Kicked off the New Year with an easy hike so I can be ready for the hardest hike by Christmas Day.

Pali Lookout

Met up with Chris, Ferlino and Robin at the Pali Lookout as the morning sun torched the tops of the mountains turning them orange red. Photo by Robin Farr.

Trail

Nothing like a short cardio puff up the forested hill to get our blood pumping this chilly morning.

Trail

Enjoying the panoramic view of the Windward coast from our windswept vantage point.

Pali Notches

Climbing down one of the notches that was cut out of the ridge by the army of Kalanikupule in the late 1700’s.

Pali Notches

Robin making her way down the deeper notch that once served as gunports whose cannons were trained on Kamehameha’s invading army.

Trail

Making our way towards the Chimney. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Nipple

Robin keeping her center of gravity low as she scrambled up and down the nipple, lest the gusting winds carry her away.

Chimney

The winds were whipping something fierce as we climbed up the chimney. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Chimney

Robin climbing up with a little help from her friends.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Group photo left to right: Chris, Ferlino, Robin and myself.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Climbing our way up, around and over through the jumbled rocks seemingly glued together with dirt, trees and grass and just as stable as it sounds.

Contour

Treading carefully where an angel fell. Photo by Robin Farr.

Nu’uanu Saddle

All smiles as we left behind the crumbly and eroded ridge for …

Nu’uanu Saddle

… greener pastures filled with uki grass.

Mud Wall

Robin scrambling up the mud stained and stepped wall.

Piliwale Junction

Chris and Ferlino coming up to the Windward ridge junction that drops down into Maunawili Valley.

Nu’uanu Saddle

Bogging our way through the pocket of moss wrapped trees and shoe sucking mud.

Konahuanui

Where oh where have the views gone? Nothing to see, so we sat down and ate our lunch on the highest point on the Ko’olau Mountains that was swallowed by the clouds.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail (KSRT)

Dropping into the moist and overgrown saddle between the large testicles.

K2

We didn’t get any view on the second summit as well, and on top of that, somebody took down Chris’s summit sign from our last visit! Auwe!

Trail

Chris and Ferlino dropping off the Ko’olau Mountain spine.

Trail

Robin making her way down the deeply rutted section of the trail.

Trail

We finally gained somewhat cloud muted views of the ridges and valleys.

Nu’uanu Reservoir

Looking down into one of many dams built to control potential flooding into densely populated areas.

Trail

Crossing paths with an “Aussie.”

Nu’uanu Overlook

We finally got a view at the windy 1,600′ lookout.

Pauoa Flats Trail

Robin walking down the bamboo lined trail.

Pauoa Flats Trail

Taking our group selfie on this quintuple trunked tree. Photo by Ferlino Carinio.

Pauoa Flats Trail

A short stroll on the boardwalk before branching off the trail.

Nu’uanu Trail

Passing through one of many moss and fungi infested trees.

Nu’uanu Trail

Ferlino soon realized he had left his walking stick at the multiple trunked tree and raced back to recover it before it became finder keepers.

Nu’uanu Trail

Looking across the sea of trees to the views of Honolulu.

Nu’uanu Trail

The bench that begs the question, “Who is Jay Kent Bien?”

Nu’uanu Trail

Chris going down the well manicured trail.

Judd Trail

Leaving one trail for another.

Judd Trail

Descending through the mind-numbing switchbacks on the trail. We lost count, but I heard it’s in the neighborhood of 25.

Judd Trail

Christmas was surprisingly alive and well in these mountains.

Judd Trail

All that was missing were the blinking multi-colored lights.

Judd Trail

I didn’t realize coqui frogs celebrated Christmas. Photo by Robin Farr.

Judd Trail

We left Christmas behind us as we descended through the grove of towering pine trees.

Judd Trail

Loggers were particularly busy here.

Judd Trail

Ducking through the tangled thicket of hau branches as the trail continued above the burbling stream that fed Ginger Jackass Pool.

Judd Trail

Wading through Nu’uanu Stream to get to the other side. Photo by Chris Bautista.

All pau

Mahalo to Ferlino’s son-in-law, RJ, for picking us up from the side of Nu’uanu Pali Drive.

GPS Tracks

Our first hike of the year covered less than six miles through windy ridges, cloudy mountains and wide open trails. Great hike with good company. Post hike meal at Lilihia Bakery. Somebody had a phobia about eating something from where the sun don’t shine.

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.

Tom invited Justin, Rebecca, Rob, Ryan and myself for a fun day falling off waterfalls. Photo by Tom Engle.

Trailhead

We all met up at the crack of dawn near the top of Maikiki Heights to begin our hike on the Kalawahine trail.

Tree crossing

Ducking underneath a fallen tree. Some had to duck more than others.

Pauoa Flats Trail

Walking through the corridor of creaking bamboo and rustling leaves.

Overlook

Group photo by Justin Brackett, left to right: Justin, Ryan, Rebecca, Rob, myself and Tom.

Nu’uanu Valley

Our morning view of the Pali with the crowned peak of Lanihuli hidden in the swirling heavens.

Splash of color

Orchids on the trail.

Junction

The group making the left turn to stay on the trail.

Misty trail

Clouds soon rolled in bringing us a taste of the swirling heavens that the Pali was enjoying.

Right way?

We left the trail to slide down the mud sheeted ridge.

Dead end

Our progress was soon stopped by a steep cliff. Wait. We have ropes. We can rappel down!

On rope

Rebecca rappelling down the heavily overgrown ridge. Rob had cleared the rope earlier by making sure it didn’t get tangled on the way down.

On webbing

Rebecca answered the age old question if one can rappel with webbing.

Stream

We followed the stream down to find … waterfalls.

Stream

Time to put on our wetsuits. The zipper goes in the back. Photo by Justin Brackett.

On rope

Trees make good anchors.

Rapelling

Tom coming down. Photo by Rebecca.

Rapelling

Ryan coming down. Photo by Rebecca.

Rapelling

Rob coming down. Photo by Rebecca.

Pulling

Rob pulling the rope down.

Looking down

I see people. Live people. Photo by Tom Engle.

Throwing rope

Look out below. Three points.

Rapelling

Tom going down.

Rapelling

Rebecca going down.

Rapelling

Rebecca coming down. Photo by Tom Engle.

Rapelling

Ryan getting ready to go down.

Rapelling

Ryan coming down. Photo by Tom Engle.

Rapelling

My turn as Rob makes sure the rope is not rubbing on the rock. I guess that would be a bad thing. Photo by Justin Brackett.

Rapelling

Me coming down. Photo by Tom Engle.

All smiles

Not a bad way to spend the day. Cold, wet and happy. Photo by Justin Brackett.

Headed out

It was time to leave as the pools began filling with the rush hour traffic of people.

All pau

Many thanks to Tom, Justin, Rob and Rebecca for showing us the ropes. Post hike meal at Serg’s Mexican Kitchen. Mexican cola to wash it all down. Pure cane sugar.

Ever since I met Ted and his crew coming up from Piliwale ridge to Lulumahu Falls when we were coming down that same ridge, I have always wanted to follow in his footsteps so to speak. But having no knowledge of the route down to the falls, that hike was shelved for awhile. Today Ted was nice enough to lead ten of us up the ridge and to the falls.

Ted briefing us on the hike

We all met at the Pali Hunter’s check-in, left a couple cars there and carpooled to Maunawili where we parked on Lopaka Place. Going this way is a more direct route than starting from the Pali Lookout.

Sunrise breaking over Olomana

Walking up the slightly graded trail and catching the sun break over Olomana and Maunawili was a nice way to start the morning.

Piliwale Ridge trailhead

Half an hour later, we found ourselves at the start of the trailhead going up Piliwale Ridge. Now the real cardio workout began, well at least for me it did.

Waiting our turn to go up past the notch

When we got to the notch in the ridge, Ted decided to break us into two groups of five each. This was for safety reasons as this is the part where the ridge got steeper, crumbly and prone to loose rocks being dislodged by people climbing on them. Luckily, this section is heavily roped which comes in mighty handy when you’re searching for some kind of handhold to pull yourself up.

Watching and waiting

Glenn, Jay, Matt, LyZel and myself waiting on the notch. Photo by Jim McKown.

Admiring the intermittent view

Having been down this ridge before, I can say it was much easier going up. I’d rather climb up a steep ridge, than come down it and fight gravity.

Looking back towards Maunawili

This was one of our last clear views we got before the clouds swallowed us up, as we climbed higher towards the summit of Konahuanui or K1.

I’ve got you!

Jason illustrated how the vegetation can sometimes mask the narrowness of the ridge, as he slipped and was hanging on the edge when LyZel came from behind and pulled him up to safety. Another good reason not to hike solo and not to be spaced too far apart, in case assistance is needed. Photo by Jim McKown.

Socked in at the top of K1

The highest point on the Koolau mountains was totally socked in, affording us zero views. Top row left to right: myself, Ted, Matt, Glenn, Jim, Will and Jason. Bottom row left to right: LyZel, Tom and Jay.

Slippery slope down

Going down from K1 was literally by the seat of my pants, due to to the steepness, wetness and mud lubricated trail.

Breaking views

As the steepness gradually leveled to a walkable grade, we started making our way down below the clouds.

Panoramic town view

Click here for the larger image.

Nuuanu Reservoir

Eventually we went down the side of the ridge towards the reservoir. As we got lower, it became a jumbled maze of pig and eroded trails. It seemed that somebody had removed the prior ribbons that clearly marked the trail. Without the ribbons and an experienced guide, one could find themselves bushwhacking for quite a spell. Jay put up a bunch of pink ribbons to mark the key junctions on the trail, hopefully nobody will remove them for future hikers.

Lulumahu Falls

Once we got down to the bottom, we followed the rock strewn stream up to Lulumahu Falls. These falls are fed from the top of K1 and cascade all the way down into Nuuanu Valley.

K1 still capped in clouds

After taking a short break at the falls, we followed the stream out into a clearing that surrounds the Nuuanu reservoir. There is a cleared trail through the bamboo forest that leads back to the hunter check-in station on the Pali.  

GPS Tracks

The 4.5 mile hike took us about 6.5 hours to complete. But the day was not yet done! I had always wanted to check out the summer palace ruins of King Kamehameha III.

Tree tunnel

We drove to Nuuanu Pali Road and parked on the side along with a bunch of other cars that were already there. Walking down the road, we found the trail that lead us into a bamboo forest.

Summer Palace Ruins

A short 5 minutes later, we were standing among the ruins of Kaniakapupu, which was King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace.

Kaniakapupu

According to the informational plaque, it was built in 1845 and was host to a number of celebrations involving locals and foreign guests.

King Kamehameha III’s Summer Palace

Walking around the ruins, one can feel the “history” of the place.

Singing of the Land Shell

Kaniakapupu means “Singing of the Land Shell” and was a place of rest and refuge for King Kamehameha III. Apparently it soon fell into neglect, as an 1874 map pegged the summer palace as an “old ruin.” We didn’t have time as we were hungry for lunch, but Luakaha Falls is a short hike away from the ruins. Another hike for another day.