We decided to stay off the mountains and stick to the foothills today.

Trailhead

Met up with Akira, Allison, Deborah, Mari, Mona, Tessa in the backwoods of Waimanalo, a stones throw from The Village.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Stepping foot on the trail that was originally scouted and marked out by HTMC hiker, Richard Dick Davis.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We soon passed the junction that would have took us to the back of Olomana and countless other side trails that exist in this area.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The temptation was too great.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Just like monkeys, even horses fall from trees.

Maunawili Demo Trail

That trail was originally called Ko’olaupoko and work was started in 1991 by the Sierra Club.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The group weaving their way through the downed trees.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Climbing was not on today’s agenda.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Prisoners from OCC were recruited to help finish part of the trail in the summer of 1991. Voluntarily?

Maunawili Demo Trail

Meandering our way around the base of the the Ko’olau Mountains.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Standing in the verdant forest with a dead and twisted tree.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Winding our way in and out of multiple gullies.

Maunawili Demo Trail

No steak today. Chocolate dipped banana bread is what is on the menu.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Group photo with the three peaks of Olomana, Paku’i and Ahiki in the background.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Foraging for trail snacks on the path.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We passed the junction for the connector to Maunawili Falls and approached Maunawili Bigs, the waterfall chutes that are quite the spectacle when Mother Nature turns on the spigot.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing a fruitful branch of fiddlehead ferns.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Unfiltered. Straight from the tap. Lepto straight to the belly.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The trail was finished at the end of 1993 and it was renamed Maunawili Trail. Thanks to the combined efforts of the Sierra Club, OCC prisoners, Boy Scouts, Marines and volunteers that contributed to make this trail a reality.

All pau

Illustrating what next week’s hike will look like. A picture is worth a thousand words.

GPS Tracks

Our hike in the shadow of the mountains covered just shy of nine miles with a great group. Thanks to Mona’s son who picked us up and took us to Tokyo Central for our post hike meal before returning us back to our cars.

Photos taken by Allison Banks, Akira Suzuki, Deborah Tom, Mari Saito, Monaliza Guillermo, 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.

I started off the New Year with a trail I have never hiked in its entirety.

Trailhead

Thanks to Cinja and Kathleen for dropping Aida, Edgar, Lilyn, Marilyn, Quan, Roseann, Tessa and myself off at the hairpin turn off the Pali Highway.

Olinda relative

Sighting of a feral cat possibly mistaken for a black jaguar under shadowy circumstances. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing the junction to the Pali Lookout.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Determining the quality of the tank water.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The trail intermittently breaking out of the canopied forest with exposed views of the Ko’olau Mountains.

Maunawili Demo Trail

We heard disembodied voices floating from the top which we later found out belonged to two friends, Bill and Shirley.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The group may have been physically separated on the trail at times but was always connected through the loud carrying voices of certain individuals.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Roseann looking at the dry waterfall chutes. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Rounding the bend on the mostly wide trail. A marked departure from the trails that we usually hike. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Falls Connector

Another way to access the popular Maunawili Falls since the subdivision trailhead was shut down this past July for two years. We just decided to enjoy the views of Olomana. Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Skydio

Follow me if you can. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing some questionable but colorful mushrooms on the trail.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Hiking through the large ferns that dotted the trail that used to be known as the Ko’olaupoko Trail. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Foot Locker

Somebody needed a longer shoe. Lost in translation.

Skydio

The drone propwash was providing the only breeze on the trail today.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Do not try this at home. Photo by Marilyn Bermudez.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Two falls for the price of one. Caught on camera. Priceless. For a certain schadenfreude person. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Making our way on the foothill hike pioneered by the legendary hiker, Richard Davis and completed by the Sierra Club. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

I swore the discharge volume increased after somebody sat on the rock.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Posing on unstable and rotten trees. The only excitement found on the trail today.

Maunawili Demo Trail

The rooting wall, a distant relative of the weeping wall. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Sitting on one of many downed trees on the trail. Photo by Quan Haberstroh.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Why are we doing this? For the director’s cut.

Maunawili Demo Trail

I’m glad we didn’t decide to practice our equestrian skills today. Group photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

To touch or not to touch? Photo by Tessa Bugay.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Expanding views of Maunawili Valley, Waimanalo, Ko’olau Mountains and Manana Island. Photo by Lilyn Avendano.

Maunawili Demo Trail

All flower and no fruit.

Maunawili Demo Trail

Passing another junction on our way down.

All pau

We met another fellow hiker, Bob Tyson at the exit to Waimanalo where Roseann also met her boyfriend’s cousin who gave her a ride back to the house, which helped to not increase our mileage for the day.

GPS Tracks

Our mostly flat hike that contoured the base of the Ko’olau Mountains came out to a little over nine miles with fun company. Post hike meal at Big City Diner where the photo taking service exceeded the food delivery service.

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our Maunawili Demo Hike.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNpnXR6Y-Sk

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.