Hiking Trails on Oahu

Mauna Lahilahi – July 13, 2012 I’ve seen this small little peak before. I’ve always wanted to try. After exploring the Upper and Lower Makua Cave, we went to hike Mauna Lahilahi. The road getting there is called Lahilahi Street and it is right by the Hawaiian Princess Hotel. I parked on the side of Lahilahi Street near some houses, we found a trail and started up the mountain. Lahilahi is a small peak at 224 feet of elevation according to my GPS. The hike up there was quick, 7 minutes to be exact. But the view is near world class. You get a great look at Makaha Valley. If you look below, the coast line is serene. To the right is a beautiful white sand beach also known as Lahilahi beach. small mountain, but steep drop Further progress can be made, however, you would have to go around or plow through thorny bushes on a narrow rocky ridge which would suck. After taking nice pictures, we made our way down. view of Lahilahi beach Christian & Marvin with 7D bag Marvin wearing gourd as ha...

  Heleakala – October 16, 2011 Heleakala, not to be confused with Haleakala on Maui, is the ridge that separates Nanakuli and Lualualei Valley. I joined the HTMC today, the coordinator was the personable Bob. Trailhead directions were near Haleakala Avenue. I parked on the side of the road in a residential neighborhood and met everyone near a house. The HTMC trailhead is between two houses. We waited for a few minutes, were debriefed, and headed towards the ridge to Heleakala. I led the charge.  The initial climb up the ridge was tiring. My legs were getting tight in a hurry. Bob laid pink ribbons on the trail two weeks before. I followed those ribbons until I gained the crest of the ridge. from the residential neighborhood There were no trees in sight. The ridge was exposed. The sun was beaming down. I started to sweat like crazy. There was also a section where a brush fire destroyed part of the area not too long ago. It smelled like burnt grass when I entered the area. In ab...

  Mount Olympus (Awa'awaloa) via Wa'ahila Ridge Trail - June 4, 2011 Mount Olympus is the highest peak in Manoa. Its Hawaiian name is Awa'awaloa, but some years ago, students at Punahou renamed it Olympus. The name stuck and its also on listed as Olympus on Hawaii maps. I wanted to do this hike yesterday, but with a flash flood in effect for Oahu, that was out of the question. So I decided to do it today, which after much reflection was still a mistake. Lets just say climbing a steep mountain one day after a downpour isn't the right thing to do because you know, slippery mud.   I headed towards St. Louis Heights Drive at 8:30 am. After turning on a couple of side streets, I ended up at Wa'ahila Ridge State Park. I remember doing the first 30 minutes of this hike with the kids a couple of years ago and they had trouble, so we turned around. The lower Wa'ahila Ridge Trail claims to be a novice hike because there is little elevation gain. However, there is rock cli...