Extreme Hiking Hawaii

Author :  Pete Clines <peteclines@YAHOO.COM> “ Hiking is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get. ” That held true for several aspects of last Sunday’s outing. The weather, trail conditions, and even the route would all be a surprise when Duc, August, and I started off into Manoa Valley at 8:40am. First, the route. I originally planned to lead us up Manoa stream and bypass some waterfalls until we could no longer progress, and then we would climb to a side ridge and decide what to do from there. Simple enough, as Laredo and I had done this previously, encountering 17 falls before we decided to loop out another way. But on this day we only got past two falls – by climbing banyan trees as seen below – before we made a split - second decision to keep climbing up the ridge we were on instead of following the stream. Figured we were already pointing that direction.... So up we continued, sometimes with evidence of previous hikers – a swath - and s...

August Smith (front) and Nate Yuen on the Manana trail Author :  Pete Clines Hike date : August 2010 ...when you summit via Manana, come down Waimano, but finish at Manana.  (The other version would be Wainano, btw.)  Sunday was SUPPOSED to clear up in the afternoon.  Never did.  At least not where we were during this marathon trek.  August Smith, Laredo Murray, Nate Yuen and I met up at the Manana trailhead and pushed off at 7am.  Overcast skies and socked-in summits kept the ascent cool and comfortable.  Expecting too sweat more, I carried 5 liters of refreshments but only drank 2.5 in the end.  Lively conversation carried us along the otherwise uneventful trail.  We also paused tooo check out several side trails that will require exploration in the future.  We stayed together, and by 10:45 or so we were all at the Manana summit.  A lunch break occurred, and we sat in the canopied area toooo talk story.  Aft...

These unofficially named summits are located in the Waianae Range of western Oahu, on ridgelines separating the Makua, Ohikilolo and Makaha Valleys. Access is from the west in Ohikilolo Valley, at the end of Keaau Homesteads Rd. The looping hike is 6.2mi in length with 3,500ft of gain. Nandor had provided me a GPX track that was super helpful and all I needed to complete the hike in a bit over 5 hours. Unlike the previous day's muddy hike to Ka'ala, today's weather was much better and the entire route dry. Great views all day long, too. I started just after 8a, having driven Keaau Homesteads Rd as far as I could, through a first open gate at the highway, but stopped by a second gate just past Ohikilolo Adventure Park (not what you might think - this is a horseback riding establishment). I parked on the wide, mowed shoulder outside the adventure park and started up the road from there.  Ample signs let you know this is a hunting area, the current month for gamebirds only. ...

Hike date : 23 January 2011. In January of 2003 I climbed up to Konahuanui from the Pali Lookout by way of the “Notches” ridge. My climbing buddy back then, Brian, was naïve enough to join me. Except for a tense moment when a handhold-rock busted loose on Brian while in a crucial spot over a death drop…. we had a fantastic time with lots of excitement and killer views on a cloud-free day. We exited via the seldom traveled (overgrown) Lulumahu Ridge and looped back to the Lookout.   This past Sunday – almost exactly eight years later – I got Laredo (Murray) and Duc (Ong) to join me for another round of adrenaline. This would be their first time on this ridge. We met at the Lookout and began for the Notches at 8:30 or so. Below is a map of the route, with the orange dash marking the hardest part. This picture was taken from the summit of Lanihuli East – the equally nasty ridge across the valley. We got to the ridgeline in no time, and were treated to a blast of wind...