A Highly Coveted Oahu Hike

Kawailoa - April 12, 2014

It all comes down to this...maybe not. Kawailoa has been on my checklist since 2011. Dave F. had the last write up of it in 2012. The last time Kawailoa was on the HTMC schedule was September 2010, but I’m not sure if they went through with it. In summary, trail use is nonexistent.

The HTMC quarterly April-June schedule is probably the best I’ve seen since I joined the club in 2011. With Kawailoa and Poamoho as the showcase, back to back no less, its a very impressive schedule. A reliable source said that Mr. Koolau Summit himself has been working on putting together an interesting schedule.

Erik and I did an exploratory hike on Thursday and had a conversation that Kawailoa would bring out the veterans of the HTMC. It did not disappoint, all the ‘legends’ came out. I can sort of understand why hikers consider certain people of the HTMC legends. Take Pete Clines for example - he (along with Laredo) were the first documented hikers to do True Manamana. Pete is also known as the Windward Ridge King. He did Bowman Windward, Olympus Windward, Mariner’s Windward, Mauna Oahi Windward, and the Bear Claws to name a few. August, another ‘legend’, who by the way was also on the hike today, mentioned to me one time that Pete did Ulupaina Windward, which seems a little impossible for me to fathom as that ridge appears impossible. I can go on and on, but although I do consider those HTMC hiker’s legends, I’m not star struck anymore and pretty much consider them just people doing what they love to do.  

Joining the hike today were the HTMC ‘legends’ and 7 of 10 OAG members ~ DJ, Daniel, Darren, Erik, Bernice, Allison and I.

We met at Haleiwa and DJ offered to drive us to the Kawailoa trailhead. I really wanted all of OAG to come for two reasons 1) of course we can spend time with each other since its been sooo long 2) Kawailoa may not be scheduled again. The road going into Kawailoa is through 2 locked gates. The road is owned by the army. The trail is owned by Kamehameha schools. Access is a huge problem.

We started the trail at 8:50am. Turn around time was 12:30pm with a meet up time back at the trailhead at 4pm. This posed somewhat of a problem for summiting. I had a hunch that it would take more than 3.5 hours to summit, mainly because of the length of the trail. We started hiking at a blistering pace. I started with Allison and we had a conversation about her trip to New Zealand, so lucky and I’m jealous. We went up and down, somewhat like Schofield-Waikane. On a side note, Schofield-Waikane is much worst, that trail might be the crappiest graded trail on the island. Eventually, I ended up with Nate. Thea, and Erik. The trail was still overgrown, but believe me, it was really wide open considering how overgrown it probably was before. Waialae Nui and Kipapa are much worse than this. Even Pupukea-Laie a few years ago was much worse than this.

started in a field of grass

At about 2+ hours in, we hit the pig wallows. Pigs are known for running around this area, mainly because no one hunts here, which means freedom. These pig wallows are fricken disgusting. Who knows how much times they shit and piss here. And we were stepping at least 5 inches deep into it on every step.

all of these lolu palms

At 12:30pm, Erik and I had a decision to make. According to my gps, we were close to summiting, at least 0.35 miles away. We pondered, but knew it was a good idea to turnaround. Just then Barney came. We mentioned to him that the turnaround time was 12:30pm. He obviously didn’t care and told us he came this far, so he might as well summit. Erik and I looked at each other and thought about it for a minute. But we figured Barney could summit and still make it back by 4pm, we couldn’t. On a side note, many hikers pre-planned a crossover to Laie, so they forged ahead.

Erik tired and muddy

Going back was a bitch, uluhe scratch the hell out of my arms and legs. We were drenched in mud nasty black mud. On a huge pig wallow section I got lost for a short time. I followed a trail to a dead end, backtracked and followed another trail to a dead end, and backtracked again. All the while in 6 inches of mud. Then I hear Erik laughing, saying the trail is here.

Erik and I hauled ass to get to the meetup time of 4pm, we got to the trailhead at 4:10pm just in time. We were beat. I was somewhat disappointed that we didn’t summit, but oh well, that is what the summer is for.

DJ drove us back to our cars, where it took like 30 minutes to change and clean up from all the nasty. From there we went to Kua Aina and those healthy burgers. Kua Aina was super fun as we got to talk and catch up as a group. Also joining us were Nate and Jay.

I’d like to thank OAG for doing a hike like this. Summiting is important, but its not the end all be all. I’ve failed so many times and it doesn’t bother me one bit. Getting to talk with people and seeing everyone there is the most rewarding experience. Getting a chance to do Kawailoa was great. You know the saying, the mountains will always be there. We as hikers can get anywhere on this island. The knowledge we built can take us where ever we want. It’s only a matter of time.