Decided to take a break from the last stormy hike and visit the nice and dry West side. Mahalo to Jasmin for dropping Chris, Ferlino, Jasmin, Lopaka, Matt and myself off at the trailhead where Janell was already waiting for us. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Mr. and Mrs. Ed

Getting friendly with the locals. Photo by Jasmin Nepomuceno.

Trail

Walking the road to the uplands. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Trail

Leaving the sea behind us.

Hunter’s Stand

Chris and Matt enjoying the elevated vantage point. See any goats? Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Hunter’s Stand

Ferlino planking on the tree. Who needs the stand?

Spur Ridge

Heading up the dry grassy rocky ridge. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Spur Ridge

Leaving the shaded valley as we made our way up the sun bleached ridge. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo Valley

Coming up the ridge, we were surrounded by goat bleatings bouncing off the valley.

Spur Ridge

Lopaka playing King of the Hill. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Spur Ridge

Our final push to the top of the ridge. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

PETA

Chris’s bathroom break startled a goat who ran head first into the fence and promptly got stuck much to his dismay. His buddies scampered off when they saw us approaching, thinking it was nice knowing you. Chris and Lopaka freed the goat who immediately took off down the ridge.

Spur Ridge

Ferlino decided to keep Jasmin company on the journey to the cabin, so we split into two groups. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Morning Mushroom

Recreational fungus for recreational hiking?

Makua Valley

Looking back into the valley where landscapers fear to tread.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Tube man on the ridge.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Chris and Lopaka detouring around a wrecked fence section due to a rock slide. It was around this section that a bunch of bees were pollinating flowers on the other side of the fence, when some of them decided to bombard me with their suicidal stinging. My flailing around was unfortunately not caught on camera.

Helipad

Cleared to land.

Helipad

Pick me up too!

Ohikilolo Ridge

The ridge started to turn from red brown to dark green, a sign that we were getting near the summit.

Balloon Flowers

I remember these from small kid time, at least that’s what we used to call them.

PETA

Not another one? This one actually pissed itself before being freed by Lopaka.

Ohikilolo

Lopaka test tenting my camping shelter. Sold!

Ohikilolo

Group photo above the cabin left to right: Chris, Janell, Lopaka, myself and Matt.

Ohikilolo

One was closed and the other open for business.

Ohikilolo

Janell decided to wait at the cabin for Ferlino and Jasmin.

Ohikilolo Summit

I guess somebody changed their mind. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ohikilolo Summit

Panoramic view of Makaha, Ohikilolo and Makua Valleys from the top.

Ohikilolo Summit

We took our leave of the 3,052′ summit and Janell. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo Summit

Matt and Lopaka coming down the crumbly backside.

Ohikilolo Summit

Name tagging on the ridge. Photo by Janell Tuttle.

Ohikilolo Valley

Looking into the depression that separates Makua and Makaha Valleys. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Leaving the peak with our brains intact. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Geology 101

How big rocks are made into little rocks. Photos by Matt Vidaurri.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Peering over the crumbly wall of Ohikilolo. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Riding the rock dragon with the sweeping vista of Ka’ala in the background.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Lopaka climbing the fence or the ridge down?

Ohikilolo Ridge

Hindrance … Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo Ridge

… or help? Jury is still out in my book. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Standing on a sliver of a ridge. Photo by Chris Bautista.

Ohikilolo

Meanwhile, Ferlino and Jasmin caught up to Janell at the hill above the cabin.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Contouring around the boulder. Photo by Lopaka Hipperson.

Ohikilolo Ridge

What does that look like? Two ears? Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Can you see the ape for the rocks?

Ohikilolo Ridge

Climbing up the steepest rock section. Photo by Lopaka Hipperson.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Looking back. Fences for daze.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Heading to greener ridges. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Rodent country.

Three Corners

Matt climbing over the fence to the spot that provides triple valley views.

Spur Ridge

Meanwhile, Janell and Jasmin were making their way down the ridge into the valley. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

H20

Filling up our water bottles for the last leg home.

Waianae Summit Trail (WST)

The fence turned from a necessary handhold to more of a navigational and invasive barrier on this trail section.

WST

Lopaka making his way around the many assorted boulders that littered the fenced side of the ridge.

Mokuleia Lookout

I guess somebody wanted their own selfie.

Mokuleia Trail

Getting off the WST.

Whole Foods

Oranges. Tangerines. Tangelos. Whatever it was, this tree was brimming with the coldest, juiciest and sweetest citrus fruits I’ve tasted in awhile. Hiking all day may have had something to do with my taste buds interpretation.

Mokuleia Trail

Our packs, some more than others, weighed down with our fruit bounty as we made our way down the trail.

Pahole Natural Area Reserve

Leaving the sprawling 658 acres that are home to endemic fauna and flora.

Peacock Flats

Nobody around to give us a ride down.

Farrington Hwy

The long walk down the 3.5 mile road.

All pau

Banana, Coconut and Papaya trees lined the road as we exited to Chris’s staged van. Free range chickens also roamed the road. We had all the fixings of a hearty meal.

GPS Tracks

Our coast to coast hike covered a little over 11 miles complete with undomesticated ungulates, organic fruits and the company of good friends. Post hike meal at Restaurant Kunio. The wait was too long, but too tired to go elsewhere.

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.

West side is the best side, especially for hiking. Thanks to Jasmin for dropping Alexis, Annalyn, Ferlino and myself off in Kea’au.

Trailhead

Starting our dawn retreat into the valley.

Ohikilolo Valley

Party of four for the horseback adventure tours? It’s amazing how a few years can commercialize this valley.

Ohikilolo Valley

Hiking on the rocky, dirt road with views of Kaena Point in the distance.

Ohikilolo Valley

Going off the beaten trail into the bushes and the fence line.

Ohikilolo Valley

Hunter’s tree stand doubling as a flag pole. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Ridge

Leaving the valley floor and vegetation behind as they soon yielded to the rocky spur ridge.

Ridge

Contouring and climbing our way up the short and steep spur ridge that was punctuated with rugged dikes. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ridge

Looking back at the ocean views along with the bleating sounds of goats bouncing around the valley.

Ridge

Alexis scrambling her way up to the ridge line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Time to give our fingers a work out on the fenced ridge line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

But let’s take a fence selfie first. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Going up in the shadow of the sun.

Ohikilolo Ridge

The ridge separating Makua and Ohikilolo Valleys.

Ohikilolo Ridge

I was pleasantly surprised to find no decomposing goats as we made our steady climb up the ridge.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Crossing an open section of the ridge before plunging into the mixed forested area right before the summit.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Ferlino mingling with the swarm of dragonflies that were dancing and darting around us at the broad clearing before the cabin. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Ohikilolo Cabin

Closed for business. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Ohikilolo Outhouse

Open for business. BYOTP.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Looking ahead to the triangular peak of scooped out brains.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Keeping close to the fence line as the eroded ridge dropped off towards Kea’au.

Ohikilolo Summit

Group photo at the 3,052′ peak, left to right: Alexis, myself, Ferlino and Analyn. Clear views of Makua, Makaha and Ohikilolo Valleys were revolving around us, a primer for the upcoming Three Corners summit.

Ohikilolo Summit

Dropping off the peak. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ohikilolo

Zig zagging our way down the severely eroded back side.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Back on the fence line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Fences for days. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ohikilolo Ridge

All fences lead to Ka’ala. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ohikilolo Ridge

The ridge widened enough to a point to take a scenic break.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Ferlino standing on the crumbly rock dragon. Photo by Analyn Baliscao.

Ohikilolo Ridge

The ridge continued to thin out in most sections, made even thinner with the fence line taking up valuable real estate.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Descending down the ridge with the help of the handy fence line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Looking ahead to Pueo Falls deep in Makaha Valley.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Analyn straddling the fence from the Windward to the Leeward side to contour around a boulder that interrupted the fence line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

I heard somebody yelling at us from Three Corners. Turned out to be Chris and Ted who had hiked in from Mokuleia.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Analyn contouring her way between the boulder and the fence line.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Preparing to climb up the steepest section of the fenced ridge.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Looking back at the rest of the group making their way up.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Rat country.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Twin views of Makaha and Makua Valleys.

Ohikilolo Ridge

Making the final push towards the summit.

Three Corners

Views of Makua, Makaha and Mokuleia valleys spinning around us.

Ridge

Thirty minutes of bushwhacking hell through the tangled mess of dense uluhe ferns and thorny thimbleberry plants lay ahead of us.

Ridge

We could finally see the road for the uluhe ferns, but not the see the mountain for the clouds.

Ka’ala Road

Alexis descending down through a corridor of uluhell ferns. The original plan was to exit from the Waianae Kaala Trail, but time and safety considerations dictated the easier option down.

Ka’ala Road

Walking down the five miles of paved road with mountain views.

Ka’ala Road

Road mirrors are good for blind turns and group selfies.

Pig Country

Barking loudly and carrying a big stick while walking down the road. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ka’ala Road

Color check at the cow sign.

Ka’ala Road

Oops. It’s too late to turn back. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Ka’ala Road

The walk down the road soon turned into a farmers market hike with avocados and java plums being plucked and picked from the roadside.

Ka’ala Road

Hey guys, you don’t want to harvest some honey? Oh wait, those are wasps. Never mind. Photo by Alexis Widick.

Cow Problem #1

We saw a herd of cows blocking the road. Cover the backpack and replace the shirt. Patience is a virtue as they soon grew bored of watching us and moved off to greener pastures.

Cow Problem #2

I was walking down the road when Alexis yelled to let me know that a big, black cow was charging its way through the field towards my general direction. However, when the cow hooved the road, it looked at me and the rest of the group and decided to investigate the group, who promptly scattered up the hill. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Cow Problem #3

Further down the road, we saw a big bull blocking the road ahead of us, as his herd was crossing the road to move off to greener pastures as well. Patience was a virtue, yet again. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Ka’ala Road

I think we had our fill of pigs, cows, dogs and an angry farmer today. It was not a good day at Old McDonald’s farm. Photo by Alexis Widick.

All pau

Now all we had to do was wait for our ride. Sit down and wait. Wave at the passing cars and wait. Stand up and wait. Calling other options and wait. Sit down and wait. Thanks to Jasmin for picking us up despite the navigational and directional challenges.

GPS Tracks

We hiked 10.18 miles from Kea’au to Mokuleia on our coast to coast trek. Amazing adventure with good friends. Post hike meal at Restaurant Kunio. The long wait time was somewhat sated by extra helpings of their ono garlic edamame.

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.