All posts tagged Kahana Valley

Piei Makai: Extending Piei to a Loop at the Seaward tip of Pauao Ridge

by Marvin on February 15, 2012 in Hikes with 6 Comments

Jeremy waiting after climbing down the first notch as Jen waits for Cory and Josh to finish

While the traditional Pu’u Piei trail is a simple trail leading to a peak on Pauao ridge on the west rim of Kahana Valley, making a right at the Piei turnover on the ridge introduces you to a much more difficult trail that can be used to loop back into the valley. The Piei Makai trail is short, at around 3 miles total, but can take up to 6 hours to complete due to its 2 major obstacles and many scrambling sections, both up and down.

The trail starts with fairly narrow rocky sections

Baron Yamamoto invited me on this hike with Joshua Serrano and Jeremy Kreis already agreed to join. Later, Cory Yap and Jenelyn Castillo would also agree to join the hike. I have had actually talked with most of them before online but this would be the first time I would meet them in person, except for Jeremy who I ran into when I did Ohulehule.

Cory climbing down as Jen takes pictures and Jeremy, Josh, and Baron wait at the next peak

Jeremy was the first to arrive in Kahana around 6 AM as he planned to make the crossover from Pauao (water tank) to Piei and then would meet us at the Piei summit. The rest of us all got to the park around 8:30 and started towards the Piei trail around 8:45. When I was here the first time, I used the Stuart Ball route by starting on the highway. But this time, Josh would lead us to the starting point from within the valley. We would walk into park, make a right before reaching the orientation center then hop a chain and continue until we found a dry stream to make a left on. From there, it was an obvious trail to the ridge.

Josh and Jeremy

We arrived at the turnover around 10:15. Josh and I elected to wait at turnover while the rest of the group made a left towards the Piei summit to wait for Jeremy, who would finish all of Pauao ridge after today. They intended to wait only until 11 AM and found Jeremy just 4 minutes before they were about to leave. After all of us met up at the turnover, we turned makai to start part of the Pauao ridge none of us had been on before.

Josh climbing down the first notch

The trail is narrow at times and somewhat crumbly. But it was dry when we went and most of the footings were solid enough to not cause any major slips. There are many small saddles on the trail that can at times require actual saddling, but there won’t be any majorly difficult sections until you have to climb down the first notch.

Cory going back to the first notch to find a contour trail around the second notch

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Pu’u Piei: An Excellent Introductory Hike in Glorious Kahana Valley

by Marvin on February 14, 2012 in Hikes with 1 Comment

Andy Dewald, PhD, walking back to the Piei turnover

Pu’u Piei differs from the numerous great hikes in Kahana Valley in that it is short and still offers great views from higher elevations not seen from the valley. The trail is fairly steep at points and some areas get narrow. But overall, it is a basic hike suitable for most skill levels that offers great views during most of the climb.

Hang Gliders over Kahana Bay

There are 2 different ways to approach the trail. There is one that starts inside the valley and another that starts from the highway. We chose the highway version as that is the one described in Stuart’s book (1st edition):

At Punchbowl St. get on Lunalilo Fwy (H-1) heading ‘ewa (west). Take Likelike Hwy (exit 20A, Rte 63 north) up Kalihi Valley through the Wilson Tunnel. The highway forks. Keep right for Kahekili Hwy (Rte 83 west). Kahekili becomes Kamehameha Hwy (still Rte 83), which continues up the windward coast. Drive through the villages of Kahalu‘u and Waiāhole to Ka‘a‘awa. Pass the Crouching Lion Inn on the left. The road curves left to go around Kahana Bay. Cross Kahana Stream on two bridges. By a large palm grove turn left into Kahana Valley State Park. Park in the lot in front of the green Orientation Center on the right. It has rest rooms and drinking water. A shelf by the front door contains park brochures and trail maps.

Bus: Route 55 to the entrance of Kahana Valley State Park. Walk 0.1 mile along the park access road to the Orientation Center.

Ball, Stuart M., Jr. (2000-09-01). The Hikers Guide to the O’ahu, Rev. Ed. (Kindle Locations 3676-3688). Latitude 20. Kindle Edition.

Main attractions you will see

From the parking lot, head back towards the highway and make a left (or right if parked on the beach). While walking along the road, keep an eye on the utility poles on your left, you will need to turn soon after finding number 313. Walk a little passed utility pole #313 until you see an entrance into the forest. Inside, make a right and you will soon see some stones on the ground creating a trail. Follow it and you’ll soon find some man made stairs leading you up to the trail. After following the stairs, you will make a left on the junction on the obvious trail. Follow this until you are forced to go right and you will see some ribbons leading to a trail going up after hopping over a then dry stream.

Watch out for drop-offs and some crumbly sections before summiting

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Pu’u Manamana: An Exciting Narrow and Rocky Trail in Kahana Valley

by Marvin on February 9, 2012 in Hikes with 2 Comments

Katherine photo-bombs an otherwise nice view of the Windward coast. Photo by Marvin.

In early August, soon after we all came back to Hawaii from Boston from a Cognitive Science conference, Katherine invited us on a hike. Ahnate and I were the only ones available that day to join her and I was the one who would end up picking the trail. I chose Manamana as it was highly recommended by Laredo when I first met him on Haiku Stairs back in June. At that point, Manamana was on top of my to-hike list and it did not disappoint. Still today, this is one of my favorite hikes and the views are simply unrivaled on Oahu.

Climbing towards the ridge. Photo by Marvin, Processed by Katherine.

Manamana is a fairly popular trail on the island and it is known best for its narrow ridges that provide excellent views of the windward coast as well as Kahana Valley. One can get here by following what our old friend Stuart has to say:

At Punchbowl St. get on Lunalilo Fwy (H-1) heading ‘ewa (west). Take Likelike Hwy (exit 20A, Rte 63 north) up Kalihi Valley through the Wilson Tunnel. The highway forks. Keep right for Kahekili Hwy (Rte 83 west). Kahekili becomes Kamehameha Hwy (still Rte 83), which continues up the windward coast. Drive through the villages of Kahalu‘u and Waiāhole to Ka‘a‘awa. Pass Swanzy Beach Park on the right and the Crouching Lion Inn on the left. There are rest rooms and drinking water at the park. The road curves left to go around Kahana Bay. Park on the right shoulder just before the road swings right and crosses Kahana Stream. The spot is near a bus stop and a rock with a missing plaque.

Bus: Route 55 to the trailhead.

Route Description Walk back along Kamehameha Hwy toward the Crouching Lion Inn. Pass a short guardrail on the right with a Rte 83 sign near it. At the first utility pole past the guard rail, turn right into the forest on an indistinct trail. Across the road is a line of ironwood trees and Huilua fishpond.

Ball, Stuart M., Jr. (2000-09-01). The Hikers Guide to the O’ahu, Rev. Ed. (Kindle Locations 3422-3436). Latitude 20. Kindle Edition.

As you are walking on the freeway, there should be a ribbon to your right not too far from the bus stop. The trail will start out steep and a bit crumbly. There are no gradual inclines here; it starts as a lung burner. As you get closer to the Manamana ridgeline, you will make a right onto the main trail. There should be some ribbons at the early portions of the trail. The trail will then become obvious until you reach the rainforest area.

Many photo-ops for Facebook profiles; Photo by Marvin. Processed by Katherine.

The Manamana ridge offers many opportunities to take pictures of the valley and the coast as you go along the trail. One downside here, however, is that you will be exposed to the sun for many parts of the hike and that could be frustrating on a hot day. It also rains a lot in this area so you won’t have any cover from the rain as well.

Ahnate climbing down. Photo by Katherine.

The majority of the first hour or so is walking on an even, sturdy rocky trail with some rock climbing and scrambling. There may or may not be ropes in certain sections, although they are not completely required. Many climbs can be done in a few basic moves, although much caution must be taken as a slip will cause a long fall.

Cloudy day in Kahana Valley. Photo by Katherine.

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Pu’u Ma’eli’eli: An Easy Hike In Kahaluu With a Panoramic View of the Windward Coast of Oahu

by Coty on February 9, 2012 in Hikes with 9 Comments

If you’re on the Windward side of Oahu and looking to do a short hike with an amazing view at the end then consider doing Puu Ma’eli’eli in Kahalu’u. Or, if you’ve got kids that enjoy hiking then this is a great option. This short 30-45 minutes shaded hike is relatively easy to do, despite a few steep sections in the beginning and toward the end of the trail. However, once you do reach the end, you’ll be greeted with not one but two World War II bunkers and a grand view of the Windward Coast.

This is the most "extreme" portion of this hike. The steep initial dirt road. It's not extreme at all. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

A very sharp and tall Agave sisalana (Sisil). Thanks to L Steve Rohrmayr for identifying this plant. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

There are two ways (possibly three) to go about doing Puu Ma’eli’eli. The first route starts off on the Kamehameha Highway side of Puu Ma’eli’eli, near Heeia State Park. We initially decided to start the trail on this end, however, we noticed a lot of “shady” people hanging out at the park. Worried that the Exploration: Hawaii 4Runner would not be safe, we opted for the alternate route of starting just off of Kahekili Highway near the Valley of the Temples. Just across the street of the Valley of the Temples you will find the Koolau Center formerly Temple Valley Shopping Center. Right next to the McDonalds is East Hui Iwa Street, this is where you will park. Try and park on East hui Ewa Street and as close to Kahekili Highway as possibly. This is a heavily trafficked area next to the shopping center and residential homes and seemed much safer than leaving our car at Heeia State Park.

Another interesting plant. If you know the name of this plant then please leave a comment. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Some funky looking Ardisia crenata (Hilo holly). Thanks to Nate Yuen for identifying this plant. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Tree friends. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Once you’ve parked your car, immediately walk back toward Kehekili Highway and make a left on Kahekili Highway. Remember to stay close to the guard rails as locals love to zip down Kahekili Highway. A few feet after you turn left, you will notice a faint trail next to a private property sign. The day we hiked a ribbon was present that indicated the trailhead. Follow the trail up through what seems like a tiny dirt road. We noticed either dirtbike or 4×4 tracks on the day we hiked. Walk up the dirt trail until you reach a junction. At the first junction you will turn left.

A Tangled Tree. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

From there just continue to follow the trail. There will be ribbons throughout the hike to guide you along. About 20 minutes into the hike you will get you first views of the Windward Coast. Enjoy the view and then keep on heading up, you’re only about 15-20 minutes away from the top of Puu Ma’eli’eli. Eventually, you will reach a second junction, keep left and follow the trail up. Shortly after the second junction, you will reach a wooden sign indicating that you have reach the top of Puu Ma’eli’eli. Take a moment to read the legend of Puu Ma’eli’eli on the sign.

Puu Maelieli Welcome Sign and History. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

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Pu’u O Kila: Steep and Narrow Climb in the Heart of Kahana Valley

by Marvin on January 11, 2012 in Hikes with 2 Comments

Laredo talks about True Manamana, which he was the first to complete with Pete Clines, as we descend from O Kila.

Pu’u O Kila sits in the back of Kahana Valley and is connected to and is shadowed by Pu’u Ohulehule with just one peak separating them (Koiele). The climb to the peak is steep and often times overgrown. There is some danger as there are many narrow, brittle, and steep ridge sections. Overall, it is an easier climb than Ohulehule but still requires great effort and care to summit.

Laredo shares stories as he leads us

This was a hike set up by O’ahu Hikers and Adventurers and was led by Laredo Muredo and Quyen Nguyen. We were additionally joined by Ken, Pat and John. Laredo (aka Da Rainbow Man, LaRambo) is best known for being the weekday security guard at Stairway to Heaven (Haiku stairs). He has also recently completed the whole Ko’olau Summit Trail (KST) from Makapu’u to Pupukea after completing the Kalihi Saddle. He had originally completed all portions of the KST over 10 years ago but required only the Kalihi Saddle to finish.

An unconventional bunker in the jungle

The trail starts in Kahana Valley on the Nokoa trail just as Ohulehule. Although where one starts on the Nokoa trail differs. Directions to Kahana Valley trail from Stuart Ball:

 At Punchbowl St. get on Lunalilo Fwy (H-1) heading ‘ewa (west).

Take Likelike Hwy (exit 20A, Rte 63 north) up Kalihi Valley through the Wilson Tunnel.

The highway forks. Keep right for Kahekili Hwy (Rte 83 west).

Kahekili becomes Kamehameha Hwy (still Rte 83), which continues up the windward coast. Drive through the villages of Kahalu‘u and Waiāhole to Ka‘a‘awa.

Pass the Crouching Lion Inn on the left.

The road curves left to go around Kahana Bay.

Cross Kahana Stream on two bridges.

By a large palm grove turn left into Kahana Valley State Park.

Pass the green Orientation Center on the right.

It has rest rooms and drinking water.

A shelf by the front door contains park brochures and trail maps.

Drive another 0.5 mile into the valley on the paved road.

Ball, Stuart M., Jr. (2000-09-01). The Hikers Guide to the O’ahu, Rev. Ed. (Kindle Locations 3548-3560). Latitude 20. Kindle Edition.

 

Once you are parked just outside the residential area, walk through the neighborhood until you reach a hunter check-in station. Go right and you will continue along a long paved road until you meet a fence. Near the fence, there will be a sign for the Nokoa trail on your left. Start on this trail and you will find yourself on a straightforward trek to a set of stone bunkers. As you arrive at the bunkers, find some ribbons on the right side. If you go left, you will continue along the Nokoa trail and eventually exit the Nokoa trail.

From here, Laredo took a shortcut to the O Kila ridge and I didn’t keep good record of how the trail followed. But here is a guide from a more competent blogger from after you pass the bunkers:

You will soon reach a thick bamboo grove at the edge of the stream. Cross the shallow stream. Continue along the trail, again keeping an eye out for ribbons. The stream will immediately come into view on the right. Cross again to a narrow strip leading toward the left side of the stream. Walk along the boulders and pick up a trail coming out of the stream. Walk a short ways and take a left. This left is the start of the ridge heading to the top of Pu’u O Kila

Prepare for an overgrown and slippery climb

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Pu’u Ohulehule: The Towering Peak of Windward Oahu

by Marvin on January 2, 2012 in Hikes with 6 Comments
Clearest day

One of the clearest days from the summit

Pu’u Ohulehule is a dominating peak in Hau’ula that sits in the back of Ka’a’awa and Kahana Valley. The peak can easily be seen when one is on the Windward side of Oahu, and it can be seen from as far as Pali lookout. The peak is also a prominent feature from the Poamoho summit. There are multiple ways to summit the pyramidal mountain. The Southeast and Northwest are the most common routes with NW being the most common and safest. The NW route is first covered in this post.

Kahana Valley Park

Directions: The trail begins once you enter Kahana Valley Park. From Stuart Ball’s The Hiker’s Guide to Oahu:

At Punchbowl St. get on Lunalilo Fwy (H-1) heading ‘ewa (west). Take Likelike Hwy (exit 20A, Rte 63 north) up Kalihi Valley through the Wilson Tunnel. The highway forks. Keep right for Kahekili Hwy (Rte 83 west). Kahekili becomes Kamehameha Hwy (still Rte 83), which continues up the windward coast. Drive through the villages of Kahalu‘u and Waiāhole to Ka‘a‘awa. Pass the Crouching Lion Inn on the left. The road curves left to go around Kahana Bay. Cross Kahana Stream on two bridges. By a large palm grove turn left into Kahana Valley State Park. Pass the green Orientation Center on the right. It has rest rooms and drinking water.

Ball, Stuart M., Jr. (2000-09-01). The Hikers Guide to the O’ahu, Rev. Ed. (Kindle Locations 3548-3560). Latitude 20. Kindle Edition.

There will be many parking spots available right before you enter the residential area. Walk through the residential area on the paved road while avoiding unneeded conflicts with residents or their dogs! You will soon find a hunter sign-in booth. Go left and you will find a gravel road on the left and the trailhead sign for the Nokoa trail on the right. Go left on the wide gravel/muddy road and soon you will find a dam reservoir to walk over.

Dam reservoir crossing

Walk slowly over the reservoir as the flow can be strong during flash flood times. Continue on the trail (you’re still on the Nokoa trail) until you see the following sign:

The Ohulehule trail

Don’t go either left or right as the sign suggests but go behind the sign into the forest in the narrow trail you see in the image. This will take you off the Nokoa trail and you will begin the trek towards Pu’u Ohulehule. As you continue on, the trail will be well marked. If you do find an unmarked junction, stay right. While many places are overgrown, the trail should always be obvious. If you venture for too long without an obvious trail, you may have made a wrong turn and should backtrack. From the junction of Nokoa trail it is a fairly straight line towards the top of Ohulehule.

Deep stream crossing

There will be a few more stream crossings on your journey. There is one deep one to note. This was belt high for me and could be much higher if it had rained recently. Be careful crossing this one as the flow may be very strong in the rainy season. The deep crossing will soon come after you are off the Nokoa trail. Stay right as you head this way, venturing left will lead you off the main path and can make it difficult to find a way back in the maze of bamboo.

Steep climbs

Summiting Ohulehule requires a lot of climbing, particularly a couple of very steep sections towards the end. This includes gaining about 1600 feet in elevation in the last .75 miles and 600 feet in the final .25 miles. There are plenty of ropes that can be used for assistance, although many anchors are decaying so use caution. There are also many strong trees and clumps of grass that will aid you. While steep, there is no real danger until you get to the highest point as there will be some fairly narrow areas to cross. Take your time with the climbs as they will be tiring.

From the top, Chinaman’s Hat

The top offers a grand view of the Windward side. Manamana, Ka’a’awa valley, Kanehoalani and Chinaman’s Hat are prominent on the left side of the view while many valleys are observed on the right side if the weather cooperates. On my return trip, I also ran into Jeremy Kreis and Allegra Coleman as they passed me by. Small island!

The Ohulehule route and neighboring locations

Pu’u Ohulehule NW is an advanced trail that requires steep sections to be climbed. It is often not dangerous but one should be aware that the trail can be slippery and you may fall quite a bit on the trail if you lose your footing. Also be ready for the stream crossings. Reconsider if there are flash flood conditions and protect you electronics! The trail ends up being very fun and the adventure from Kahana Valley Park can take anywhere between 6 and 8 hours depending on your speed. The view at the top is one of the best on the island and my favorite.

Group panorama

Some people on the summit 

Update: Since my original trek, I’ve made it up to the summit a few more times with various groups and different routes. The trail is currently cleared by HTMC occasionally and this helps keep the trail fairly wide until you reach the steep climbs. Although even after clearings, there are still many serrated leaves on the ground that warrant at least long socks to make the trek less painful.

O Kila to Ohulehule One not too common route to the summit is to go up O Kila in the same valley then to crossover to Ohulehule via the Kahana saddle. Once at the top of O Kila, elect to go right of the geocache/traditional ways down and you will find a trail leading to Koiele and Ohulehule. As you begin the saddle, the first and main obstacle appears almost right away. There will be a short but completely vertical muddy wall that you will need to descend. Ropes can be easily set up here but there will still be a problem with footing (especially for the shorter folks). Aside from just jumping down, an easy way to navigate this section is to look for the root going down the wall to use that to slide down.

Koiele is the peak that marks the half way point of the saddle, and it is also connected to the Ko’olaus via the Waikane saddle. The route to Koiele is narrow and sometimes crumbly. There will be a couple short notches that you will need to climb, although very crumbly, there are many holds. The trees on the saddle are very brittle, make sure to hold the bottom if you choose to use them. There will be a lot of contouring required as the trail is both narrow and overgrown. Once on Koiele, the remainder of the saddle is relatively simple. There will still be some steep drops but the trail is wider and less stupid.

Soon you’ll reach the Ohulehule NW ridge and you can finally summit. Coming down the NW ridge will finish the loop. Expect between 9 and 11 hours for this loop. Timing will largely depend on how clear both the saddle and the O Kila trail currently is.

Nani on the summit

Nani on Ohulehule 

Ohulehule Southeast ridge

A more common alternate route is the Ohulehule SE ridge. While this generally takes around 3.5hrs to reach the summit, about the same time as NW ridge, it poses many more challenge and a much higher level of danger. Starting at the end of Haupoa St., make a right in the forest and you will be on the trail for SE ridge. The ridge is straightforward, it contains a number of rockfaces but many can be easily contoured if you choose to do so. The final area is the trickiest and cannot be contoured, however. The end of the hike has a long, steep and crumbly wall waiting for you. The ground is very crappy, and the climbing aides here are weathered and weak. Bring your own ropes for this final section. The area even before the final section will be very crumbly and narrow and a lot of caution is needed. With the increased number of hikers on this ridge over the last couple of years, the overgrowth is not as terrible as previously reported. Some of the areas will only get worse as traffic increases.

The traditional route to Ohulehule is enjoyable and provides one of the best hiking rewards on a clear day. If you find the NW ridge too boring, consider one of the more difficult routes to the top of this summit.

All pictures and write up created by: Marvin

Poamoho Ridge Trail: A Muddy Trek to a Stunning View of Hidden Oahu

by Coty on December 19, 2011 in Hikes with 4 Comments

The view from the summit of the Poamoho Ridge Trail is spectacular. In fact, the view from Poamoho is probably my favorite view on the island along with Lanihuli. But I am getting ahead of myself. The long walk to the actual trailhead of the Poamoho Ridge Trail was a journey in itself.

Poamoho Ridge Trail is a hike that Team Exploration: Hawaii had planned for almost a month. The trail is hidden within the Ewa Forrest Reserve in Wahiawa. Access to the trailhead requires a permit from the Department of Land and Natural Resources – Division of Forestry and Wildlife. You can find the application on the Na Ala Hele Trail & Access website. Note that the permit must be submitted at least 10 days before you plan to hike and is only valid for holidays and weekends. With that said, we submitted our permit request very late. With only three days before our planned hike, we decided to cross our fingers and hand deliver our application to the Division of Forestry and Wildlife located in Makiki Valley. The lady in charge of assigning the hiking permits was very accommodating. She explained to me that she would make an exception this time, but to not expect it next time. I agreed and was very happy (and relieved) to have received a permit with only 3 days notice. The hike was on.

The dreaded lock! Photo by Marvin Chandra.

Verteran’s Day 2011 started for me at 6:00am. After some preparation, Joel and I drove off to Manoa to pick up Marvin. We arrived at Hyde Manor at around 7:00am. As Marvin walked out of his front door, we noticed his dirt laden shorts. When asked about this, he noted that those were now his official hiking shorts since he could no longer remove the dirt stains. With the dirty shorts explained, we jetted toward the H1 freeway. President Medvedev of Russia was reported to arrive within 15 minutes for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and therefore the freeway, both east and west bound, would soon be shut down. Fortunately for us, we made it out of Honolulu before the freeway came to a complete halt. While on the freeway, we did notice two military officials donning rifles atop one of the overpasses. Anti-terrorist snipers?

After picking up breakfast and some trail food from the Wahiawa Foodland, we set off for Poamoho Hele Loa Road. This is the access road that leads you to the trailhead of the Poamoho Ridge Trail. And this is where the permit comes into play. Na Ala Hele only allows a certain number of people on the trail on any given day. There are three locked gates whose lock access codes are provided on the permit. A 4X4 vehicle is also necessary when accessing the road. Fortunately for us, Joel kindly agreed to shuttle us using his Toyota 4Runner. After wrongly driving through the military gate (I can’t believe the guard allowed us through), we turned around and noticed the first Poamoho access gate just before the military guard shack. At around 8:15am, I stepped out of the car into the red mud and proceeded to unlock the first gate. The only problem was that the gate would not unlock. We played around with it for a bit and then assumed that we were given the wrong access code. We fiddled around a bit before realizing that the lock needed to be pushed upward before it would unlock. Boom – we were now in.

Joel's Toyota 4Runner and it's muddy wheels. Photo by Marvin Chandra.

We didn’t think that the access road would be very bad, but my goodness the mud was deep and very slick. We drove very slowly on the access road. Occasionally, we’d skid and glide on the road. At one point, we reached a hill that we had difficulty getting over. Joel would get stuck moving forward and would only be able to reverse. Luckily, we ran into some very kind hunters that noticed that we were in a pickle. They stopped and waited while we tried to get over the hill. Eventually, one of them came over and asked if we were okay. He gave us some tips on how they maneuvered over the slick hill and luckily their tips worked for us. We could only go so far on the 6-mile access road. Eventually, we stopped just after the third gate and parked about 3.3 miles in. This would require us to walk 2.7 miles before reaching the trailhead.

With the car parked at around 9:45am, we stepped out of the 4Runner and got our things together. And then it started to pour. Joel and I donned our rain jackets, while Marvin braved the elements. Our trek to the Poamoho trailhead was a seemingly long one and was made longer when Joel thought he had dropped his iPhone along the way. He disappeared behind us as Marvin and I trekked on without noticing. When we did notice that he was gone I tried to call him but then realized that I had his phone in my pocket. Oh my, what a way to start our hike (and we weren’t even on the official trail yet). Marvin and I reversed track and then eventually met back up with Joel. I handed him his phone and we finally made our way to the trailhead. On the way to the trailhead, Joel decided to mention the Wahiawa Green Lady [1]. That bastard. Throughout the rest of the hike I was on edge expecting the Green Lady to jump out of a bush at any given time.

We reached the official Poamoho trailhead at around 11:00am. We had wasted so much time messing with the gate and walking the access road. I was a bit bummed that it was already late morning. I wasn’t sure that we would even have enough time to finish the trail. With that in mind, we proceeded pass the trailhead.

Coty looks at something. Photo by Joel Sabugo.

Joel looks at something...else. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Is this what Coty and Joel was looking at? Photo by Coty Gonzales.

It had been raining for the past few days, so it was reasonable that the trail would be muddy. I didn’t realize that it would be this muddy. At times, I would fall into mud holes that were calf deep. By the end of the hike, my pants would be caked in brown wet mud up to the knees.

The elevation gain on this trail is not even noticeable. It’s like you’re walking on flat land the entire way. No rock climbing or huge hills to navigate. However, the slick mud adds a level of difficulty and frustration that you don’t get on dry trails. The mud will indeed slow you down. I had read one account of the Poamoho Trail on Dayle Turner’s website, written by Mike Uslan, who mentioned that it took his family (including a 9 year old girl), 1.5 hours to reach the summit of the Poamoho Trail. It took us nearly twice as long. I blame the mud.

Coty negotiates a fallen tree. Photo by Marvin Chandra.

You'll cross a few of these bridges before reaching your final destination. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Marvin being a ninja. I took this photo while I was checking out the solar device mid-hike.

Nicely carved trail. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Along the trail, you will reach a few landmarks. The first will be a bench next to a Na Ala Hele locked toolbox. Look beyond the valley and you will get a partial view of Scholfield Barracks with the Waianae Range in the background. Beyond that you will encounter two man-made metal bridges built over tiny streams running down the side of the ridge. Beyond the second bridge will be a second resting bench. This second bench is notable because of the solar device that exist to the back of it. Pass this second resting bench and you will reach a third bridge followed by a false summit. At the false summit you will see two signs indicating the end of the maintained trail. The signs will also suggest that you do not continue beyond that point. Of course, if you want to reach the unbelievable views of the Poamoho summit then you will need to continue on. The trail was actually quite maintained when we were there. At no point does it hug the ridge so much that you feel you will fall over (of course, this is subjective). The trail was fairly wide compared to some of the other trails that we have been on.

Beyond the signs I would estimate that it would be about 1.5 miles to the Poamoho summit. It probably took us about an hour from the end of the maintained trail signs to the summit. On the last leg of the trip we kept our eyes peeled for native Hawaiian snails, however, we didn’t spot any. Bummer.

The Geraldine Cline Memorial. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

At around 2:15pm and what seemed like endless walking, we finally turned a corner and saw Marvin waiting for us at the Geraldine Cline Memorial. The memorial is located just before the Poamoho Summit. We ran up that last hill to meet up with Marvin and after a quick look at the memorial, I rushed up eager to sees the fruits of our labor. The view from the summit was magnificent. Kahana Valley was in clear view, and just beyond that you could see the ocean and beaches of the Windward side. I remember saying “WOW!” out loud and then exclaiming that this view might be the best view on the island – even better than Lanihuli.

The summit of Poamoho was very, very windy. This made photography very difficult. It also made capturing any kind of timelapse using a tripod near impossible. Super Bummer. However, I was determined not to leave without OWLing. I found (or should I say Marvin found) a nice ledge off of the summit for me to OWL on. And I OWLed. I OWLed to my hearts content. It was amazing. The wind was blowing through my hair as I looked beyond the Kahana Valley floor and Pu’u Ohulehule toward Makapu’u. For a few seconds, everything in the world was perfect.

The View from the Poamoho Summit. Looking toward Kahana Valley. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Click to see the larger view and you'll see Joel Facebook'ing to the left and Coty OWLing to the right. Gnarly. Photo by Marvin Chandra.

The Poamoho Summit looking back toward Wahiawa. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

After relishing in the views of the Poamoho summit, we decided to hike the 0.5 miles to the Poamoho cabin. We decided that this would be a nice spot for us to relax for a few minutes and eat our lunch. It was also 2:40pm so this would be just a quick break. I examined the cabin while Marvin and Joel examined the cabin log book. The cabin itself was quite nice, with built-in wooden bunks and even a few supplies like water, duct tape, and even mouthwash. After lunch, Marvin quickly swept the cabin floor of the rat poop and then we dashed out, hoping to reach civilization before the sunset.

The Poamoho Cabin. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

Marvin snacks outside of the Poamoho Cabin. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

We said hi in the cabin logbook. Photo by Coty Gonzales.

The trek out of Poamoho was just as muddy as the trek in. However, at each landmark, we would note how much faster our pace was. In the the end, it would take us a total of about 3 hours to make it back to the 4Runner. And although we had made it to the trailhead before sunset, we still had the 2.7 mile walk on the access road back to the 4Runner. The sun was going down very fast and eventually we were walking in darkness. It’s a good thing I had my headlamp. With the thoughts of the Wahiawa Green Lady in my mind (thank you Joel), we quickly rushed to the car and reached it at 6:30pm. I will note that about 1000 ft. from the car we experienced something quite creepy, but I will save that for the footnotes [2].

Once we reached the car, both Joel and I were super relived. Marvin was there waiting for us with his headlamp. The three of us proceeded to remove our muddy hiking boots. The drive back on the access road seemed liked such a long and creepy journey. I hated the fact that I had to step out of our vehicle to open those gates. I hated it so much that I dragged Marvin along each time. I wasn’t taking any chances of experiencing another creepy moment. With the last gate passed and Team Exploration: Hawaii on the paved main road, we all released a sigh of relief. It was a good thing that all of the stalls, errors, and misfortunes happened at the start of the journey and not at the end while in the dark. The Wahiawa Green Lady must have hitched a ride with another group of hikers.

Explorers: Marvin Chandra, Coty Gonzales, and Joel Sabugo.

The Poamoho Trail is one muddy monster. Photo by Marvin Chandra.

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