Exploration: Hawaii

You Can Call it Oneawa Hills, Kokokahi Ridge, or Kawa’ewa’e

by Coty on May 10, 2012 in Hikes with 1 Comment

President’s Day 2012 was initially reserved for an epic hike up Ohikilolo via Keaau Ridge with Marvin and a few fellow hikers from the Oahu Weekend Hikers Facebook group. I made a game time decision and opted out of the hike the night before. I decided that I wasn’t interested in either waking up at 6am or doing an 8+ hour hike. It’s a good thing that I made this decision as the Ohikilolo hike turned out, unexpectedly, to be an overnight hike. Instead, Joel and I decided to tackle a hike that’s been on our to-do list for a while, Oneawa Hills, a divider between Kaneohe and Kailua. Oneawa Hills has multiple names including Kokokahi Ridge (a name given to the trail by Dayle Turner) and Kawa’ewa’e (Kawa’ewa’e Heiau is located at the end of this trail). Oneawa Hills sounds nice so let’s stick with that name for this post.

Joel works his way up Oneawa Hills. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

A view from one of the lower hills. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Isn't the view just great? Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Peeking at Joel. Broken tree. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

There are two ways to do this trail, either starting from Kokokahi Place [1] (look for the YWCA when driving on Kaneohe Bay Drive) or Lipalu Street. We decided to start on the Kokokahi Place side, which coincidentally is the trailhead for the short Friendship Garden hike. Once on Kokokahi Place you will drive to the end of the road until you see the sign indicating the Friendship Garden. Find parking along the Kokokahi Place, however, please be cognizant of the homes and driveways in the area (the last thing you want is a towed car).

Once at the Friendship Garden, follow the concrete steps up and turn right toward the Friendship Garden bulletin board. Here you will find a large map and notable sections of the Friendship Garden. Go past the bulletin board to the right and continue on the trail leading you up to Oneawa Hills. You’ll reach a junction, turn left. Follow a set of switchbacks until you reach the “ridge lookout” as indicated on the bulletin board trail map. It should take you about 15 minutes or so to reach this lookout. Here you will have a somewhat nice view of Kaneohe Bay. I say somewhat because the elevation is low and there are trees obstructing the view.

You will work your way to those two satellite stations and then go beyond them. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The panoramic view seen from Oneawa Hills. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Continue reading →

Experience Solitude and Nature in Kaneohe at the Friendship Garden

by Coty on May 9, 2012 in Hikes with 1 Comment

At the start of the Oneawa Hills Trail is a short garden trail that offers a wonderful view of Kaneohe Bay. According to the now defunct Honolulu Advertiser, it’s a “a gem,” with “the best views of Kane’ohe Bay, with only birdsong and bamboo within earshot.” Granted, it’s beautiful, however, the views at the end of Puu Maelieli might offer a more grandeur view of Kaneohe Bay and the surrounding areas.

According to the Friendship Garden website, it is an ideal place for meditation and I can see why. The garden is tucked away in a very quiet Kaneohe community. I can imagine that it would be quite easy to get lost in your thoughts here.

The Friendship Garden. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

I love to photograph steps. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

More steps. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Continue reading →

Hawaii Super Moon 2012

by Coty on May 6, 2012 in Photography with No comments

Last night, moon gazers and photographers were out in full force to catch a glimpse of super moon 2012. According to NASA, the super moon hit at exactly 8:34 p.m. Pacific time, meaning that at this moment the moon reached its “closest point to Earth in its elliptical pattern” and lined up with both the Earth and the sun “to become gloriously full.” Anthony Cook, astronomical observer at L.A.’s Griffith Observatory, also noted that the moon would be 30% brighter than usual.

Neat. However, while all of this was going on, I was out enjoying my second viewing of The Avengers. Moon be damned, I wanted to see the Hulk do his smash thing again.

However, a few friends of mine did capture the moment and I have to say that they did an excellent job doing so. The first two shots, taken from Mililani, are courtesy of Ferdenan Damo and his Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Ferd caught remarkable shots of the super moon, which he dubbed, Moonebula.

Moonebula. Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Photo by Ferdenan Damo.

"So everyone's gone manual to compensate for the brightness of the supermoon last night. Me too. But the moon was so bright, I also wanted to see how the moonlight affected cloud cover. A moo nebula." Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Photo by Ferdenan Damo.

More Super Moon. Shot at f8, 1/800 sec at 200 mm. Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Photo by Ferdenan Damo.

More Super Moon II. "So everyone's gone manual to compensate for the brightness of the supermoon last night. Me too. But the moon was so bright, I also wanted to see how the moonlight affected cloud cover. A moo nebula." Shot with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Photo by Ferdenan Damo. Photo by Ferdenan Damo.

Continue reading →

Hawaii Shark Encounters

by Coty on April 25, 2012 in Activities with 2 Comments

I’ve never done the Hawaii Shark Encounters Tour. I’ve always wanted to. And I imagine that I will sometime in the future. Until then, I can live vicariously through this video.

Over the years, there has been much controversy surrounding this tour and similar shark tours. Many local surfers and bodyboarders feel that tours like these attract sharks to the nearby shores. Although it is illegal to feed sharks within three miles of shore, these tours go just beyond this range to throw chum into the water.

Some Native Hawaiians feel as if tours like this desecrate their amakua (ancestral gods).

Last year, three shark tour boats were deliberately set on fire in Haleiwa.

Despite the controversy, tours like the Hawaii Shark Encounters offer interested individuals with a very unique view of this predatory fish. Instead of being on the other side of glass tank, you instead are in the sharks natural environment. I can only imagine how thrilling that would be.

The tour is priced at $105 for adults and $75 for children. Kama’aina and Military personnel receive a special rate of $90. Book your Hawaii Shark Encounter here.

Yelp Uncaged 2012 at the Honolulu Zoo: Free Food, Craft Beer, and Unicorns

by Coty on April 23, 2012 in Events with 3 Comments

Imagine going to a party. At a zoo. With free food. And beer. Really good craft beer. And unicorns.

I went to that party.

It’s hard to start my review of the 2012 Yelp Uncaged event at the Honolulu Zoo because it was so outrageously awesome. I guess I should start with the search for an octopus. An octopus costume, to be exact. That’s what Joel decided to go to the Uncaged event as. Octopi searches at Party City, Flora Dec, and some other small costume shops around Oahu proved to be futile. So of course, Google was the next best thing. His “search” for an octopus costume came to an end when he stumbled upon this creative link. He set out to create that octopus and ended up with a rad costume. I, historically very lazy when it comes to costume parties, spent about 2 minutes at Party City before locking in on a pair of Gorilla Gloves. Monette went as a black kitty (she disregard my suggestion of going as a cheetah). And Ahnate was even lazier than I (imagine that).

Yelp Uncaged 2012 started at 6pm, just before the sun went down. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Joel shows off his octopus costume. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Having never been to a Yelp event, I was quite unsure of what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. After donning my Yelp name tage (non-elite status), I noticed that a large number of people showed up in elaborate costumes. There were flying gorillas, pandas, cheetahs, and of course unicorns. The event was set up just around the bend from where the flamingos like to hang out. The large, open, and grassy space was perfect.

Lining one side of the grassy field was over 20 food and beverage tents. Our first stop was Pau’ls Poppers. What’s a “Popper?” Think funky wontons. They were serving turkey with cheese and jalepeno poppers that were out-of-this-world good. Just next door to Paul’s Popper was Hula Grill and their Honey Glazed Chicken Lollipop w/Glazed Walnuts. Good, but I ended up liking the name of the dish more than the end product.

Fortunately, Paul shared his Poppers with us. They were delicious! Photo by Coty Gonzales.

I think they're all enjoying Acai samples here. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Chicken Lollipops coutesy of Hula Grill. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Just two plates in and I had my first taste of desert, courtesy of Sweet Revenge. Their One-Bite Banana Cream Pie was ah-ma-zing. I resisted going back for a second and third serving. I probably could have gone for a third and fourth serving if I had no shame! Another irrisisitible food find was Hawaiian Cheesecake’s lilikoi cheesecake made with only local ingredients. The crust was lined with premium Waialua chocolate.

Other notable dishes included the cauliflower mash, steak served with savory sauce from GRYLT. I’m a regular at GRYLT and knew what to expect: savory awesomeness. Another dish that earned rave reviews from both Joel and Ahnate was the goat cheese brussel sprout salad from The Grove. Monette, scared of the goat cheese, handed me her untouched plate. I gobbled it up. The goat cheese was spectacular. Joel also raved about The Pig & The Lady’s vegetarian curry doused in heavy shitake mushrooms. I had been wanting to visit the Pig & The Lady for some time now, but, was rather unimpressed with this particular dish. Maybe I wanted some pig?

One-Bite Banana Cream Pie from Sweet Revenge. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Lilikoi cheesecake with a crust lined with premium Waialua chocolate. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Continue reading →

How To Get To Sacred Falls (Kaliuwa’a) and the Legend of the Demigod Kamapua’a

by Coty on April 18, 2012 in Hikes with 8 Comments

Note: Sacred Falls Park and Sacred Falls trail has been closed since May 1999. The State of Hawaii has no plans to re-open the park. It is illegal to hike this trail and to do so would be cause for citation or arrest. There is also a risk of falling boulders, landslides, and drowning. As such, all accounts here are fictional. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Adobe Photoshop is a wonderful piece of software that allows one to superimpose another into a photo making it seem as if they were somewhere when if fact they were not. Got it?

Before the tragedy of 1999, Sacred Falls was one of the top tourist attractions for those visiting the island of Oahu. This all changed the month before I graduated high school, Mother’s Day 1999, when eight people were killed and 50 more were injured from a massive landslide. At its height, the popular trail and waterfall received up to 55,000 visitors annually. Since 1999, the park and the waterfall trail has been closed to visitors and hopeful waterfall seekers. In 2003, the State of Hawaii reached an $8.56 million settlement with those injured and the families of the victims. Regardless, Sacred Falls continues to flow and thrill-seekers continue to visit her.

This rusty yellow gate marks the entrance to the closed Sacred Falls Park.

Step 1: Once you passed the yellow metal gate, you will walk towards the back of the park and look for those two yellow poles. Step 2. Walk just past the two yellow poles and you will see a facilities structure. Step 3: Don't turn right at the structure. Step 4: Instead, turn left along the gravel road and continue along this pathway.

Eventually, you will a fork in the trail. Take the path going left.

You'll be trekking about 2 miles into the valley to see the falls.

Follow the path straight between those two warning signs. This will lead you down to the stream.

Accessing Sacred Falls is not difficult. In fact, if you grew up in Hawaii then you probably know of its exact location and may have visited it prior to the 1999 tragedy. Odds are that if you visited Oahu before the tragedy then you too might be familiar with the falls as well. You would simply need to jump on Kamehameha Highway and drive toward Punaluu. It’s useful to use the Kim Taylor Reece Gallery (53-866 Kamehameha Hwy) in Hau’ula as a landmark. You will need to find parking along the residential roads. Once you’ve found an ideal parking spot, back track on foot toward Punaluu, crossing a white wooden bridge (the bridge is on the mauka, or mountain side, of the road). Shortly, you will reach a rusted yellow metal gate. Beyond the gate looks to be a park, however, there is no signage at this particular park. You’ve reached Sacred Falls Park. It will be eerily empty.

At 55,000 annual visitors, Sacred Falls trail received roughly 150 daily visitors – many of whom were tourists. With that said, the trail itself to the falls is not a difficult one. In terms of terrain, it’s similar to the Manoa Falls trail (fairly wide with little elevation gain) but longer and with a couple of stream crossings. Don’t let the Manoa Falls comparison fool you, though. The Sacred Falls trail can be quite dangerous. You should definitely not even consider this trail if it has been raining recently, simply because of the stream crossings that need to be completed. Also, the valley will narrow considerably once you are deep in the valley. To be stuck in the stream while the water is raging would be very bad. And let’s not forget, there’s always the danger of you getting cited for trespassing. There are rumors that residents near the park will call the police if they see people entering the park. Other people have said that sometimes there is an officer/state official waiting along the trail to issue citations. I did mention above that the park has been officially closed since 1999, right?

The trail is unmarked, other than the many warning signs placed strategically along the trail. They're like pink trail ribbons but made out of metal and are there to deter you from continuing on.

The trail is very well manicured. Someone out there maintains this closed trail.

A well placed KEEP OUT sign.

Continue reading →

Kauai: Always Returning by Philip Bloom

by Coty on April 14, 2012 in Photography with No comments

I recently stumbled upon an awesome short film shot by Philip Bloom, titled Kauai: Always Returning. The short was shot by Bloom 2 years ago for the Kauai Visitor Information Channel. The footage caught by Bloom is absolutely breathtaking. Bloom was able to capture the essence of Kauai through his camera lens. Oahu might be the island that I call home, but, Kauai is the island that I consider to be the most beautiful. Blooms footage reaffirms this. The footage was shot completely on a Canon EOS 5D Mark II (I am sure that if it had been shot today then he would be using a Canon EOS 5D Mark III.

“So a couple of days ago I took it out for the afternoon with Ryan Pointer from the Kauai Visitor Information Channel. They had hired me to come out for a week to take a look around with the idea of coming back for a much longer trip.

I did some shots of the Taro fields, a few shots of the river, a few shots of the beach and some high shots…Because some of the clips were long “timelapses” I used up my 32gb pretty fast.

It’s a relatively steep learning curve, especially coming after using the Panasonic Lumix GH1 for a couple of weeks. The video mode of the 5dmk2, as many of you already know, it a bit of a b**** to use! Lack of manual controls, 12 minutes clips, inability to lock exposure between takes…the list goes on. One way around the lack of manual controls to start with is don’t use Canon glass. I used all my Nikon lenses that I normally use with my Letus Ulitmate. My fast Zeiss primes, my f2.8 Nikon zooms and my shift tilt Hartblei. All I used was a £15 EOS to Nikon adaptor from ebay and it worked a treat. Obviously all auto controls for stills are lost with these lenses but for video they are perfect as they have manual aperture so you can stay wide open and the camera compensates with shutter/ ISO (ISO can be locked, as far as I know shutter can’t)”

After watching the short, I did some research on Bloom, which led me to his personal blog. It turned out that Bloom was a filmmaker, having directed and edited numerous short films and documentaries. He is also known online for his film tutorials and training videos. I dug a little deeper and found a short film that he shot at Skywalker Ranch and then edited the following day and later screened to George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino. They had invited Bloom over to the Ranch to show them what the Canon DSLR’s could do and whether the footage would hold up on a projected screen. Both Lucas and Tarantino were blown away by Bloom’s footage that Lucas would later hire him to shoot Red Tails. So rad.

Music: Always Returning by Brian Eno from the album Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. Buy now from Amazon.

While shooting on the beach, Bloom simply asked Reagan's dad if they would be models for his film and they said yes. Photo by Philip Bloom.

Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike: Part 4 (Chapters 4 and 5 – Days 6, 7 and 8)

by Coty on April 12, 2012 in Hikes with No comments

This is Part 4 of Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike Personal Recap, posted with his permission. Please be sure to read the warning at the bottom of this post before attempting such a hike. This 8 day journey is the result of years of preparation. Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 can be found here.

Day 6 (03/30/12)

N. Haiku-Wilson Tunnel Building
6.5 hrs
5 miles

Total Pack Weight: 24.6125 lb.

This begins the saddles. There were a couple of eroded sections in the beginning. Three I think. Then the eroded dike. The ridge isn’t too narrow here but you always slip at the second section. Take your time and tie off if needed. Reach the eroded dike(contour leeward) Gain ridge and reach trail junction. Descend 30 minutes to collect water. Refill all containers. Regain trail and immediately it turns back to serious mode. Three problems face you. Remember contour left when you don’t think to and contour right to use the root to climb. Remember to not go too far right and never to climb without veg unless on root. Use two ropes (1 in each hand) to get past the third problem. Soon you will see the pre-Stairs stairs. Climb up to the radar structure. Time depending, go inside for a snack and short break. You have about 1 1/2 hr along the summit ridge until the camp spot. Continue along the summit towards bowman. Reach Bowman terminus and snack. You will not have many more chances until the power lines. Reach eroded dike and drop leeward to contour. Reach 2nd Triangle and descend using rope slightly leeward. Similar with the next triangle. Lower yourself past the witch’s hat and then windward contour when needed. Reach power lines. Descend power line trail to camp spot at power line pole.

S. Haiku-Halawa 45min
Halawa-Godek 30min
Godek – 1st Saddle 15min
1st Saddle – Southern Haiku stair terminus 3hr 30-4hr
S.Haiku – Bowman Terminus 2hr-2hr 30min
Bowman Terminus – Power Line trail 2hr 30 min

Camp near pole

Bail Halawa, Godek, State trail, Haiku Stairs, Tripler, Middle, Bowman… tempting?;-)

On this day last attempt I had fallen off the saddle and cracked my head causing an abrupt end to my plans. This was in my head all day and hard to shake.

Is it morning yet!!?!? After the worst night of sleep on this trip, at the first sign of dawn I jumped out of my cocoon and checked to make sure everything was still in good enough condition before packing it all up. This was the first morning I’ve woken in socked in conditions and slight rain so I was a little happy with myself being in the shack. I decided to wait and see if the clouds would clear so pulled out my cooking system and made some hot coffee and toasted my flatten bagel with Nutella.

Day 6 face.

After about 45 minutes the clouds lifted and the saddle began to show itself in full profile. Taking this as a sign, I grabbed my belongings and began walking along the extremely rusty stairs. Every time I am here I cannot get over the obvious impact exposure to the elements has on metal. If the stairs have a bush blocking it, then they have an almost brand new look but a few inches past the bush the metal resembles a creepy rusty dagger ready to impale you.

Passed Halawa and Red hill fairly quickly and was moving with the same sort of speed that had carried me through the previous days. There looks to be good camping at Halawa right before the summit for one small shelter setup. Might consider that if ever near this section and don’t want to sleep in the shack nor descend the saddle.

Began the descent down to the state trail at the middle of the saddle around 9:15 am. Personally, I enjoy this descent compared to other saddle descents. There are two or three eroded areas but the words of my mother the night before to “take it slow and I would get through it safely” rang through my head often during the following days. It is only at one section where I have to lower myself down an eroded spot and a tree is there for hand holds but no matter what I do I always end up having to let go of the tree and fall a foot or so which causes me to slide down the crap rock and catch myself in the vegetation. Always. Every trip. I considered using my guy line cord to lower myself but knew I would need it for other parts on the Kalihi saddle. So sliding I went and everything went smoothly. Reached the eroded dike and dropped down then contour leeward to get past it. After the dike it is basically smooth sailing to the flat area that marks the trail terminus. Reached it at 10 am and dropped my gear and put my front pack around my waist to descend down to the stream to collect water. Man, going from summit conditions to state trail is a little overwhelming at first and I proceeded to run down the trail. Reached the stream within 10 minutes and smacked my forehead as I saw all the beautiful camping spots that lay around the stream. Next time, next time! I was tempted to take a quick bath but just threw some water on my face, filled up all my water containers and proceeded to run back up the trail ready to get past the obstacle that put me out last trip.

Building.

I reached the trail terminus at 10:30 am and got ready to tackle the three challenges of the Moanalua saddle to Haiku. Weather was perfect for this attempt and just told myself take it slow and I knew how to do this. First challenge is just rock climbing with a windward contour and was handled with ease. The second challenge, my previous downfall, is to leeward contour but only slightly. Too far and one will begin to ascend with very little vegetation and will likely slip at some point. With this in mind I slight contoured and began to climb the obvious vegetation. This area really could do with a rope if people are actually doing this section as often as seems to be indicated. Had to climb using trees and vegetation until the root needed to gain the ridge appeared and then shifted right until I could reach it. No problems this time and was sitting upon the ridge with smiles on my face.

Honestly, throughout this entire trip, that was the most fear I will encounter because of the mental block caused by my old mistake. There is a little voice inside my head that knows when something does not feel right and in November I ignored that voice with the thought that “If I can just reach that spot right ther…..e”. This trip I strongly feel was successful because probably 6-7 times that voice began yelling at me and this time I listened, stopped and reattempted the problem from a different angle. It sounds like common sense but sometimes when all you need to do is get to a spot 2 feet away, it can be easy to quiet that voice and think it is just 2 feet away!!! One of many hard lessons I’ve had to come to learn on the trail.

Continue reading →

Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike: Part 3 (Chapter 4 – Day 3, 4 and 5)

by Coty on April 12, 2012 in Hikes with 2 Comments

This is Part 3 of Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike Personal Recap, posted with his permission. Please be sure to read the warning at the bottom of this post before attempting such a hike. This 8 day journey is the result of years of preparation. Part 1 and Part 2 can be found here.

Day 3 (03/27/12)

Poamoho-Kipapa Sugi Pines
5 miles
5 hr

Total Pack Weight: 30.6125 lb.

Enjoy today! This is one of the quicker days so I would suggest the trip’s only warm breakfast. Enjoy yourself and make sure you refill all water containers. Leave by 9 a.m. after cleaning up, signing the log, and boarding the place up. I did not find any water after the cabin to Kipapa. If you find it, take it. You will arrive at the Pauao terminus within 30 minutes of leaving the cabin. Enjoy the beauty around you! This is the most enjoyable section of the KST. Around you is Kahana Valley. The S/W junction comes too soon as you know a long leeward stretch is coming up from Waikane to Waiahole Uka. Don’t forget to look for the pink ribbon rusty pole on the right. If you ever look up and see a contour, turn around and find the junction. Remember the set up on the side ridge to the right. Reach sugi pines and decide if want to continue 20 minutes up the landslide to reach true Kipapa terminus. Ascend landslide and look below you on the right for the contour. Supposedly, one can turn down Kipapa trail and campsite ~45min down near a possible waterfall. I tried this and found the overgrowth on Kipapa to be too much of a deterrent. I see this as a waste of 1hr 30min. Remember last camp spot sucked but the new one is amazing – it is located about 5 minutes before the summit right off the trail on the right.

To Pauao.

Ridge.

Poamoho-S/W 2hr 1/2min-3hr
S/W-Waikane junction 30min
Waikane – Ka’aumakua 30min
Kaaumakua-Waiahole Uka 2hr 15min-3 hr
Waiahole Uka-Sugi Pines 15min
Sugi Pines to Kipapa Trail Terminus 20min

Camp near wind protected Sugi Pines, at old cabin structure or off Kipapa trail.

Bail S/W, Waikane, Waiahole Uka

Woke up early today around 6 am to the sound of rain tapping away on the roof of the cabin. I rolled off the top bunk with an enthusiasm for the start of a great day. This day is hands down my favorite section of the entire trip with the long stretches of windward contouring. On one side is a tall carved out wall in the mountain and on the other is the vast expanse of the hiker playground known as Kahana valley. I was eager to get on the trail but knew that I did not want to arrive at Kipapa too early. So a warm breakfast and cup of coffee were enjoyed watching the rising sun. A very soothing morning as the rain began to settle down, the birds came out chirping and the sun began to show itself above the horizon. This place is and hopefully will always be a place I enjoy to come and find the peace and calm lacking in other areas of my life. It is amazing to live in a cabin with no electricity and disconnected from society as every problem fades and activities are planned around the rising and setting of the sun. I question if we really are progressing as society and the praises of certain innovations. With my soul in check, I packed and cleaned up, signed the log and said my good byes as I hit the trail by 8:30am.

Continue reading →

Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike: Part 2 (Chapter 4 – Day 1 and 2)

by Coty on April 12, 2012 in Hikes with 3 Comments

This is Part 2 of Chase Norton’s Koolau Summit 8 Day Thru Hike Personal Recap, posted with his permission. Please be sure to read the warning at the bottom of this post before attempting such a hike. This 8 day journey is the result of years of preparation. Part 1 can be found here.

Day 1 (03/25/12)

Pupukea-Kawaiiloa
8 miles
7.5 hr

Total Pack Weight: 34.6125lb

It took me 7hrs from 9am-4pm the first time, 8 1/2 hrs the second time, and 7 the third time. Water is located at the falls windward of the camping area, but needs to be filtered because of the crap it is flows through (rusty metal and such). Be prepared for mud up to your knees when going down to the water hole. When it is raining, various small flows could allow collection of water instead of descending to the water hole. The cabin is still there, just try to get there before nightfall for the sunset. Remember the camp at Laie if ever needed.

Pupukea-Malaekahana 5-6hr
Malaekahana-Laie 30-1 hr
Laie-Kawailoa 30min-1hr

Camp at the leeward Kawailoa campground or in cabin.

Bail Malakahana, Laie.

I woke up around five in the morning too excited to sleep any longer and began working on the last couple of preparations. Took my last shower, ate my last big breakfast and drank my last latte for the next 8 days. As seems to happen with big events, my ride to the trailhead had troubles and thankfully Rasta was able to drive. He would park at the Laie ball field parking lot for his descent later in the day. I called a taxi to take us to the trailhead.

Koolau Summit Trail sign.

Everything went smoothly and we arrived at the trailhead around 9:00am ready to begin my second attempt at backpacking the entire summit of the Koolau mountains. The road walking went by quickly as Rasta and I caught up on each other’s lives and discussed plans for that day. Last time, we moved fairly slowly as Rasta did some much needed bushwhacking ahead of me. It had put me in Kawailoa around 5:30pm and him descending Laie trail well into the dark. We decided no bushwhacking this time and to make a point of moving fast. We hit the summit trail sign around 11am where pictures were had and pushed off for the club turnaround. After the turnaround the real hiking begins as the trail becomes significantly more overgrown.

Around this section an amazing feeling begins flooding my body when I mentally accept I will be backpacking in solitude for 8-9 days. It was a huge release of every worry and trouble back in my other non-hiking life and something that will keep me coming back.

I was really happy to see us reach the Malaekahana shortcut sign around 2:30 pm because I knew that Laie was only 2 hours away. I really wanted to make it to Kawailoa before sunset. It is just breathtaking up there. We put the hike speed into high gear and got to Laie around 4:15 pm with enough time to relax up in the foxhole and do some last minute chatting. Around 4:40 pm, Rasta wisely decided he needed to start descending and we said our farewells, “See you at Makapuu!” I yelled to him as he disappeared down the trail.

Chase Norton, Sunflower tattoo intact.

I am very grateful to him for driving and for his company while hiking. It is an amazing boost of morale and energy having a friend on trail to start this journey and I thank him for it. Watching him depart signified the true beginning of my trip as now I sat alone with nothing but the summit. I descended the foxhole and crossed over to Kawailoa in 20 minutes reaching the helipad and cabin by 5pm.

It really is an indescribable place when alone. Dropped all my gear in the cabin, put on my warmer clothes and grabbed my Kindle. The next 2 hours were spent sitting on the helipad overlooking the rolling ridges and convoluted terrain of the northern Koolau mountains and settling it for some reading while the sun moved slowly – then quickly – to set behind the Waianae mountains. Absolute peace.