Extreme Hiking Hawaii

Early on in my long fascination with Maui I became intrigued with the idea of climbing 5;788' Puu Kukui (lit., "candlenut hill"), rising just east of Lahaina, the high point of the West Maul Mountains. Doing a little research, I found that this peak--because of its almost permanent cloud cap-is one of the wettest spots on earth. The mountain, in fact, has an average rainfall of 40 feet/year, and often competes with Kauai's Mt. Waialeale as the soggiest spot on the planet. Read more...

Lake Waianapanapa -- Photo by B. Gagne With a layover day at Paliku (lit. "vertical cliff") came a leisurely morning. Although Paliku was still engulfed in shadow, the early morning sunshine lit up the massive ridge containing Haleakala Peak, the lava fields of the crater floor, Pu'u Maile, and Oilipu'u beautifully. At 9 a.m. Arnold, Chris and myself set out to explore the territory above Paliku along Kalapawili Ridge (part of the crater rim) in hopes of locating (and swimming in!) Lake Waianapanapa. We were blessed with another perfect day weatherwise (a light breeze, clear blue skies with the exception of a few cirrus clouds, an abundance of sunshine). A sign stating "unmaintained trail" behind the campground denoted the Lau'ulu trailhead and we headed north on the footpath. I brought ribbon to mark potentially confusing junctions for Inger and Laura who would be hiking Lau'ulu later that morning. We gained elevation gradually and passed t...

For years, Mount Waialeale on Kauai has been the undisputed wettest spot in the Hawaiian Islands. A recent report , however, made it clear that the Kauai high point (or almost-high point) is now # 2. Where is # 1? It's on Maui, at a location called "Big Bog." According to one source , access to Big Bog "is nonetheless difficult, requiring either a helicopter or two days each way on foot, partly through dense montane rain forest. As a result of this remoteness and the lack of trails into this area, these bogs have until recently received little disturbance to native biota compared to most Hawaiian habitats. Feral pigs arrived into the area in the early 1970s and their heightened activity through the 1980s has caused the loss of native plant cover and subsequent invasion by of alien plant species." A two-day hike in and two days out? Sounds like an extreme hike. Pic above is of MidCamp Bog by B. Gagne. From an info-gathering quest, hiking access from...

On Memorial Day, I took a long hike on EMI roads to the very back of Honomanu Valley then on to the rim of Keanae Valley. I did a write up on Honomanu Valley a few weeks ago. Above the falls I hiked to then, the Valley continues on to another amphitheater and falls. On this trip, I followed a wide road cut into the steep pali that circled the back of that amphiteater at about 1200 feet elevation. I named this hike Honomanu Uka and its about 14 miles round trip. I posted a hike a few weeks ago called "The Best Hike on Maui". Honomanu Uka is one of the best, but not quite. It goes through similar terrain but is long and boring, however it ends with one hell of a bang. The hike starts at about mile post 10 of the Hana Hwy. Go past the Waikamoi Ridge Trail and then past the serene little Waikamoi Falls. As the Highway turns out of Waikamoi Gulch there is a pull-off on the mauka side by a gated road. I have often seen locals parked here, so after a good recon of the topom...

Posted recently were accounts of climbs of Iao Needle by Pete Clines in Nov. 2010 and later in mid-December 2010 . Earlier, Nathan Yuen and Justin Ohara explored the climb to Iao. Although they did not summit, Nathan posted a great report of their attempt on his blog. Photo by Raptor4007 Also documented is the ascent by an unknown hiker (possibly two) captured by Raptor4007 in 2007.

Kaupo Gap from South Maui coast --Photo by mauiguidebook.com  Many people have hiked/backpacked down the Kaupo Gap from Haleakala Crater. Few, I would wager, have hiked/backpacked into Haleakala Crater via Kaupo Gap. What follows is an account of the latter by members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club circa 1999. Date: Thu, 15 Jul 1999 From: Patrick Rorie Subject: Haleakala Crater Via Kaupo Gap A friend once told me "The weather is everything!". While I don't entirely agree with this statement, I do believe that excellent weather is the foundation for a wonderful day hike/backpack trip. It sets the table for a memorable visit to a special place. Such was the case on Independence Day weekend 1999 for seven members of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club who ventured up Kaupo Gap into Haleakala Crater on the island of Maui.   Our group, consisting of Arnold Fujioka, Chris Atkinson, "Big" John Darrah (making his seventh ascent of Kaupo Gap), Herman and M...

Hike dat e: mid-December 2010 Getting up onto the ridgeline was MUCH safer with the new route I used this time. (the one I found on the way out last time ) This climbs the lower part of the Needle from the valley side, versus the direct approach along the spine. It is still very steep, but brings you to ~1350-1400'....past the nasty sheer section with crumbly soil and no solid handholds. This side route is where the only rope is located, but it is very worn and looks suspect. Needle from the trailhead At ~1500' is another exposed area with minimal holds. Hard on the way up, harder on the way down. A slip on the way down had me clawing at dirt and my foot finally caught a tiny flat spot just before I would have taken a big fall. Looking Up Long reach is helpful higher up when doing pull ups from one branch to the next. (guavas and ironwoods) There were two spots where I shimmied up ironwoods when the ridge steepness was great. The distance between hand/footho...

Nathan's recent post about Iao Needle on Maui (http://hawaiianforest.com/exploring-iao-needle) got my interest up on this famous geological feature. I made a half-assed attempt to climb it a few years ago, but tried to go up from the backside to avoid being the included on all the home videos and photos being taken from down below. (This Needle gets a lot of onlookers during a day.) That attempt failed when I got to a point that became too vertical and I could not proceed. Yesterday I found myself on Maui again with a few hours to kill in the afternoon. The weather in Iao Valley was cloudy (typical) but not rainy so I decided to go for it. By 1:00ish I was on the bridge looking up at my goal for the day. (SEE PHOTO) This point was ~1,000ft on my altimeter. I took the trail down to the stream, crossed at the pool by a mini waterfall, and began up the broad slope to the Needle. This part had some faint trails that crisscrossed each other, but navigating was not ha...

Hike date : April 2003 Certain recollections come to mind when I think of the valley isle of Maui: the tourist town of Lahaina, where there are "brown eyed girls to break your heart"; the long and winding road to Hana, with its wonderful waterfall/swimming hole hikes; lush, isolated Pu'u Kukui, where a group of HTM trailclearers once participated in a service project (Dec. '99); and then there's remarkable Haleakala Crater, the location of my very first neighbor island backpack (May '97), coordinated by Ken Suzuki.After reading about the trip Dayle Turner, Ed Gilman and Mark Short did to Haleakala's summit via a route along Manawainui Gulch in December of last year, I had a strong desire to check it out myself. Moreover, I'm really into elevation gain these days, and after accumulating a total of 7600' via a double traverse of Mount Ka'ala on February 2 of this year, I wanted to exceed this one day total. "10K in one day" ha...