I put together this hike to help somebody tackle this particular saddle, but they ended up staying home instead. The show must still go on; so met up with Art and Aya at Moanalua park in the early morning.

Kamananui Valley Trail

Art and Aya crossing one of seven bridges that span the trail. Chris was running fashionably late. Surprised?

Moanalua Valley

Chris catching up with us on the trail. Speedy Gonzales.

Kulana’ahane Trail

Ducking and weaving our way through the hala grove.

Moanalua Falls

Looking at the dry falls to our right as we made our way up the short and steep spur ridge.

Kulana’ahane Summit

Segregated group photo by gender. I guess the all gender movement hasn’t migrated to the photographic world.

Moanalua Saddle

Chris climbing up the first crumbly rock section. Many more to come.

Ko’olau Summit Ridge Trail

Why climb, when you can contour on the Windward side.

KSRT

What’s going on here?

Moanalua Saddle

Aya and Art regaining solid ground on the ridge line.

Dirt Triangle

Traversing our way to the most famous obstacle on the saddle.

Dirt Triangle

Aya pulling herself up.

Dirt Triangle

Art making short work of the crumbly obstacle.

Moanalua Saddle

Aya at the top of the dirt triangle and enjoying the views.

Moanalua Saddle

Chris going up another crumbly pile of rocks.

Moanalua Saddle

Looking back to the other side of hell. The flip side of heaven.

Moanalua Saddle

Chris scrambling up the hot mess of rocks that passes for a crumbly ridge.

Moanalua Saddle

Almost there.

Moanalua Saddle

I don’t need no string on a twig to climb this!

Moanalua Saddle

Panoramic view of the saddle overlooking H3 freeway below us in Haiku Valley.

Moanalua Saddle

Climbing up the stairs that Mother Nature is slowly reclaiming.

Moanalua Saddle

Looking back at the backdrop of the Waianae Mountain Range as we made our way up the dilapidated stairs.

Moanalua Saddle

The stairs soon petered out to be replaced by a cable that lead us to the top.

Moanalua Saddle

Are we in heaven yet?

Stairway to Heaven

Danny, Quan, Roseann and Tessa had taken the stair shortcut to meet us at the top.

Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe

Wishing Art and Chris both belated happy birthday wishes in heaven. How long will it take before somebody recognizes the guy in the shades being hand fed and sitting on top of the building?

CCL Building

Come out and join the crowd!

CCL Building

Group photo left to right: Roseann (stuffing her face), Aya, Chris B, Art, Yuki, Chris F, Quan, Danny, Tessa and myself.

Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe

Some eat with forks, others use their fingers. To each their own.

KSRT

We soon took our leave of the summit as Danny and Tessa went back down the stairs and Chris F and Yuki went back down the ridge.

KSRT

Pointing to our exit destination.

KSRT

Roseann enjoying the views.

KSRT

Making our way down to the landmark defunct radio tower.

KSRT

Some preferred to get “shocked” …

KSRT

… while others chose to remain grounded.

KSRT

Chris in between poles.

KSRT

The group climbing up to the grassy knoll.

Tripler Summit

Group photo left to right at the 2,760′ summit: Art, Roseann, myself, Quan, Aya and Chris.

Tripler Summit

Wait! Let me apply my facial before we leave. Does it contain serum or semen?

KSRT

The group traversing to the last summit before the descent down into the saddle.

Bowman Summit

Taking a quick bite and naps before our “serious” hiking starts.

KSRT

Leaving the summit for harder pastures ahead.

Kalihi Saddle

The group coming down the grassy slope.

Stepping Stone

This rock was made for sitting.

Slippery Slope

Somebody needed additional traction and decided to put it on the crumbly side of an exposed cliff with a huge drop. Well, maybe not that huge.

Dirty Slide

I need a helping hand! Or was that a pair of good hands?

Dirty Slide

That was fun! Let’s do it again! Just pass the wipes.

Broken Wave

Going with the flow of the falling rocks.

Broken Wave

Aya climbing her way down one crumbly rock at a time.

Kalihi Saddle

Climbing and contouring down the side of the crumbly ridge line.

Kalihi Saddle

Quan making her way down the tricky climb.

Rock Triangle #1

Roseann going down the hardest climb on this side of the saddle.

Rock Triangle #1

Quan climbing her way down the near vertical section of the rock face.

Kalihi Saddle

Chris watching the rest of the group making their way down.

Rock Triangle #1

Roseann watching Art with her open mouth, I mean eagle eyes.

Hot Wheels Track

Chris giving YawYaw#1 a helping hand to cross a particularly narrow section.

Kalihi Saddle

Quan keeping her center of gravity low by scooting down the narrow and uneven ridge line.

Rock Triangle #2

Climbing our way down on the exposed Windward side.

Rock Triangle #2

Don’t rain any rocks on my parade!

Tightrope

Applying downward pressure to my forward movement, as I didn’t want to experience any downward movement.

Table Top

Art and Roseann climbing their way down the jumbled rock pile.

Standing Wave

Before one can walk, one must learn to crawl first.

Kalihi Saddle

Walking and scooting our way on the narrow strip of rock and dirt bordered on one side by shrubbery and the other side by an exposed drop to the highway.

Scenic Point

Aya striking a pose.

The Hump

Is today Wednesday or Sunday?

Kalihi Saddle

Chris climbing his way down the ridge line.

Witchs Hat

Quan striking a pose before the final up climb.

Witchs Hat

Roseann making her way up the conical shaped rock face.

Witchs Hat

The last tricky down climb.

Witchs Hat

Watch out for snapped webbing!

Camp Centipede

Our last group photo before hiking down into the valley.

Powerlines

Reflecting.

Powerlines Trail

Who brought a headlamp?

All pau

Thanks to Richie and Tessa for meeting and picking us up at the gate. Good job to Aya and Quan for popping their cherry saddles on our 7.59 mile traverse through crumbly terrain, spectacular scenery and good company.

Post hike meal at Zippy’s, one of the few places that was nearby and still open for business at this time of the night. You know service standards are slipping when you send back your lukewarm oxtail soup to get it heated and it comes back at the same temperature. Somebody was too hungry to care and would have slurped down the soup even if it was ice cold. The joys and pangs of hunger.

Photos taken by Art Young, Aya Asanuma, Chris Bautista, Quan Haberstroh, Roseann Fai, 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.