Hiking Trails on Oahu

Olympus to Hawaii Loa – September 30, 2012 We set off to Makapu’u, but realized that it was not meant to be on this day. Preparation was good, but time was the ultimate killer of this hiking excursion. Marvin has always criticized me for not finishing the Ko'olau Summit section known as K1 to Makapu’u. Really, I didn’t care about this section all too much. Apparently it is a big thing in the Oahu hiking community. It is actually one of the merit badges that a good hiker on Oahu must obtain to be considered…??? Not sure about that one, but doing K1 to Makapu’u is a great accomplishment. I’ve just never put too much thought into it, mainly because the initial goals I set for myself was to 1) chase waterfalls 2) finish Stuart Ball’s book. But while hiking with Marvin, it comes down to summit crossings. He has done 96% of the Ko’olau Summit already and a good amount of the Waianae Summit. Since I’ve been hiking with Marvin over the past year, I’ve been joining him on some great crossov...

Hawaii Loa Ridge – March 2, 2011 The Hawaii Loa Ridge community is known for its multi-million dollar homes. It also means  a perfect intermediate trail. Hikers categorize hikes using 3 major categories 1) Novice/Beginner 2) Intermediate 3) Expert/Advanced. If you don’t know the difference between the 3, then hike Hawaii Loa Ridge! It’s the perfect in every sense of the word, an intermediate hike, especially towards the end. You need to be in good cardio condition to do this hike or you'll be making frequent rest stops and it will take forever to get to the summit. Once you experience it, you’ll know what an Intermediate hike feels and looks like. In addition, Intermediate hikes are generally safe. Experts hikes are the ones you have to really focus and watch out for your safety. On this day I dropped the kids off at school, then ventured to Hawaii Kai. I was stuck in traffic for over an hour. The residents of Hawaii Loa graciously grants visitors access to the trailhead and  ...