Hiking the Dangerous Kawiwi Trail
Kawiwi to Waianae Kai – June 24, 2012
Baron invited me to this hike about a month ago. Joining us were a bunch of Oahu Weekend Hikers. We projected this hike to be about 8 hours, but it would turn out to be longer than that.
I’ve always wanted to get to Kawiwi and I’ve always wanted to get to No Name. Today, I did both. This hike is not for the acrophobes. If your not use to the exposure, this hike can make you queasy.
The summit of Kawiwi is part of Kamaileunu ridge, so is the connector to No Name and thereon. If you don’t know, Kamaileunu ridge separates Waianae and Makaha valley. If you take the ridge all the way to the top, you’ll end up at Mount Ka’ala (the highest mountain peak on Oahu).
Baron picked me up from my house at 6 am. My car is out of commission for reasons I won’t go into because it is a long story. The meeting place was at Waianae Steve's house, however he wouldn't be joining us today. I don't think he has done Kawiwi and may never will for reasons personal to him. Waianae Steve has pioneered a lot of trails in the Waianae area. We talked some stories and waited for everyone to arrive. Joining us were 7 more hikers (Aida, James, Evelyn, Tess, Chelsea, Nate, & Gary) for a total of 9 hikers today. The group was made up of all experienced hikers with varying climbing skills and cardio fitness. Nonetheless, all of our hiking resumes were solid. Of course, Aida and I are apart of 7D.
I also had a chance to meet Nate Yuen. He is the author of the blog Hawaiianforest.com. Nate has an amazing mind. His knowledge base is impressive. He can explain the terrain, plants, and back story of many ridges and trails not only on Oahu, but other islands as well. He also has started coordinating hikes with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club (HTMC) and does many trail clearings with them as well.
We started at the end of Waianae Valley Road, but soon veered to the left towards Kawiwi. After finding an overgrown trail, we hiked until we hit the base of Kawiwi. It was upward hiking at first, and then it became rock scrambling, and finally straight out climbing up rock faces, before going back to upward hiking, all the while going up a narrow ridge. The big problem I faced was finding holds that wouldn’t break off. The rock is so brittle that even volleyball sized boulders would crumble at the slightest pull. The ridge is steep and exposed which creates an uneasy feeling if you have a fear of heights. Some rock faces could be contoured, while other rock obstacles needed to be climbed. If a rock face could be contoured, I chose the easier rather than the harder. I do remember this one particular section which we had to climb about 20 feet. There were ledges every 5-8 feet or so, but it was a hair raising experience. The rock face presented a problem with varying solutions; however the rock was so brittle that you had to test your holds properly. Near the top of the section, it took me a while finding a route because I didn’t like the holds and angles that presented itself, Baron even busted out his webbing, but I eventually followed Tess up a safer path.
We topped out at Kawiwi in a little over 3 hours, took a long lunch break, and then proceeded to No Name. The connector trail to No Name is for the most part on a narrow rocky dike. The trail is dubbed, “broken teeth” because of its crooked looking rocks that protrude along the dike. The going was slow because careful attention was needed to navigate the crooked rocks. There are vertical drops to both sides as well, which adds another danger element. At the middle part of the ridge, the trail descends quite away with a fence installed that follows the ridgeline. That fence is much needed because of the steepness of the ridge on this section. I’m not sure how workers were able to install a fence on this section because it is so dam narrow and steep. After the fence section was a few more obstacles of crooked rocky dikes that were somewhat tricky. But it was more about contorting the body and balancing rather than outright skill. Don’t get me wrong, you needed some balancing skills on some of the obstacles. Once the rock obstacles were completed, we started to ascend towards the No Name summit. It was more rock scrambling than anything and we hit the top of No Name. There was vegetation blocking the view to Makaha Valley which bummed me out because I wanted the “money shot” of Makaha Valley, but flat out missed it while we were on the, “broken teeth” section. After a short break we started to head towards the terminus point of Tiki Ridge. This I remind you is all part of Kamaileunu ridge (also can be referred to the spine of Kamaileunu ridge).
Getting to the Tiki Ridge terminus was way easier than what we just did. There was a fence line that we followed until we hit these huge boulders sitting right on top the mountain. The huge boulders are considered the Tiki Ridge terminus. From the Tiki Ridge Terminus was a short 25 minute hike to the Waianae Kai Terminus. With daylight dwindling and everyone tired, we chose to go down Waianae Kai instead of Three Poles.
We dropped down the Waianae Kai trail in a blaze. We went down and down until we hit a dry stream bed. Then kind of went through the forest in a meandering path. We hit the paved road and made our way to the cars. After 9.5 hours, we were finally done. These social hikes are great, but are long. I sort of don’t mind because my cardio can handle these types of hikes and I’m less tired at the end. It was great to meet so many hikers in the hiking community. I’m grateful that I can join these types of hikes and experience something I have in common with other people. Thanks to Baron who coordinated this hike and is retiring it from his list. It takes a responsible person to take a group on a hike like this because the danger level is high.
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