Going back to Three Corners and King Kong Ridge

Three Corners to King Kong - February 24, 2018

Back at it today! Baron wanted to find the correct ridge to King Kong. We expected an easier hike than last week. 

It was deja vu all over as we met at Darren's house at 6am where Bernice was waiting to take Darren and I to Makaha. The only difference is that Kellie was going to catch ride with us. We waited for her to arrive. 

Bernice drove us to Makaha quickly, as we got there in under 50 minutes. We checked in and met up with Baron. In Baron car was Marilou and Ryan. Gene came walking up from the street again and was going to join us only to the icy pond.

Just like last week, Gene walked at a brisk pace and we got to the icy pond in under 1 hour just like last week. From there, it was some exploring to find the correct ridge today. We did some searching, eventually finding a mango tree which indicated the start of the trail (there are a lot of mango trees in Makaha, so a gps mark would help). The faint trail started about 5 minutes from the junction we took last week. 

The hike up the hill was steep, it started to rain. Makaha was socked in. Marilou who hasn't done Three Corners was in for a socked in day, but she was happy just to hike. 

We went up the ridge for quite some time going through a large strawberry guava patch following ribbons, so we knew we were on the right track. There were times when it opened a little and you could see the ridge ahead. There was this huge vertical obstacle looming in front of us. I told Baron, "that's kinda crazy yeah!". He agreed, but assured us that the trail went left. He was right, when we hit the obstacle the trail went around that rock face and on the side of the mountain. 

Darren led the way following ribbons. The trail was obscure, but still there. It was very uneven, so I had to keep some balance on the wet trail. In about 30 minutes of hiking up the side of the mountain, we hit the ridge again and topped out at the Ohikilolo fence line. Ryan was excited as he seemed very happy at the moment yelling profane words of happiness to the valley. 

Three Corners looking majestic in the clouds

Three Corners easy ridge

As the group took a break, Kellie took a nap. From the fence line, we still had 30 minutes to Three Corners. The clouds rolling over Ohikilolo ridge was something to behold of and Makua Valley was clear. My phone was charging, so I didn't get any pictures, but it was nice. Ryan loved it. 

Kellie sleeping

clouds sitting put on Ohikilolo

We topped out at Three Corners around 11:30am or so. The sun was coming out burning up the clouds. All three views of Makaha, Makua, and North Shore opened up treating us to a good view before being socked in again. We stayed at the summit for 45 minutes hanging out. Marilou was soaking in the moment. Baron made the decision to crossover and go to King Kong. Bernice and I stayed in the back to identify more native plants. We could identify some invasives, also kolea and kawau'u. Ryan pointed out a rare lolu and gave us the name of the species, but I didn't write it down, thus have no idea what it was, just a lolu right now. The crossover was short, maybe 30 minutes or so before we got to the King Kong junction. It was deja vu all over again. 

Kellie at the top of Three Corners

View of North Shore

rare lolu

Walking up Ka'ala Road

Going down King Kong was slow initially. The ridge is steep int he beginning and footing uneven. Waiaiane Steve or someone put a lot of webbing for assistance. It took us about 1 hour to get to the King Kong Boulders. Ryan loved it. He kept on saying he loved it. 

Going down King Kong ridge

Kellie sleeping again at the boulders

After the boulders, it rained, but it was a quick hike down to the valley and to the icy ponds. The guys jumped in the water to get the stink out of them and then it was a quick hike out to the Makaha Towers. Total hiking time was about 9 hours. 

Post hike meal was at Mililani Chili's. We spent some time there talking story. Ryan, Marilou, and I had a beer. Cheers to the freakin' weekend, I live for that!!! Yeah Yeah!