12-14-2013: Waiʻanae Summit Trail - Kaʻala to Kolekole Pass (Kalena)

CAUTION: The Waiʻanae Mountain Range is located on properties owned by the U.S. government, the U.S. military of all branches, the state of Hawaiʻi via departments, and private owners. The mountain ridges and valleys are also home to a delicate and vast array of native plants, animals, and insects. Please take care not to disturb them or their native habitats and always seek permission to access these lands. Always do your research prior to setting out. And finally, once you are out there, always minimize your impact to the environment and of course, be safe.

I've always had a fascination to see what was in between the two tallest mountain peaks on the island of Oʻahu.  I remember doing the Kalena Trail back in 2009 and saw the summit ridge continuing on to the 4,025ft flat topped peak of Kaʻala.  I also remember doing Kaʻala that same year and was curious how on Earth do you get to Kalena from here.  That summit section seemed so mysterious at the time.  When I've found out that Kaleo and his crew did some scouting of the area and then making the attempt, apparently there was a way.

Zack, Jon, Carl, and Rhonda joined me for the proposed route while Kalani and two of his friends joined us for the hike up to Kaʻala.  From there, they would split and head to the cabin on ʻOhikilolo Ridge.  The weather that day would virtually be a repeat from my last summit segment hike to ʻOhikilolo Ridge: clear morning skies with the afternoon clouds rushing in faster than you can say "thermal trades".

We pushed off at 8am, once again on that concrete Board of Water Supply road.  Just with the weather, the hike up was a virtually deja vu from the last hike.  As we neared the top of Kaʻala, the clouds began to thicken and hover themselves over the mountain bog.  When we got to the paved road, we discovered that Kalani and his friends had already left the area.  I got out my cell phone to call them, but already saw a text saying that they were heading towards ʻOhikilolo.  They had a need for speed going up Kaʻala and haven't seen them since the trail head.  With the group down to the five of us, we reached the benchmark just outside the perimeter fence of the Air Force station, the clouds beat us once again.  But not for long.  While we were eating our lunches, the clouds lifted and we were treated to a view of the North Shore and the Wahiawa plains!

The next task was going to be the tricky part, navigating through the mountain bog.  I really didn't want to take the most direct route through the bog since this area was full of native flora and fauna.  We scouted the area around the Air Force station to see if there was a way to circumnavigate the bog, but to no avail.  Heading back on the boardwalk, I pulled out the GPS track that Francis sent to me and overlayed it on our current position.  I want to give a BIG MAHALO to Francis for saving us the time of trying to find the route.  We reached a spot on the boardwalk where we spotted a faint but distinct trail heading to the southeast.  Navigating the trail was very difficult, especially for Zack!  He is known to do EVERY single hike with me with only the use of slippers, or as we locals call um "slippahs".  However, like a Ferrari Enzo trying to go off road on the Rubicon Trail, his slippers were completely and utterly useless on this mud soup of a marsh.  He had to do it barefoot.  To make things worse, thorns were present everywhere, to the sides, above, and below, hidden in the mud!  Anyone who didn't have a long sleeved shirt were exposed to them.  And there were choke brah!  Seriously!  "Zack, may God have mercy on your soul" was all I could think of during this portion of the hike.  I tip my hat to you for enduring such unforgiving terrain with nothing but bare feet, board shorts, and a t-shirt!  In this forest were a vast array of native plants as far as the eye could see.  There was one that caught my eye, Kanawao (Broussaisia arguta).  This one was of particular interest because of how deep the purple was.

The muddy slosh was painstakingly slow.  If you want to experience first hand what is like to go through a native mountain forest, this was it (not recommended).  We had to make sure we stuck close to one another as the trail was barely visible and it winded crazy through the forest.  Get lost here and you're in serious trouble.  At times, there were areas where the trail seemed to split, but keeping true to the GPS, we didn't get sidetracked that much, except for one spot where the trail seemed to disappear, but we had to pull a "Legend of Zelda" move and push through.  The terrain transitioned from a flat mountain forest to more ridge like.  I could see the leeward drop into Waiʻanae Valley far below.  We were on track.  When the ridge became more exposed, there was a cool cloud formation up ahead.  The clouds shrouded the leeward side of the ridge while the windward side was completely exposed.  Seems like the winds have shifted and they were now coming from the leeward side.  The borderline between clear air and the clouds was very distinct, like a giant wall.  The clouds blocked the view to Kalena but we could see the summit ridge leading to it.  Looking back behind us, we easily saw the giant flat topped peak of Kaʻala, along with her white golf ball.  Filled with excitement, we pressed onwards.

As we dropped in elevation, we came across a rocky descent with a rope.  It wasn't too particularly difficult except having to trust the tree branch the rope was anchored to to lower yourself the first 5 feet or so.  All of us made it without too much trouble.  Immediately after that was another rocky area where one has to skirt across a gap.

Further up, we came across a large boulder.  On the other side, a fence began.  It was also here where the thorns came back with a vengeance.The ridge maintained a roller coaster profile, typical of Hawaiian ridges.  At some point, we came across a small grassy area, heavily marked with pink trail tape.  This must be the terminus of Hobb's Ridge, a steep leeward ridge coming up from Waiʻanae Valley.  We were in autopilot mode as we kept following the metal fence line all the way to Kalena.  We were now shrouded in clouds, reducing visibility.

A massive pu'u loomed in the distance, we were almost there!  There was a small eroded notch that had to be traversed carefully.  There was a rope on the other side for assistance.  From there, we made the final push to the summit of Kalena.  Along the way, we got sporadic views of Bolohead, Hobb's Ridge, and "Star Trek".

The trail opened up and there was a benchmark, marking the summit.  Unfortunately, the clouds socked us in.  We plopped down to rest and hydrate.  We still had a long hike down the now little used Kalena Trail.  Apparently, we left our guard down and proceeded downward in the wrong direction, thinking it was the summit trail.  It took me a while to realize something was amiss, both from years of not doing this trail, and thinking that the trail got super overgrown over those years.  I got the GPS out and confirmed my suspicion.  We were heading down windward.  With about 20 minutes wasted, we made the climb back to the summit and followed the fence in the right direction.  Keep true to the fence.

The Kalena Trail consists of three distinct peaks, which from our point of travel, got smaller with each one.  The last peak marked the turn off towards Kolekole Pass.  By the time we got to the 2nd peak, the sun had already set and darkness was setting in fast.

By the time we got to the famous dikes between the 2nd and the 1st peak, it was pitch black.  I also recalled the fence not being here last time I did this trail.  It was sad to see fences popping up all over the place, places that you've been before.  Off in the distance, we could see the city lights of Wahiawa and Schofield Barracks.  The moon was shining brightly and there were times that we didn't need our headlamps for illumination.  Once on the first peak, the trail turned sharply right and headed downward for Kolekole Pass.  Another 30 minutes to an hour and we were on Kolekole Rd.  Carl's friend was waiting for us further down the road and drove us back to Schofield Barracks.

Although finally explored, every time I drive down Waiʻanae side and look up, I will always see this section of the Waiʻanaes as eerie and mysterious.

Lucky we live Hawaiʻi.

Video coming soon!

11-22/23-2013: Waiʻanae Summit Trail - Kaʻala to Three Corners

CAUTION: The Waiʻanae Mountain Range is located on properties owned by the U.S. government, the U.S. military of all branches, the state of Hawaiʻi via departments, and private owners. The mountain ridges and valleys are also home to a delicate and vast array of native plants, animals, and insects. Please take care not to disturb them or their native habitats and always seek permission to access these lands. Always do your research prior to setting out. And finally, once you are out there, always minimize your impact to the environment and of course, be safe.

This stretch of the Waiʻanaes would include the hike up the Waiʻanae-Kaʻala Trail, the portion of the summit between Oʻahu's tallest peak, Mt. Kaʻala, and an area that is known as the "Three Corners".  To exit, we would have to traverse a hot, dry, and a crumbly ridge to reach Puʻu ʻOhikilolo, all while clinging on to a fence that runs straight down the middle of the thin ridge.  The final leg of the journey would take us from ʻOhikilolo, cross a low lying saddle to gain Keaʻau Ridge, and down a middle ridge to ʻOhikilolo Valley.  Since none of us has done this segment before, we couldn't truly gauge the time required to hike the planned distance.  We knew there was a cabin at Puʻu ʻOhikilolo so I made it our goal to reach this cabin by night fall and camp overnight.  If we still had enough light left, we would skip the cabin and make the attempt to finish it all in one sitting.  The crew for this day was Arnold, Zack, Kalani, Jon, and myself.  Arnold and Zack would accompany us to Kaʻala and return the same way.  The rest of us would continue to the cabin.

We began the hike at around 9am up the Board of Water Supply road.  I've always dreaded heading up this road just to gain the trail head.  The sun was already beaming down and it was to be a hot one today.  We rested at a picnic area just outside the trail head.  Once on the trail, we kept a sharp eye out for the purple plastic bottle caps that mark the W-K Trail.  It's real easy to miss the junction to the left down to the stream and continue straight up the ridge line.  We crossed a short clearing with views of the ridges around us and headed back into the forest.  After a left turn into the forest, the trail begins it's relentless climb up to "Three Poles", a spot marked by three electrical poles.  I was sadden when we came across the fence, which was not present the last time I've done the W-K Trail.  Like a steel vine that never stops expanding, it's slowly making it's presence all over the Waiʻanae Mountains and the Koʻolaus.

Looking up towards the flat topped peak of Kaʻala, The sky was completely clear of clouds.  But that is always a deception.  I would say about 80% of all my ridge hikes I've done, the clouds always came in upon reaching the summit and this hike would be no different.  Just before the final push, the boulder section had to be climbed.  But with choke ropes everywhere, progress was easily made.  It was a steady and sometimes steep climb all the way until we saw the Kaʻala Nature Area Reserve.  The views leeward were spectacular!

As we walked on a boardwalk through the mountain bog, the clouds dropped down, as expected at this time.  We've encountered a few people heading the opposite direction on the boardwalk.  Here we were introduced to three guides who were leading a volunteer group.  Apparently these guys were following me on Instagram and recognized me by face.  After talking short stories and posing for a photo, we continued on towards the Air Force / FAA.  We gained the paved road leading into the facility and noticed two white trucks.  It must have been the volunteer group.  We skirted around the perimeter fence and sat down for lunch at the 4,025ft benchmark.  The air was misty as the clouds have fully shrouded the views around us.  The clouds would open to a view of the blue sky above but the clouds below remained thick.

We packed up after 15 minutes and headed back towards the paved road.  We saw the volunteer group make their way back to the trucks for refreshments.  We said our final goodbyes and began our very long walk down the road.  It dropped in elevation fairly quickly and had to fight gravity.  Walking backwards sometimes alleviates the feet. Initially, we came across a green bridge and a trail leading down the windward side of Kaʻala.  This was the Dupont Trail.  Unfortunately, access was lost back in 2009 and I could imagine the trail being completely overgrown by now.

Further down, we noticed a white para cord dangling down the cliff face from the summit ridge high above the road.  I wonder if this was left by Ahnate, the individual who traversed the Waiʻanaes in it's entirely in 3 days.  Passing by a radio tower, we dropped below the cloud decks and were seeing views of the North Shore.  Around another bend, ʻOhikilolo Ridge began to show it's razor sharp profile.

A short while later, we came across a worker in a shack.  He informed us that we were on a government road and wouldn't let us pass initially, but after stating our intentions, he let us proceed.  He said that people would sometimes try to go to Kaʻala from Peacock Flats and would turn them back.  Since we were heading towards that direction, it only made sense for us to continue on instead of having us turn back up the road.  He said farewell and good luck and we continued our tramp down the road.  It was about 5 minutes or so when we spotted to our left, the rutted trail heading upwards to the summit ridge.  Once on the summit ridge, the fence greeted us and we followed it to Three Corners.  Here, the three valleys of Makaha, Makua, and Mokulēia converged to a point.

The views were grand, but it didn't last long as the cloud began to drop again.  I traced the ʻOhikilolo Ridge to the cabin.  It sure looked very close but knew that this would be a roller coaster ridge from hell, fully equipped with a fence.  On we went, first down, then up, and down again.  Grip the fence, step on this side, step on the other, up, down, up, down, up, down.  This would be the motto for the next few hours.  Along the way were some tricky rocky obstacles, including one where one has to traverse right over it on some slippery looking rock.  Daylight was beginning to run out and we knew that ʻOhikilolo Cabin was going to be our home away from home for the night.

As the light grew dim, we focused on the silhouette of the next pu'u.  Then the next.  Then the next.  At around blackout, we finally noticed that the fence began to contour this one really large pu'u.  This has got to be it!  Rain began to fall hard.  The fence began to level out and I noticed that we were contouring a large red washout.  I was familiar with this washout and I instructed everyone to hop the fence to the Makua facing side.  A few more steps ahead and we were standing at the front door of the cabin.  Knock. Knock.  I grabbed the doorknob, twisted it, fearing it would be locked.  The door swung inward.  Welcome to the hotel ʻOhikilolo.  We got our sleeping bags out and warmed up the burner for some hot drinks and soup as the rain continued to pelt the roof.  Glad the rain held out just in time to get to the cabin.  Once we finished our dinner, we tucked ourselves into our sleeping bags and drifted off to sleep.  I woke up to a bright light shining through my window.  Since it was blurred, I couldn't see what was out there, but the light had a moving effect.  I thought we were going to be sharing the cabin with other people.  I got up and walked into the kitchen area and was in awe when I saw the moon.  Wasn't quite a full moon, but it was still bright.  Turns out, that was what I was seeing and the clouds passing over it gave it that moving effect.  I could easily see Puʻu ʻOhikilolo standing tall and proud.  In fact, the silhouette of that peak and the two next to it gave it a familiar look to the Gaza Pyramids in Egypt.  I went back to bed and drifted off to sleep.

The following morning, we had a light breakfast and packed our gear.  The clouds were still hanging over the Waiʻanaes but the rain had stopped.  The morning sun was peaking over the clouds.

Unfortunately, the ground was soaking wet, making the saddle part of the hike a little sketchy.  We followed the red washout downward.  There was a goat trail contouring a set of teeth like rock formations, which we followed.  At some point though, the trail disappears and we had to scale upward to gain the top of the ridge.  Following the ridge, we reached an area that looks like the surface of Mars.  The color of the surrounding soil and rock were completely different to the rest of the mountain.  Another fence greeted us and we followed it, scaling some minor rock face to gain the top of ʻOhikilolo Middle Ridge.  We made it!  It's all down hill from here.

We went down some ropes, losing elevation quickly.  The trail than contoured to the right to bypass a large rocky cliff to the right before regaining the ridge line again.  We crossed some narrow sections with some great views.  Looking back, the pyramidal peak of ʻOhikilolo dominated the ridges high above.  Looking forward, we could see the valley road leading back to Farrington Hwy.

A couple hours more and we made it.  Mahalo to Brian for picking us up!  He said he tried to fly the RLU-1 Breezy over our spot since I've checked in with him yesterday.  The clouds however prevented him from going that far mauka.  Now that I think about it, I do recall hearing a sound of a small aircraft, but the sound was faint.

What a trip!

Video coming soon!