A Hiking Trip to Mars

Witte Ridge to Water Tank - April 19, 2015

I didn't know what to call this hike, so I just called in Witte Ridge to Water Tank. Witte is for Gene Witte, the expert hiker who gives us access to Makaha and he is also the Makaha trails expert. He along with Waianae Steve are the two people who know Makaha and Waianae valleys like the back of their hand. And the Water Tank Ridge, named for the final descent or our bailout ridge for this day. 

Baron invited me on this hike a few weeks ago. If you've read my last 2 hikes, this is where I've been ~ Makaha Valley for the past month. I've been truly appreciative of Baron's hospitality in inviting me to these hikes in Makaha. Previously, I never thought I would get a chance to come up here, so that is why I've been taking advantage of the opportunity for the past month.

Initially the plan was to go up Witte Ridge (which tops out in the middle of the connector between Ke'aau & Ohikilolo), we would then go over the teeth section or what I call the staircase section of the connector making our way up to the Ohikilolo Cabin. We would then take Ohikilolo Ridge to Three Corners and come down a ridge called King Kong which would lead us back to Makaha Valley. We predicted it would take us about 10 hours. 

Joining the hike today was Baron, Darren, Erik, Bernice, Paige, & Aaron. We checked in at the Makaha Towers and made our way to the H4 trail. We ended up at the Kane'aki Heiau again and took the service road until we hit the junction that would lead us to Witte Ridge. The gradual climb up to the base of Witte Ridge was tiring, and then the ascent up Witte Ridge became brutal. It really tightened my legs. We went up for what appeared to be over an hour. I was sweatin' and it was cold, so I had to put my jacket on. We got to a landmark, I think it was the 44' lookout. We finished up at the top of Witte Ridge also known as the Ke'aau-Ohikilolo Connector.  

It was cold and windy as hell up on top of the ridge. It also started to rain a bit hard. We decided to check out the teeth section. But with wet rocks, we decided bail on the initial plan because of safety reasons. Baron's plan was to go back down Witte Ridge and call it a day. However, it seemed that no one wanted to go back down Witte Ridge. We decided to take the connector south to True Ke'aau and bail down the water tank ridge. 

Mars (P.C. The Judge)

We hit Kea'au Middle in no time. And then we hit the Mars section, name because of all the red dirt mounds. I was amazed by this section. The rest of the crossover to True Kea'au was surprisingly long. Not only long, it was narrow and rocky. The crossover took a long time, 5 hours to be exact. We took a lot of breaks, but wow, 5 hours was long.  

We got to the 'flag pole' put up by Mr. Witte himself. Baron & Aaron were trying to erect it. Near the flag pole was the bail out ~ Water Tank ridge. Going down this ridge was hard on the knees, it is very steep. Adding to the pain was the intense heat. All the rain from this morning went away and we were scorching. About 2/3 down the ridge, we encountered our only major obstacle. It was a 15 foot down climb on a narrow ledge. This was different from Will's hike a few months ago where we took probably an easier way down this narrow ledge. We all had our difficulties and needed some spotting. Aaron who does probably the worst job of spotting made it difficult for us because he adds pressure to his explanation. But he is trying to be safe. After we were done, I told Baron we took the other way last time, he was like "how come you never tell us?". I replied, "nah that way was just as hard", trying to cover myself. 

After the down climb, we made our way to the water tank. Since we parked our cars at Makaha Towers, we had to walk the 1/2 mile back up the road. We cleaned up at Makaha Surfing Beach before going to Chili's in Waikele. The heat really got to me and I was half asleep in the car. Chili's as always was fun. Too bad nobody drank, it would be more enjoyable that way. 

I wouldn't recommend this hike to anyone unless they want to get to Mars. Baron thinks its a faster way to get to the connector, he maybe right, but I don't think so. I think Ohikilolo Ridge is the more efficient way. However, Ohikilolo Ridge is brutal so it becomes ones opinion that will prevail.