Malaekahana to Laie Hike
Malaekahana to Laie – October 29, 2011
This was on my to do list for a little while now. By completing this loop, it will cross off two hikes on my checklist.
This hike was planned a few weeks ago. I met Nate on the Heleakala hike with the HTMC. While coming down from Heleakala, we talked about doing this hike. Nate, who got into hiking a few months ago wanted to pad his hiking resume.
I called Nate early in the week to give him the plan. We were to meet at Haleiwa Beach Park at 6:30 am and start Malaekahana ridge at 7 am. We would hike Malaekahana ridge, then at the junction go down the mountain to Malaekahana falls, then go back up and continue Malaekahana ridge till its summit, then cross the KST (Koolau Summit Trail) until we hit Laie’s summit, then go down Laie to my car. Though this was the first time we would both do this hike, I wasn’t worried. If you don’t pay attention to the jargon above, then it breaks down to ridge -> valley -> ridge -> ridge -> ridge.
The first part of the plan was executed flawlessly. I met Nate at Haleiwa Beach Park, he jumped in my car then drove to Laie. After parking at Laie field, we walked towards the trailhead. The good thing about this loop is that Laie and Malaekahana both start near each other. We found the Malaekahana trailhead and started the ridge. A junction appeared and we went right. We hopped over a few fences and followed a trail. There was all this horse shit. An infinite amount of horse shit. I was stepping in horse shit. In about 20 minutes we got to the front of an entrance of a horse farm. We made a decision to turn around and find the junction. At the junction again, we went left this time. One thing about the Malaekahana trail – it’s like Manana. Ups and downs. Heavy breathing and panting. Sore quads and hamstrings.
In a few hours we hit the junction going down to Malaekahana falls. We went down the mountain for at least 30 minutes, following ribbon after ribbon. We eventually got down to the stream. After some discussion, I recommended we head upstream, though there was a trail going downstream. We had to climb over huge rocks. In about 10 minutes, we ended up at the base of lower Malaekahana falls. It was a trickle. Boo! There was a rope that paralleled the falls. I had a notion, but the water looked stagnant. After a while of pondering, we decided to turn around and head back up the mountain towards the junction. At the junction we continued the Malaekahana ridge, hill after hill. I was getting tired. We hit the summit at around the 4 hour mark. It was disappointing to say the least. No real view. There was a sign that pointed to the KST. That is what the plan was, so we did.
Nate led the way. The KST was overgrown, the mud was shin deep. Scattered showers were all over the place. On one of my steps into the mud, my shoe got sucked in the mud and I had to take it out with my hands. There were ribbons along the way which helped. I got a chance to take out my machete and whacked the overgrowth. I felt like an explorer. I’m sure that is how Nate felt when crossing the KST. This was Nate’s first big time super hike, so I was happy for him. You could tell that not too many people do this portion of the KST. It was so hard to push through. After about 1 hour pushing our way through bush after bush, we finally hit the Laie summit.
At the summit, we sat down to eat lunch. The view was a little better than Malaekahana, however nothing spectacular. The one good thing was the quietness of the area. It was so quiet, just like Manana. You get so relax, it becomes an experience few get to have in life.
After a 15 minute lunch break, we headed down Laie ridge. We blazed it at an unbelievable pace. The Laie ridge trail is a graded trail, so there are few ups and downs, if any. In about a little over two hours we were done. 6 miles in a flash. We were both sore, but felt some sort of accomplishment. This was the first time I connected multiple long trails.
As I drove Nate back to his car, he explained all the sites on the North Shore. Living there for 30 years, you can accumulate some knowledge. I did learn a lot from Nate. After I dropped Nate off at his truck in Haleiwa Beach Park, I followed him to Paalaa Kai Bakery in Waialua. I said bye to Nate and walked into the bakery. I ordered a chocolate pastry of some sorts, it had custard filling inside. The taste was excellent, especially if you are hungry.
Today was big time hiking on Oahu.
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