained by an English teacher.

Chock stone #2

Ethan finding his footing as he made his way down.

Chock stone #1

Scott looking for the tree to grab as he made his way down. Oh, it was killed.

Chock stone #1

Ben swinging around the boulder to land himself.

Kahana Narrows

Going down the constricted moss covered walls.

DAM XNG

Playing in the shallow end.

All pau

Fun times with a great crew, thanks to Scott for setting it up. Mahalo to Ben’s friend, Will for dropping off the IPA beer and my imaginary soda. Cheers. Post hike meal at Brick Oven Pizza. Thanks for the soda Ben. Better late than never. Just kidding. Double check your bill for extra charges as well.

Note: I have been made aware the 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.

After a three-week hiatus from hiking, I hooked up with Marcus again, along with Scott, Francis, KiLei, and Pete. Having hiked Pu’u Manamana and Pu’u Kahekili, I jumped at the chance to hike True Manamana with an experienced guide like Marcus. I had heard a lot about this hike, how it was quite challenging and that it was no joke. We all met at Swanzy Beach Park at 7:45am and piled into Scott’s truck, who then drove us to Trout Farm Road where we parked.

Kahana Bay

We pushed off at 8:05am and made our way up Cemetery Ridge from the old graveyard that sits at the foot of the trail. Right off the bat, the going up is a slow and steep climb up  a ridge that alternated between dirt, green moss and tree roots holding everything together. Within 20 minutes, we already had commanding views of Kahana Bay and Kahana Valley.

Ka'a'awa Valley

We reached Turnover, which is the highest point on Manamana at an elevation of 2,027 feet, at 10:10am. Mother Nature was graciously giving us excellent weather as we could see spectacular views of Ka’a’awa Valley and the Kualoa Mountains. Despite the sunny weather, the trail near the top of Turnover to the Lookout was extremely muddy, the type of mud that can suck your shoe(s) off your foot if not careful.

Lookout

Twenty minutes later, we found ourselves at the 1,900 foot point known as Lookout. We could clearly see our objective dead ahead, True Manamana, with Pu’u Ohulehule squarely behind it. To lighten our loads a bit, we stashed our extra water at this point. It was best to carry light as possible hiking this narrow and crumbly ridge.

Rockface

Half and hour later, we climbed down what is probably the hardest part of the trail, an approximately 50′ rockface. If you’re confident in your climbing skills, you can “no rope” it going down, I elected to use the ropes to help me going down. Better safe than sorry.

Narrow ridge

We dropped nearly 600 feet going into the saddle between the Lookout and True Manamana. In between, the ridge was a combination of up and down climbs that provided crumbly and rocky footing and trees that would provide support as often as blocking the ridge, where we would have to swing to the side to get back on the ridge.

Approaching the Puka

Scattered on the ridge, were also numerous rockfaces and formations that we either climbed around, over or simply contoured around them.

Puka shot

Marcus suggested we all take a group photo in this puka (hole) formation. But most of the group had already passed this on the way to the summit. We were supposed to have taken it on the way back, but I guess everybody forget except Scott and myself.

More narrow ridge

The ridge seemed to get a little more narrower and crumblier as we approached the summit. It could have been my imagination.

Scramble to the summit

Making the final uphill push to reach the summit. I was already winded, and we had still had to reverse hike going back. Time to hit those elliptical machines to build up my cardio!

True Manamana Summit

We reached the summit of True Manamana at 1,650 feet at 12:30pm. The views were outstanding as we could see Pu’u Manamana, Ka’a’awa Valley, Kualoa Mountains, Pu’u Ohulehule, Waimanalo to Kahana.

Panoramic view from the top of True Manamana

Click here to see the larger image.

Going back down

No rest for the weary, after a short break, we all headed back down the same way we came up.

Headed back to the Lookout

Took us exactly 8 hours to finish this four mile hike. But what a four mile hike it was! We called it a day by having something to eat at Uncle Bobo’s, which is right across Swanzy Beach Park, BYOB!

We were looking for a challenging hike this weekend, and we found it in the Pu’u Manamana trail. We drove towards the Crouching Lion Inn in Ka’a’awa and parked on Trout Farm Road. We walked back towards the Crouching Lion Inn and right after the Route 83 sign, we saw the pink ribbons on the trees to the right that marked the trailhead.

Kahana Bay

We made our way through ti plants and Christmas Berry shrubs and eventually broke out onto an open grassy area, where we had a commanding view of Kahana Bay. To our left was the Crouching Lion rock formation. If you’re going to do this hike, you have got to make the short detour to climb to the top of the Crouching Lion!

Crouching Lion

Once I made it to the top, stunning views from Laie Point to Kaneohe Bay were just fantastic and gorgeous.

Slippahs

We resumed our steep climbing along the ridge, when we noticed somebody had left a pair of slippers on the trail. That must have been a better man than me that can do this hike in slippers!

Makua Beach

After climbing several steep rock faces, we made it to the main ridgeline, with sweeping views of Makua Beach to Kaneohe Bay.

Ridge view

We continued our push up the ridge, passing a Christmas Berry grove and a couple of eroded spots on the trail. Looking back down the ridge we had come up, the sun bouncing off the mountains and ocean gave it some cool colors.

Another ridge view

At this point, the ridge started to level off a bit, allowing us to catch our breath.

Rock face

After we went around this rock face, looking back, it looked as if some menehune hands had put this together.

Steep rock face

We then descended this pretty steep rock face, with the assistance of ropes. The trail then became quite narrow, at one section, it was about a foot wide. The ridge eventually widened and was covered with native plants such as ohia trees and uluhe ferns and other sorts of plant life. We then tackled at least five rollercoasting knobs before we finally made it to the top, known as Turnover, elevation of 2,027 feet.

Kualoa Ranch Mountains

Looking towards Kaneohe, we saw the Jurassic-looking mountains that were by Kualoa Ranch. The side trail to go back down is marked with a pink ribbon, but I can see how others have missed it as the vegetation is quite thick up there. We passed it on our right as we made our way to the clearing, for good measure, my friend stuck his water bottle in the tree to plainly mark the trail.

Kahana Valley

Coming down or sliding down, as the downward trail starts off muddy and steep, we had a nice view of Kahana Valley, which is Hawaii’s only public ahupua’a, it stretches from Kahana Bay to Pu’u Pauao at 2,670 feet. I believe that about 30+ Hawaiian families live in the valley today.

Cemetery Ridge

The trail then became quite narrow, as the ridge seemed to be held together with rocks and tree roots, carpeted with moss. At least, there were a lot of trees to brake our descent, as we lost elevation in a hurry.

Rock croppings

The ridge eventually widened but the descent didn’t slack up. We passed these rock croppings that reminded me of silent stone sentinels. After passing through a hala grove, we ended up in a graveyard, which explains how Cemetery ridge got its name. Making sure we didn’t step on anybody’s grave, we emerged onto a lawn on Trout Farm Road and our truck was parked right in front of it. The entire hike took us about five hours and while many say this is one of the most dangerous hikes, I would say it was difficult and challenging.