Hiking Trails on Oahu

  Oneawa Hills – November 30, 2011 I haven’t done an intermediate hike in a long time. The last one was Kahana Valley which was during the summer of 2011. Recently I’ve done super easy hikes or difficult hikes. Enter the Oneawa Hills. This hike holds many names; one name is Kokokahi Ridge, the other is Kawa’ewa’e, and of course the last one is called the Oneawa Hills. I like Oneawa Hills better, sounds like the Hawaiian cousin to the Hollywood Hills. Sean and I planned this hike one month ago and the only problem was to find time to hike it. Today was the day. We met at the Kaneohe Bayview Golf Course because I knew it would be a good place to meet. The parking lot is huge. From the golf course, Sean followed me to Lipalu Street. I parked my car on the street and hopped in Sean’s Jeep. He drove us to Kokokahi place. There was no parking near the trailhead, so he parked about ¼ mile from the trailhead. The trailhead is at the Friendship Garden. I must say that the trail is beautiful...

Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe – November 27, 2011 Today with the HTMC was Pu’u Keahi a Kahoe, the showcase hike on the quarterly schedule. Keahi a Kahoe is the dominant peak in back of Moanalua Valley and the dominant peak in the Haiku valley area in Kanehoe. Keahi a Kahoe is also near the apex of the Haiku Stairs (Stairway to Heaven). The day started off super early for me. I woke up at 5 am and made some breakfast. At 6:30 am, I headed to Starbucks in Waikele to get a coffee. Then I drove to the end of Ala Aolani Street to Moanalua Community Park. I was super early and waited for everyone to come. At 8 am, Mike (who usually does the trail maintenance), was coordinating this hike and gave the route for the hike. He told us that the plan today was to go up the HECO power line trail to gain the ridge, and then make a left onto Tripler Ridge before summiting. He also mentioned that we wouldn’t be going to Keahi a Kahoe or head back down Moanalua’s Middle Ridge. He said it was too windy. Fair enough...

  Pu’u Ma’eli’eli – November 25, 2011 The next step for the kids to progress in their hiking was a hike in Kahalu’u called Pu’u Ma’eli’eli. This trail is semi-steep, but is pretty safe. According to the sign on the trail – Pu’u Ma’eli’eli is translated into Digging Hill. Why? The legend tells of two gods, Kane and Kanaloa and their race to the top of the steep pu’u. Since the climb was so steep, the gods needed to use their fingers to dig into the mountain to get enough grip to climb it. Not sure who won, but both gods were featured in the Waiakeakua stories. Pu’u Ma’eli’eli also features many World War II bunkers called pillboxes. I must say that these pill boxes are the nicest I’ve seen so far. inside pillbox We started the day off driving to Kahalu’u. For years when I took Kahekili off the H3, I would immediately get lost. Now, since I’ve been to Kahalu’u many times doing Hamama falls twice and Ahiumanu, getting off H3 onto Kahekili Hwy. ain’t no thing. We parked near McDonald’s...

  November 19, 2011 – Makapu’u Lighthouse, Alan Davis beach, & Pele’s Chair Today our family had a chance to go hiking with our next door neighbors. Earlier in the week, Janet wanted to take her family to the Makapu’u Lighthouse. Having been there a few times and knowing that my family could easily handle that hike and would have fun doing it, there was no doubt that it would be a great family outing. Last time we were at Alan Davis beach, I seen a huge rock formation above the beach. I didn’t know what that formation was called until I read Kahele’s Fb post a few weeks ago. That rock formation is called Pele’s Chair. Makapu’u holds some Hawaiian mythological lore as it was the final spot on Oahu where the goddess of fire Madam Pele would occupy before heading to the big island. Off we went towards Makapu’u. The drive there is long if you are using Hawaii standards. Hiking to the lighthouse lookout was super easy. I remember the first time we went up there, I was overweight and...

  Kamaile’unu – November 13, 2011 I’m not going to sugar coat this hike. One word describes it - brutal. Starting at sea level on an exposed ridge takes you 3200 feet in less than 3.5 miles. Get the picture. One provisional thing you need for the hike, plenty of water, which all of us ran out of today. Kamaile’unu is the ridge that separates Waianae and Makaha valleys. It is also the ridge that you hike to Mount Ka’ala (the highest peak on the island). I arrived in Waianae at 7:45 am, low and behold I seen Nate and Will. All right, I told myself, I get to hike with two really good hikers. We waited for everyone to arrive, but no one came. So I called Arnold who was the coordinator for the hike. He said he was on the street, so we hopped in our cars and drove down the street to find him. We did. At about 8:15 am we had our HTMC group. Leading us was Arnold, and the HTMC crew consisted of me, Nate, Will, Jennie, and Bob. They are all experienced hikers and we would need a great deal ...

  Ka’au Crater – November 6, 2011 To the summit and around the rim this time. With Pu’u Ohulehule cancelled today, it was a very last minute decision to hike somewhere on Oahu. There was also a flash flood watch in effect for the weekend, but the skies were clear. It was a plan from the hip hike, which can turn out to be a disaster because planning is just as important as decision making when hiking. What to do? I called Nate and Will to see if they wanted to do something. They did, but weren’t sure what to do. The plan was unplanned, but we decided to meet at the McDonald’s in Mililani. From there we would plan something. At 7a, that is what we did. After I gave my options, we all decided to do Ka’au Crater. Nate and Will haven't done this hike before. The Ka’au Crater hike in my opinion, is one of the best hikes on the island. For me, climbing up the third waterfall is an unbelievable experience. It is an experience that seems dreamlike. There is no other way to describe it. Ever...