Hiking Trails on Oahu

  North Kaukonahua Stream (Tubing) - July 17, 2014 I've already been here...just last week, we did the Wahiawa Hills. Today Erik was taking his cousins tubing. The route consist of hiking 1+ hours on the Wahiawa Hills trail and getting to Kaukonahua Stream (north fork). From there, we would inflate our tubes and float down the stream for about 3 hours till we hit the ridge taking us back up to the Wahiawa Hills junction.  We met at the trailhead and off we went with no chatter. Although it took us 1 1/2 hours, it felt fast. Getting down to the stream was steep, but we blitzed it. We spent only 20 minutes to inflate our tubes. Unfortunately, I had a slow leak and would need Erik's pump the rest of the way. Tubing is actually an unbelievable experience! Its like a lazy river experience, the one you get at the water park, but much better. Water levels weren't too high today, about 2.10 feet. Usually 2.5-3.0 feet are ideal conditions. However, it rained through...

  Kamaileunu - July 13, 2014 I swore to myself that I'd never do this ridge again. But today was an exception. We were looking for Kalani Vierra a 15 year old boy who lived near Kamaileunu ridge in Waianae. According to reports, he went missing about a week ago while hiking on the trail. The official search concluding on Wednesday, and volunteers picked up the search from then on. Stuart Ball calls Kamaileunu ridge, "the most rugged hike on the island". Apparently Kalani knew about the ridge and wanted to complete it. All indications was that he was fit enough to do the ridge. But after missing for 7 days, a positive outcome looked grim. Unfortunately, we probably would be looking for a body today. Since I've done Kamaileunu a few years ago, I thought to myself, how long would I last on Kamaileunu if I had to stay on that ridge for a certain amount of time? The answer I came up with was 2 days, and then I would die of either dehydration or heat stroke. This answer is ...

Wahiawa Hills - July 9, 2014 The Wahiawa Hills have eluded me for quite sometime. Its a relatively short intermediate level hike. That's not to say all intermediate hikers can do this trail. It can get very confusing with the many ridges and gulches the route traverses.  Since Daniel was going to Japan in a few days, he wanted to do a hike before he left. The OAG's know that I've never done the Wahiawa Hills, so it was a great gesture to offer to do it. Joining the group today was Erik, DJ, Daniel, Aprille and her friend Lyann.  We met at Erik's house which seems to be the meeting place for any hike in the Wahiawa area. From there we drove to the end of Wahiawa Heights Drive and parked near two big ass water tanks.  The beginning of the hike is somewhat special going through a forest of paperbark trees, a picture in this area would look fantastic. We went down a hill and to a small waterfall maybe 10 feet high. The trail is muddy, just like all trails on this part of th...

  Pu'u O Hulu Kai - July 7, 2014 I haven't done Pu'u O Hulu in a while. Last time, I did it solo. It was fun, besides the oncoming thunderstorms. Today, Aprille wanted to take her friend Amanda on this hike. Erik joined them as well. They got to an early 8 am start. Initially I bailed o the hike, because Malia and Jared felt sick. However with some prodding they were able to get out of bed and go to summer fun. I text Erik and Aprille I was a go and drove to Maile to start Pu'u O Hulu Kai and meet them somewhere near the bunkers. Pu'u O Hulu, the hill itself is somewhat by, itself. I think it was connected to Heleakala at one time back in ancient Hawaii before major erosion. Makes you think how much water was flowing millions of years ago in that valley to separate Pu'u O Hulu from Heleakala. The Pu'u itself is split into two sections, one section is the Kai section and the other one is the Uka section.  Aprille them were going to start from the Uka section ...

  Upper Hamama & Waihe'e Falls - July 5, 2014 Although it was great to see both the upper sections of Hamama and Waihe'e falls, the purpose of today's hike was to hike with Nate again. It is so good to see old hiking partners. My last hike with Nate was Bear Claw Right Fork. After that hike, he went to boot camp in Chicago and I haven't seen him until today.  Nate currently lives in San Diego and is in active duty military. He does not plan to come back to Hawaii. Today I took him to Hamama and Waihe'e falls, two waterfalls that are easy enough for both of us. However, the upper sections which I did with the group 7D takes a bit more hiking skills. We got to Hamama rather quickly and proceeded to the upper falls. It was somewhat slick, but with focus and determination, we got to the top of Hamama rather quickly. I knew Hamama was fed by a natural spring, but seeing it up close was pretty cool. It seems that the spring produces tons of water to make the waterfall...

Hau'ula Uka to Waipilopilo - July 2, 2014 Two years ago this was the infamous blue ice hike. On that day, Marvin, Daniel, and I went up to Three Ribbons Pu'u, Daniel bailed down Waipilopilo, while Marvin and I went up to the Hau'ula Loa terminus. I remember finishing the hike at 2 am. Daniel left us lunchables and juice at his house after the hike. Marvin, tired I guess, took the blue ice and didn't return it to Daniel. Two years later, we revisited part of Hau'ula Ridge which we will call the Blue Ice Hike in honor of Marvin stealing Daniel's blue ice pack. The goal today was to start on the Hau'ula Loop, take the junction to Hau'ula Uka, trail clear mainly uluhe and clidemia, get up to Three Ribbons Pu'u, leave the geocache with blue ice, and return via Waipilopilo ridge which eventually intersects back with the Hau'ula Loop trail.  The crew today was an all OAG crew ~ Daniel, David, and I. We started near 8:30am on Hau'ula Loop. Daniel ask...