Wahiawa Hills to Schofield-Waikane Trail

I found myself back in the rolling hills of Wahiawa with Gen, Jose, Katy, Matt and Rob.

Jose going down the steep tree rooted lined hill.

Matt looking back at our first little stream crossing. No tubing here.

Gen going down one of the steep ridges.

Gen and Matt crossing the longest stream in the islands. I heard it’s great for tubing when the stream levels are high enough.

Eucalyptus trees lined many of the ridges, throwing off their distinctive minty pine smell.

They don’t call this place Wahiawa Hills for nothing.

A brush fire back in August had scorched over 500 acres before finally being extinguished. Click here for the larger image.

Flowering plants masquerading as trees marked a road that was not our path. We picked up the trail in the bushes and continued our merry way.

The vast expanse of the Ewa Forest Reserve.

Gen coming down one of the steep hills. Luckily the hills were amply rooted with sturdy trees.

Gen trying not to get her feet wet on our last stream crossing.

I lost count of all the hills that we went up and down.

Sun beams in the forest. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

You guys are where? Hello? The many twists and turns and multiple hills of this area have given many hikers pause and even swallowed one without a trace. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.

We had a couple hours to kill since half of the crew went “exploring”, so Gen and Matt practiced their yoga skills.

Many intermittent calls, dropped calls, failed texts and hoarse hollering finally guided the rest of the crew back to us.

What are we looking for? Oh yeah, koa seeds.

Group photo left to right: Katy, Rob, myself, Matt, Gen and Jose.

Matt displaying his upper body strength. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

HTMC had recently cleared the trail, so we thought it would be prudent to take advantage of it before the uluhe ferns reclaimed it back to Mother Nature.

Looking out at the Waianae Mountain Range, Helemano and Wahiawa.

The hills eventually gave way to open flat fields of flowing weeds.

We left the trail and hopped over the chain onto Poamoho road. Where’s a 4×4 truck when you need one?

That’s a huge koa tree. Wait. My bad. It’s just a big tree.

Oh there they are!

Group photo at the trailhead.

Just in case you missed it.

Group photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Hiking on a state sanctioned trail. Felt odd.

Click here for the larger image.

Don’t try this on a hike.

We bumped into Ryan Chang and Katie Ersbak and some politicians I’ve never voted for.

Looking back at the trail cut into the side of the mountain. Oh and there’s Matt.

Rough trails ahead. Not really. There are two hikers in this photo. Really.

Where is the hiker check in station?

The clouds had beat us to the summit. Lost views of Kahana and Punalu’u Valleys.

The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades. Or close my eyes.

Let’s all pretend there is a view behind us at the 2,520′ summit.

We pushed onto the cabin as once again we got robbed of the best views on the island.

The cabin was unlocked. I heard that the workers sometimes lock the cabin to protect their personal belongings. Luckily no work was being done on the mountain today.

Jose and Matt filtering the rain water for the rest of the crew that needed to replenish their camelbaks before resuming our hike.

Hiking on the KST. Wish we had a view.

Still wishing. Photo by Jose Luis Delaki.

Katy and Rob passing through a clump of the only native palm trees to Hawaii.

Gave up wishing.

Group photo at the junction.

Time to beat a path down the mountain or have the mountain beat us up for the next seven miles.

Schofield-Waikane or Wahiawa trail is a long rugged hike through seemingly untamed country.

What would a hike in the mountains be without rain? Exactly.

We still had quite a way to hike. Nothing but open country. The smell of tiger balm also started to decorate the air.

The trail for the most part contoured on the Windward side below the ridgeline.

Phhhttt. Hear that? Must be a wild pig. Those sounds would follow us to the end. Inside joke.

All pau.

Not quite. We still had to walk out a stretch of military jeep roads to get out. And wake somebody up that was knocked out cold. Photo by Genesaret Balladares.

Facebook status check. Korean chicken. Chocolate milkshake. Shower. Sleep. We eventually roused ourselves from a semi-stupor and slumber and made our way out of the East Range, some through a gate and others over barbed wire.

The looping hike took us through the rolling hills of Wahiawa, the KST and down Schofield Waikane trail that covered 17.09 miles. Another grinder hike with a great crew. Major props to Katy for pushing through the pain to finish the trail. Post hike meal at Zippys. Miss my prime rib and clam chowder.

Tagged as: ewa forest reserve, koolau summit trail, kst, poamoho cabin, poamoho summit, schofield-waikane trail, wahiawa hills, wahiawa trail