Hiking Trails on Oahu

Pueo Falls - March 29, 2015 Back at it again! Last week, we did Pear Gulch in Makaha. This week we were going to do the elusive Pueo Falls. I've been wanting to do this hike for years now, today it would all come to fruition. I've been enamored with Pueo Falls since I read Nate Yuen's write up of it a few years back. At that time, I thought it was the highest waterfall on Oahu. I was wrong, but the falls is massive.  Baron invited the OAG's on this hike today. Joining Baron was Darren, Erik, and I. We had an early meet up time, 6am at Sport Authority. The planned route today was to hike Pueo falls and back out. On the way there, we would help Baron find 2 junctions 1) Kumaipo trail 2) King Kong trail. We expected to be out there at least 8 hours.  Baron has this thing about bypassing the Board of Water Supply service road. So we took the H4 and Gigi trail to bypass the road. Eventually we hit the Kan Aii Heiau and continued on the other service road pa...

Ohulehule SE - June 11, 2014 This hike has kapu written all over it. In 1993, Hiking on O ahu author Stuart Ball wrote the [Southeast Ridge of Ohulehule is the most dangerous hike on the island] (Ball, 237), he also mentions it again in his 2000 revised edition (Ball, 314). In 1999, two Danish girls got stranded on the Southeast Ridge for 8 days, they were rescued by a HTMC rescue team. The amazing story, accounts from the women is on this link ( http://archives.starbulletin.com/1999/08/24/news/story5.html ). Will L wanted to do this hike for the past two years. Every time he planned it, it rained so he had to cancel the hike. With the Kamehameha holiday coming up, it was now time to coordinate it again. He started a message thread and invited people in the hiking community. I didn't think the hike would be too bad, but you never know.   With good weather in the forecast, this hike was on. For my prep, I packed 100 feet of webbing, a bivy, a trash bag, a steripen, extra food, ...

Aiea-Halawa – September 21, 2013 This day rivals any day while hiking on Oahu. The views were just outstanding. The weather was perfect, not too hot, and not too cold. The pace was just right. And the crew… Our goal was pretty basic, hike up Aiea ridge, make the right towards Halawa, and go down Halawa to our cars. Joining the crew today were OAG – Erik and Aprille, as well as the legendary Dave F. and Bernice. We all met at the Halawa trailhead at 6am. From there we staged cars and hopped in Dave’s car as he drove us to Aiea. We parked outside the gate because we knew we would get out late today. The caretaker closes the gate around 7pm. The hike on Aiea Loop was uneventful, as it was nothing more than a good warm up for what we needed to do. After 45 minutes on the Aiea Loop trail, we veered left at the junction and onto the Aiea Ridge trail. The rains started to come. Not feeling deterred, we kept up the pace all the way up to Pu’u Kaiwipo’o. What got our attention was the view. The...

Makua Rim – February 17, 2013 I always thought that Makua Rim was near the Makua Overlook. After today, I became even more confused. Previously, I’ve done Kealia and Kuoakala which both led to the Makua Overlook. The Makua Overlook doesn’t give a great vantage point of Makua Valley. In fact, Makua Valley is a bit away from the overlook vantage point. Wanting to understand the Northern part of the Waianae Summit Trail, I figured the Makua Rim would be the final piece of the puzzle. In my mind, this hike would connect Kealia and Kuoakala. Crap, I was wrong. The day started off on the Mokuleia Access Road, a long 4 mile road which goes pass the Peacock Flats camping grounds and the Mokuleia Trail. At the meeting spot on Farrington Hwy, I met Erik, Daniel, and David – mainstays in the HTMC. Leading the hike was Fred. Fred in my mind is old, but legendary. He is probably best known for his expertise of the Manana-Waimalu Valley area. Today, he was leading this hike. Since the hike involved ...

Waiakeakua to Ka’au Crater – June 30, 2012 With recent rains and Pauao to Waiahole canceled, we decided to connect two trails known for their cascading waterfalls. 7D Steve thought of a route that involved climbing up Waiakeakua’s waterfalls, cross the Ko’olau summit, then go down Ka’au Crater’s waterfalls. Marvin and I actually thought of this route a few months ago, but it was 7D Steve who would make it happen. I met Steve at the Ka’au Crater trailhead. From there I drove us to Marvin’s house to pick him up. Then it was onto the Waiakeakua trailhead. We started around 8 am. The hike to the first falls was quick; it took us about ½ an hour. All of us climbed the first falls, one at a time. It looks spectacular because you have to climb through the falls. We then hit the 50 foot waterfall. We made it up without incident. Though the climb is hair raising because you have to rely on the rope near the top. The danger level is very high, if you fall, you may not survive. Marvin felt some s...

Waiakeakua to Konahuanui (K2) – June 3, 2012 It was a long hike today. Not long as mileage wise, but long as in hours wise. The plan today was to hike up Waiakeakua ridge, summit, and meet up with Marvin and the big group he was guiding to Konahuanui.   It was only Steve and I making our way up Waiakeakua. We started one hour later than Marvin’s group because we felt that we would be faster to summit than his group. No matter how you time it, the hike always seems to take a little longer. Waiakeakua ridge was pioneered by two hikers with the initials BY and CY. I’ve hiked with BY already and it has been a pleasure knowing him. They spent ages trying to pave and clear that ridge; finally a few months ago they push through to the top and completed the Waiakeakua trail. The Waiakeakua trail starts on 7 bridges. Then you go through a forest and towards the back of Manoa easternmost valley. The trail abruptly ends and you have to rock hop. Today, the water wasn’t flowing; it has be...

Maunawili Demo – March 16, 2012 Christian and I planned this hike last week. We wanted to run the entire Maunawili Demonstration trail from Waimanalo to the Pali Lookout. The route is 10 miles and could take a hiker up to 6 hours to complete, twice that time if you want to go back. The Demo trail as it’s called was built from 1991-1994. Legendary Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club (HTMC) hiker the late Dick Davis was the person who created the route. After running this trail today, the route Mr. Davis created is one of the best I’ve seen on this island. It contours the Ko’olau cliffs on the windward side passing Ka’au Crater, Olympus, and Konahuanui. I digress; Na Ala Hele consulted with Dick Davis and contracted the Sierra club to build the trail. They did 7.5 miles of the trail, and in 1994 the boy scouts completed the remaining 2.5 miles of the trail. I met Christian at the Pali Lookout at 8:30 am. Christian was going to stage his car there. Then I drove us to Waimanalo near some fa...

  Kealia – January 8, 2012 I had a chance to meet Stuart Ball today. Stuart Ball was the guy who wrote the book  Hiking on Oahu . This book has influenced many people to become avid hikers. It gave them a reason to get into shape and enjoy Oahu trails. For me the book did not entertain, but opened up my imagination about what the most remote places on Oahu would look and feel like. I would have dreams about hiking to the summits of Oahu mountains and experiencing world class views. As I checked off the hikes one by one, I realized that hiking was for me. I too got a chance to experience the descriptions of the book first hand. Stuart Ball The hike today was Kealia, located in back of Dillingham Airfield in Mokuleia. The HTMC created a 9 mile loop. The goal today was to hike on the Kealia trail and work our way up great switchbacks eventually overlooking a quarry and the entire North Shore. We would then meander through the mountains via dirt roads, also known as a foothil...

Schofield-Waikane - July 10. 2011 *for this hike get permit from the military at Schofield's East Range I did two important things on this hike. 1) I completed my first Advanced hike 2) I completed my first hike with the Hawaiian Trail & Mountain Club (HTMC). These were two objectives of mine and they were done at the same time. I do need 2 more hikes with the HTMC to become a member. I've had my eye on the HTMC scheduled hikes for sometime now. The HTMC is Oahu's hiking club since the early 1900s. They do a hike every week, nearly all of their hikes are interesting. The initial goal of the HTMC was to find old Hawaiian trails. I digress, the question I would ask myself time and time again was, "Who would go on Schofield-Waikane with me?". After many hours of thinking the answer I came up with was, "no one, I would know of". When Schofield-Waikane came out on the HTMC schedule, I knew it would be the perfect hike to start with the club. It will also ...