We all met up in the parking lot of Sunset Beach Elementary School to start our ramble through part of the Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Thanks to Akira and Edgar for shuttling us to the neighborhood up in Pupukea to start our hike.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Going down the hills covered in pine trees and California grass.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Jeremy wanted to show us a lookout with great views.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Nothing to see here but California grass. Go back where you came from.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

We got a better view from the top of the hill. Duh.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Climbing back up on the boulder strewn path to regain the trail.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Running across one of many colorfully painted markers on the trail.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Can you see the WW2 bunker for the hill?

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Checking out the first level of the military fortification.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Aida going down the rabbit hole.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Exploring the second level. What happened to the promised third level? I guess we need to obtain experience points.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Hai Hai getting high off on the views, with just a little help from a non-native plant.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Passing a highly descriptive sign tacked onto a tree.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Somebody had to answer the call of nature. A horse is a horse, of course, of course, and no one can talk to a horse, of course.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

It’s not called Sunset Hills for nothing.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Leaving what looked like a potential bunker but turned out to be a pile of dirt in the area known as Marscape for obvious reasons.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

One of these is not a couple.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

I don’t see any bodies of water, unless they are referring to the one offshore?

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Trees bent by the wind, soon we will be bent not by the wind, but by the advancement of time or poor posture.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Some of the potheads didn’t understand the assignment.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

You’ve heard of a crack pipe? How about a rock pipe?

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Checking out the abandoned nursery.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Group photo in the yard where plants were once propagated and grown.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

This looks like a good place to launch my drone.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Flying my drone through the roof and crash landing it back in the yard.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

The guys demonstrating the use of the clasp locker as it was originally known when it was invented in 1892, some more enthusiastically than the others.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Jeremy doing his part for trail maintenance by sweeping the pine needles with one of many rakes left on the path for such purposes.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

And that’s how I met your mother.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Bowling with branches and scoring a light hit.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Going down the nonscoring path.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

One of the last swingers.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Sitting in the crow’s nest in the not so secret banyan tree.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Trying to strike the pins back to Aiea Bowl.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Arriving at the junction where no yellow passion fruit was to be found.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Here we are without our fishing poles and nets.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Group photo with the smoking skeleton. Proof that cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health, the original warnings that were required to be slapped on the side of cigarette cartons back in 1965.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

I didn’t know there was a railroad crossing in these neck of the woods.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Looking up at a string of colorful prayer pages meant to spread goodwill and compassion?

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

I guess the biker in the back serves as a warning to those that don’t heed the directions.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Going against the grain.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Collection of colorful signs scattered on the trail.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Who needs a bike? Especially when you are high.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Riding my little pony on the rainbow bridge. A pet lovers dream come true.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Aida sitting in front of the ruined remnants of the teeter-totter.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Walking on the Lower Needles path was a lot easier than the Upper Needles path. I’m just guessing.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Making the sequel to Cool Runnings. Same tropical environment, just lacking the melanin.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Something a woman would say. A woman did say it on the trail.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

A trail for another day.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Walking through the pine needle covered grounds as we made our way through the forest.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Is this trail not what it seems? A path in the forest?

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Alexis clearing the pine needles near the dilapidated bike ramp that has seen better days.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

This should be closer to the catch & release bath tub.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Somebody was excited to see us. It wasn’t the bikers.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Taking a break at the top and missing the picnic table.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

If we cut the deadwood from the trails, then it would be empty and silent.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Grateful Dead fan or a dead ringer for Hakaida.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Kingdom of the Green Skull. Watch out for the menehunes.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Walking through the forest with only ourselves as company.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Skirting the forest before plunging back in.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Forest bathing can be described as heavenly I suppose.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Hiking Witch of the West.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Smooth as silk, or as best we can miming a self-disembowelment.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Rock’n’Roll will never die, as long as movies keep recycling and regurgitating their songs in pop culture.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Picking our way through the trail of boulder fragments; small, medium and large and soon descended down a slightly steep hill to visit the less trafficked bunker.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

We could see the bunker for the hill.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Mari making the transition from cliff to bunker with a little help from her friends.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Kenny checking out the colorfully graffitied interior and exterior views.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Group photo on top of the bunker decorated with the peace sign that was designed back in 1958 for nuclear disarmament.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

We climbed back up the hill to check out the other more popular bunker and joined the two legged and four legged crowds.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Some of us went inside the top bunker, while others stayed outside to enjoy the trade winds.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Group photo at our last bunker.

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

This particular saying possibly originated with the Beach Boys 1966 song “Good Vibrations.”

Pupukea Paumalu Forest Reserve

Going down the short and somewhat steep hill that was covered in roots and rocks.

All pau

We ended our hike at the bottom of the school parking lot.

GPS Tracks

Our rambling through the forest reserve that was established back in 1910 by Governor’s Proclamation covered a little under seven miles with a fun group. Thanks to Jeremy for showing us the ins and outs, nooks and crannies of the trail. Post hike meal at the food truck hub across from Shark’s Cove, where garlic shrimp is garlic shrimp.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLWH1bfoimQ

Video by Edgar Gamiao of our ramble today.

Photos taken by Aida Gordon, Akira Suzuki, Alexis Catarina, Edgar Gamiao, Jeremy Cannone, Kenny Lui, Mari Saito, 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.