Extreme Hiking Hawaii

View of windward Oahu from terminus of Poamoho trail   Kaleo Lancaster and friends recently completed an extreme hike from Poamoho to Schofield, which included that wonderful crossing along the Koolau Summit Trail between the Poamoho and Schofield termini. Kaleo's account begins as follows: Hiked from Poamoho Ridge to Wahiawa Heights last weekend. It was cold, rainy, muddy, and wild. In terms of beauty, not many hikes can touch this one. The route traverses some of the most remote and undeveloped terrain on the island of Oahu, with an incredible two mile walk along the Ko'olau summit trail. Exactly how awesome was it? Unforgettably awesome: in fact, the route is so awesome, that we all agreed to do it every year for as long as we're still alive and able to hike. Yeah, it's that beautiful. Read more from Kaleo .... To lengthen the hike and to avoid the need for vehicle shuttle, it is possible to make this into a big loop which starts and ends at the end of Californ

As far as I know, Lanipo Windward (pictured above, photo by Jeremy Kreis) has not been done since HTMC legend Dick Davis descended this ridge back in the 1940s. But there is renewed interest in LW, especially by Jeremy Kreis (see pic above by him of the ridge), so it seems probable that an attempt will be made JK and friends in the near future. Be careful, folks!

Yesterday, Pete Clines (above left) reported that after eight visits to Pauao Ridge in Kahana Valley, the trail to the summit as been reopened. Joining him for this trail resurrection effort were August Smith (orange shirt) and Duc Ong. Mahalo and good work guys. According to HTMC prez Jay Feldman, the Pauao Hike may be put back on the club schedule after being in mothballs (or overgrown uluhe) for years.

A crew of young intrepid hikers (Jeremy Kreis, Dave Concepcion, Michael David Loftin, Rhonda Navarro Hutchison, and Marcus Griego, L to R above) completed another of those "extremely difficult" (read: death-defying) sections of the Koolau Crest, this one from Pu'u Lanihuli to the saddle at the head of Kalihi Valley (aka Kalihi Saddle). Check out a video depiction of their extreme exploits (by Dave Concepcion)

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

Duc Ong completed a truly super hike, starting and ending at the top of Maunalani Heights at the head of the Lanipo Trail (aka Maaumae Ridge Trail). Here's his report: First, I would like to thank all of the people who have helped me clear and mark these trails and to all those who came before and provided the inspiration for this project. Not wanting to implicate anyone, I won’t name any names. The route was developed as an expansion to the East Honolulu Rollercoaster, which started from Wai‘alae Nui Valley and ended in Haha‘ione Valley. I wanted to make this a closed loop, so as to avoid the need for car shuttling. In the misty wet morning of the day after the summer solstice at 4:30 AM, at the Lanipo trailhead, I embarked on what is the longest day hike I’ve ever done. By 5 AM, I was beginning the descent down “Ironwood” trail into Wai‘alae Nui Valley. The trail itself hits a pseudo-bottom, where one might think that one has arrived at the valley floor. However