Mount Ka'ala to Hobbs Ridge

Ka'ala to Hobbs - June 10, 2018

My website is on hiatus for now since I'm all into native plants. However, this hike is worth mentioning. So I'll take the time to do a write up. 

I've never done the WST from Ka'ala to Kalena. Today was important in gaining experience on this section of the WST. Baron who was getting ready for his hike to Mount Kilimanjaro needed some cardio burn. He invited me along with a number of other peeps throughout the week. The group swelled into 11 by Sunday. Joining the hike was Baron, Renee, Cat, Bernice, Darren, Katie, Patricio, Matt, Kellie, Marilou, and I. 

View on Waianae Kai Trail

I drove to Baron's house at 5:50am, he carpooled Cat, Marilou, Darren, and I to Waianae Valley Road. We started hiking around that 7:15 time. Kellie and Renee led a strong pace up Ka'ala. It was a cool day, so we could hike fast. In about 3 hours we topped out at Ka'ala. It got cold at the top, but wasn't socked in for some reason. The group dynamic felt relaxed. We walked through the Ka'ala bog, making a right turn at a critical junction in the bog and headed towards where ever. This experience through the bog was the highlight of the day. We were able to interact within the bog which not many people are able to do. 

After about 30 minutes in the bog, we popped out on the WST and headed towards Hobbs Ridge. The hardest part of the crossover was to navigate this 30 foot drop. It was wet and the holds were minimal. Waianae Steve put webbing which helped tremendously. After the drop, we had to cross a ledge to another area which was also difficult. It took us about 1 hour for the group of 11 to navigate the obstacle. We were meticulous and safe.

Bog fauna ~ Happy Faced Spider, but not smiling 

After that, we headed towards Hobbs via a fence line that the military installed. The cat's claw was horrendous. It just beat the shit out of you along the fence line. There was a mixture of invasive and native species along the way. The invasive plants were obviously brought forth by the military, however the fence line is able to keep the animals out, so pick your poison. 

The hike on the WST to Hobbs was one of the best views the Waianaes had to offer. To me it was a top notch view along with Three Corners and Ohikilolo. At Hobbs we took a 20 minute break and ate lunch. The group kept the same relaxing mood even at 7 hours into the hike. 

cross over on the WST

Going down Hobbs was slow in the beginning. We had to negotiate a plethora of rope, going down one at a time. The ridge was steep and narrow in the beginning. It eventually opened up and we got down to a jeep road covered in cali grass. This took us 1+ hours. The jeep road took us under 1 hour. Going down Hobbs was about 2 hours which was really fast. 

Bernice in agave forest, Darren bringing water for us

Post hike meal was at the Kapolei Brick Oven Pizza. We just completed a 9+ hour hike. The service there was really bad and the wait time was horrible. We had to wait for 1 hour for our pizza. WTF. Luckily the group was chill which helped with the long wait, but shit, Brick Oven gotta get their shit together man.