Extreme Hiking Hawaii

Not long ago, August and I were on the Koolau Ridge behind Manoa Valley when we spotted a windward ridge originating from Maunawilli that we thought might be climbable. (It was essentially the “best of the worst” options in that area.) So I studied it from different angles during subsequent hikes and stared endlessly at topo maps until convincing myself that we should go for it. Then I managed to convince the others. Regulars August, Duc , and Laredo were in….along with newbie Albie Carcueva who had shown interest in joining us on our adventures. So after stashing my vehicle in Manoa, Duc and August and I rode over to the Maunawilli Falls trailhead to meet the others. We hit the trail at 8:40am, continued up the connector to the Demonstration trail, and took a left to search out the targeted ridge. We were treated to high clouds which kept us cool…but also did not obscure the ridge in question. I was aiming for a spot just to the right of the prominent puu at dead-center in the photo b