Hiking Trails on Oahu

  Olomana's Three Peaks & Backside - September 27, 2011 Today was the day I would do all of Olomana's Three Peaks and go down and up the backside.  Ted scheduled this hike early in the week and I was game.  During the week, I had to compartmentalize the hike and put it in the back of my brain because every time I would think about the hike, I would get excited.    Throughout the week, I had to forget about the hike and do my duties as a school teacher. On Friday, Ted messaged me that he came down with flu like symptoms.  I got kind of worried.  Who would lead me down the dangerous third peak?  Ted assured me that his friend Steve would do a great job.  Okay I thought to myself. Again, doing Olomana's three peaks is a dangerous hike.  Stuart Ball lists it as an expert hike.  Why?  Let's just say, crumbly rock, near vertical descents, lot of climbing, extremely narrow spots, and plenty of exposure.  Going down the backsi...

  Mariner's Ridge - September 25, 2011  (*  * as of January 2013, Mariner's Ridge access has been closed to the public.)   After Olomana yesterday, I decided to take an easy day and take Michelle and the kids hiking.  In my mind, the next step for the kids to progress is Mariner's Ridge.  The kids have done Manoa Falls, Aiea Loop, Tantalus Trails, Hau'ula & Papali, and many more basic hikes.  Mariner's Ridge is a little more difficult than those trails.  Although short, the ascent towards the summit needs some cardio and strength.  It would prove to be a good challenge for the kids. On Saturday night, I told the kids that we were going hiking in the morning.  Malia wanted to bring her friend Charlize.  I approved her request.  I woke up early, got a coffee and waited for everyone to wake up.  We all got ready and left the house at 9:30 am.  We had to drive towards the end of Hawaii Kai and to Kaluanui Road, n...

  Ka'au Crater Loop - September 17, 2011 Today was a hike I highly coveted for a long time now.  About 1 year ago, I tried to access the Ka'au Crater trail by walking on the private road leading towards the trailhead;  however an aggressive dog came out of nowhere and chased me back to the road.  That was the end of that.  For about a year, I've been trying to research various ways to access the trailhead and to avoid that dog.  I've been also trying to get my friends to go with me.  With my admittance into the facebook group Oahu Weekend Hikers, I now have the opportunity to join various hiking crews or individuals on hikes anywhere on the island.  Members of the group post where they are going for the weekend.  If interested, you drop them a line and meet up with them.  With my friends extremely busy, I got impatient and wanted to do Ka'au Crater, I messaged Marcus this week to see if he wanted to do Ka'au Crater.  Marcus the nice...

Lanihuli – September 11, 2011 Today was the 10 th  anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Many hiking groups honored the fallen by hiking. Most notable was the Koko Crater Memorial hike where people went in teams to hike up Koko Crater. With all that being said, I decided to do a hike that only a few years ago was highly coveted. The Lanihuli trail once lay in a watershed area. Even today, you have to go on private property to gain access. Access to the trailhead is on land owned by Kamehameha Schools. Of course, some hard work by the HTMC in recent years made this hike a yearly thing. Coordinating the hike was Grant. For those of you who don’t know, he is a long time member of the HTMC and is stuff of legends. He emailed me that there will be two groups: early bird at 7:30 am and regular start time group which started at 8:00 am. He also provided some directions. Lanihuli is the massive peak between the Pali and Likelilke Highways. Although vegetation blocks the view most of t...