Met up with Gen, Justin and Matt on the West side with the intention of doing a camp over. Sweeping rain showers that inundated the highest point on the island dictated otherwise. Besides camping in the rain was getting old already. Just a week old. Photo by Justin Hirako.
Waianae Valley
Group photo by Justin Hirako, left to right: Matt, Justin, myself and Gen in front of our reserved parking space.
Trailhead
The road to the highest mountain on the island.
Prickly Pear
Harvest time.
Trail snacks
Peel carefully, lest you get some spines lodged in your hands. Just ask Matt. Photos by Justin Hirako.
Dirt road
Trading the paved road for a dirt road.
Picnic shelter
Nothing to see here. Hike along. Photo by Justin Hirako.
Waianae Kaala Trail
A sign is needed here to prevent hikers from going astray and getting lost or rescued.
Waianae Kaala Trail
Slow, steady climb. Photo by Justin Hirako.
Waianae Kaala Trail
Halfway there.
Three Poles
Group photo by Justin Hirako.
Waianae Kaala Trail
Follow the fence.
Waianae Kaala Trail
Gen and …
Waianae Kaala Trail
… Justin made short work of the slippery boulder sections.
Mount Ka’ala
Rain, rain go away. Group photo by Justin Hirako.
Ka’ala bog
Hitting the boardwalk.
FAA tracking station
No hat. No salute. Talk of camping went away as fast as the rain came our way.
What’s cooking?
We ended up eating lunch. Chicken noodle soup and Chicken pho.
Solitude
Catching the scenery when the clouds gave us a break.
Trematolobelia kaalae
Spectacular flowering of this endemic bellflower plant.
Community service
We ran across some volunteers who volunteered to give us a ride back down to Waialua. So we volunteered to help pull those thorny blackberry plants and other invasive plants from the bog. One by one. Ouch by ouch.
Mount Ka’ala Bog
Adopt a plant.
Mount Ka’ala Road
Letting the tires do the riding and not our feet do the walking for a change. Photo by Justin Hirako.
Hawaiian tree snails
The volunteers pulled off the road a short distance down to show the group these endemic tree snails.
Mount Ka’ala Road
The road is slippery when wet … Photo by Justin Hirako.
Stoppe!
… and so are the mountains. Just ask the two Norwegian girls who had been hiking from Three Corners and saw our cars and flagged us down in the rain. Talk about timing and luck. Photo by Matt Vidaurri.
Sjokolade
The best chocolate in the world. Well, according to the girls from Norway.
All pau
The volunteers dropped us off in Waialua and we dropped the girls off at their friends place. Pay it forward. Driving back to Waianae Valley, we even saw one of Marvin’s models in a photo shoot. None other than Kat Sweets. Photo by Justin Hirako.
GPS Tracks
While our hike didn’t go as planned; we got to meet some awesome volunteers, including Ken Lee, pulled some invasive plants from the highest mountain on the island, ate the world’s best chocolate and met a facebook famous model. All in all, it was a great day well spent with friends. Post hike meal at Tacos and More. More salsa please.
Note: I have been made aware the 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.
{ 0 comments… add one now }