Extreme Hiking Hawaii

Not sure how many years it's been. Maybe 30 or 40. But the section of the Koolau crest from Kahuauli (Bowman trail terminus) to the saddle atop Kalihi Valley (above Wilson Tunnel) has been done by Dave Concepcion and friends. He reports: There are three saddles on the Ko'olau mountain range on the island of O`ahu. All three have trans-Ko'olau tunnels running underneath that are part of highways that link the windward side of the island to Honolulu and Waikiki. These are the Moanalua (H-3), Kalihi (Likelike), and Nu'uanu (Pali) Saddles. Numerous hikers have documented their hikes on the Moanalua and Nu'uanu Saddles while Kalihi remained virtually untouched. Hawaii hiking legend Dick Davis called the section between Pu'u Kahuauli and the Kalihi Saddle as no-man's land. Pete Caldwell and Don Fox ascended to the saddle via a steep trail that was situated above the Likelike Tunnels on July 14, 1997. Pete Clines and company did a loop from the h...

Some time away from the mountains had me aching for adventure. Thought I would check out this one to scrape the rust off. Turns out it had a little bit of everything: an obscure start, brittle rock, crawler’s ledges, and some ridiculously steep slopes. It was also overgrown; with the upper half being a complete bushwhack. And starting the actual climb from ~600’, there was about 2100’ of elevation gain in a VERY short distance. All told, it was a grueling ascent And most refreshing. 8:15 I left the car parked at the Golf Course/Church. Not sure what it is used for these days. Passed by the waterfall, and eventually reached the point where I would start the ascent. And I am being vague on purpose. This route is very dangerous. Although MUCH less taxing now that is has been cleared, there are a couple critical spots that suffer greatly with each passing hiker. And these spots were horrible BEFORE I further damaged them. Fair warning. The route can be imagined ...