sade005

For a number of years, I volunteered with the trail maintenance crew of the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. The crew’s mission is to clear and maintain trails used by the club for its weekly outings. Almost without exception, the crew is out on Sundays working on some trail in either the Koolau or Waianae Mountains. Hats off to these hardworking folks. Speaking of volunteers, I just found out about the good work of Bill Summers (pictured left), who, after arriving on Kauai in 2007, has done literally tons of work on the Kalalau Trail on the Na Pali Coast of the garden isle. And he has done this on his own dime, depleting his life savings and even being ticketed by a state conservation officer.  Jonathan Ley --  photo credit Summers is still at work.  There are photos of his work here .  And more about him and his work here .  Hats off to Bill Summers.

"Honesty's the best policy" is a saying we're all familiar with. Dr. Wing Ng calls Kamaileunu an "honest trail" because from start to terminus there is no concealed agenda: one climbs steadily with no appreciable drops. The antithesis of Kamaileunu is Manana, which taunts hikers with as many downs as ups. Like Manana, Schofield falls in the "dishonest" category, for its rollercoaster progression will kick one's tail ascending or descending. Back in 2002, Pat Rorie and I, not in the mood for treachery, hiked what may be the most honest trail on Oahu: De Ponte (also referred to as Dupont). The route begins on a cane field road adjacent to Waialua High School and ends after a 4,000-foot vertical ascent gain at the summit of Mount Kaala, the apex of Oahu. Stuart Ball tells us that Dupont (or De Ponte--recall a recent post quoting a *Honolulu Magazine* article) is a classic climb. He also says that the horror stories about the dangers of the trail ...

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 30, 2010, the Oahu chapter of the Sierra Club will be conducting an outing on the Pu'u Maelieli Trail in Kahaluu.   It is a foothill/ridge hike and is 3 miles roundtrip. This is a photography hike and the pace will be slow as a result. The trail climbs to an old WWII pillbox with a good view of Kaneohe Bay and the Koolau Mountains.   For info, contact Stan Oka 429-9814, Clyde Kobashigawa 262-6092, John Shimogawa 227-9925

On Sunday (5/30/10) the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club will be hiking the Poamoho Trail, which is located in the Koolau Mountains out past Wahiawa.  The legendary John Hall will be coordinating the hike, which is a by-reservation outing (and all spots are filled).  According to club records, Poamoho was first hiked by HTMC  on July 14, 1935.  The hike involves a lengthy drive on dirt roads to reach the trailhead.  The actual trail itself is about three miles one-way to the crest of the Koolau Range overlooking Punaluu and Kahana Valleys. The trail is graded (i.e. cut in the ridgeline) hence it is fairly easy to navigate.  The hike to the top might be accomplished in about an hour for speed hikers. Add 30 minutes for those hiking at a more relaxed pace.  Be ready to get muddy and wet. Near the top is the Cline Memorial (pictured here), put there for HTMC member Geraldine Cline, who was tragically killed in an auto accident many years ago (no, not on...

I did this hike back on Election Day in 2002 with Jay Feldman and Scott Villiger. Here is the write-up. On the day that Hawaii will vote in its first wahine governor, Jay Feldman, Scott Villiger, and I elect to go hiking in the Waimanalo end of the Ko'olaus. We meet at 9:30 at the HTMC clubhouse in 'Nalo, then hash around some options for our outing, the top two being a circumnavigation of Koko Crater--my first choice--or a Kaupo Cliffs/TomTom combo, which Jay prefers. I actually like the Kaupo option but do not like the potential hassle we sometimes have from the guy who lives in the last house on the left on the street we use to access the trail. However, after some wrangling about transportation logistics and an assist from Man Friday, who says he'll help with the pre-hike drop-off, I relent and say okay to a Kaupo ascent, much to the delight of Jay, whose car we use to ferry us to our starting point on Manawaiola Street. Thanks to MF's help, Jay, Scott, and I a...

Yesterday morning (2/17), I hiked up the Kealia Trail to meet friends backpacking their way from the Kaena tracking station to Peacock Flats and/or the Mokuleia campsite. I figured to get a workout out of the deal. I got that plus some unanticipated adventure. I launched from the parking lot by the Dillingham airfield control tower at 9:30, feeling relaxed and energetic after the hour drive from Kaneohe. The switchbacks up the pali were overgrown, perhaps a consequence of the budget/personnel shortcomings of Na Ala Hele. Once I reached the ridgeline, I kept moving up the dirt road, a steady unrelenting, and at times steep climb up to the rim of Makua Valley. With a nice view into the controversial valley, I paused to rest and scan the rim trail for any signs of my friends. Heading away from me to the left appeared to be Pat Rorie. I continued alone along the Mokuleia firebreak road toward Peacock Flats and after fifteen minutes I came upon other hikers at a junction with a lesser...

My wife and I lead hikes for the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club and the last hike we led (4/10/10) was on the Kaunala Trail in the hills above Waimea Bay on Oahu's north shore. About 40 people turned out for the hike, which was captured in words and pics by Richard Bailey and Nathan Yuen . The pic at left, in fact, was taken by Rich and in it are my wife and I hiking on a section of Kaunala.  Mahalo, Rich. One of the new features of this hike is a newly paved road in the mountains.  Apparently, the military found it necessary to pave the formerly dirt road to make negotiation of the mountains easier for its vehicles. For specifics about Kaunala , I wrote more about it.

I did this hike back in 2002. The photo at left was taken in 2010 and credit goes to Doug Baker for it. Here is the write-up about Manana. Manana is one of those demon trails that whipped me when I first began hiking. I remember that first attempt when I aspired to reach the summit, only to turn back, stricken with huge blisters on my heels, exhausted, on the verge of near collapse in the heat and humidity of that summer day, humbled and humiliated, promising myself I'd try again. It comes as no surprise that Manana kicked my butt that first time, for it is a tough five miles of ups and downs, eroded slopes, occasional narrow segments, low-grassed windswept meadows, overgrown sections of uluhe, and mushy bogs. I kept my promise to myself, and a month or two after that first failed try, I made it to the top. In the years that followed, I've hiked Manana other times, mostly for maintenance work with the Trail and Mountain Club but occasionally on my own to test lungs and le...

Just got word last week that access to the Lanihuli trail is (temporarily?) available.  Here is the skinny from someone who lives near the access point: At the top of Alewa Drive, there's a separate gate on the Kamehameha School property side adjacent to the Board of Water Supply gate. For unknown reasons, the gate has been unlocked for a couple of weeks -much easier access than jumping the fence there or down at the end of Kalikimaka Street. Could change any day but for anyone interested, easy access right now. Lanihuli has been accessed by other start-points other than the end of Alewa Drive including an extension of the Kamanaiki trail Nuuanu via Moole Valley Kalihi Valley via Decorte Park Ridge Pu'u Pueo Park on Alewa Drive The Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club also conducts hikes (members only) to Lanihuli, the most recent outing there being on May 24, 2009 . Photo credit:  Steve Rohrmayr (aka Waianae Steve)

One of the most dangerous trails on Oahu is Pu'u Manamana.  The first time I tried it, I lost my nerve and turned back.  The second time, with the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club, went better and I completed the hike.  After that, I have hiked Manamana a number of times without mishap. I have also written a detailed hike description of the Pu'u Manamana hike elsewhere.  Check it out. The photo at left provides some perspective of what this trail is like--spooky yet spectacular.

Wahiawa, the home of the Mules, red dirt, military installations, folks of many different ethnicities, and the best banana pie on Oahu. Wahiawa, the land of many avenues--Kilani, Walker, Glen, Makani, Muliwai, Cypress, Neal, and Kuahiwi, to name a handful. And, of course, in wet, wild Wahiawa, the longest of all is church-lined California Avenue, where many of us converge one summer morning, at a time earlier than the norm, at a gravel parking area near its end, to prepare for a day of brisk winds, of high clouds, of labor. To the mountains we go. A briefing from a diminutive, silver-haired dynamo of a general begins the day and from her we hear the plans for this day and for future days. After the talk, there is a short drive to stage cars in the rear of Army Rangers HQ at East Range, Wahiawa, and that done, we march on, up a dirt road, graveled and graded in recent times, thus ridding it of truck-eating ruts, boot-sucking mudholes, skin-scratching thick grass and other such unpl...

Contributed by Norm Roberts on 12/3/1997 While on the Ka'a'wa Valley Hike last August, there came a point at which the grazing cattle turned as one and stared menacingly at us as we passed nearby. One of the hikers expressed relief that there were no large, wild animals in Hawaii. What old timer could resist a straight line like that! "But there have been," I said. "There used to be a black bear that roamed both sides of the Koolaus from Maunawili to Pupukea and back to Moanalua." My statement was greeted with expressions of polite, sheer, and stark disbelief. "Isn't that just a legend?" I was asked. "It probably is now," I replied. "Is he still around?" asked another hiker. "Probably not. Bears live 20 to 25 years, and he was last seen in 1970." "Did they ever find his body?" asked a particularly skeptical hiker. "No," I replied, "but there are lots of reports of sightings and bear ...

[photo credit -- Jason Sunada] I dislike hiking in streambeds and along narrow ridges with rotten rock. As things turned out, I did both today probably because I'm a hardheaded son of a gun. Or maybe I did it because it was April Fool's Day, and I'm the king of fools. Today, the TM gang was slated to work on the Kipapa Trail in cooperation with the feds, but that outing was cancelled at the 11th hour. So, in place of Kipapa, Mabel requested that the crew hike/work on the Pu'u o Kona route for an upcoming club hike.  So a bunch of us showed up at the end of Kalaau Place in Kuliouou Valley this morning to do our thing. I'd hiked the o Kona route last Saturday and reported to Mabel that not much work was needed on it. Given that, the day was designated more one for hiking than for labor. No complaints from me in that regard.  The assembled throng dispersed hither and yon. Some folks went up the direct route to Kuliouou Ridge. Some went up the middle ridge via...

I wrote this post on 18 Nov  2000 17:06:46 (Photo by Peter Clines taken in 2010)   Five club members--Richard Fernandez, Roger Breton, Justin Ohara, Dave Waller, and Peter Kempf--joined me today for the 11th Super Hike conducted by the Hawaiian Trail and Mountain Club. While Super Hike X (Wahiawa Nui) covered the most distance (~17-18 miles), today's outing covered the least--maybe six or seven altogether. However, portions of today's hike were more hazardous than any part of the previous ten, and I can happily report that all of us made it up and around our course without casualty. I also will report that I will end my coordinatorship of HTMC super hikes after Number XX, which will be after the first quarter of 2003. I'm sure a willing and able member of the club will carry forth thereafter since there is no lack of gung-ho types in HTMC. New blood will be a good thing.  We started hiking at the end of Waianae Valley Road by the hunters' check-in at 8:25. Aro...

The following post was written by Jason Sunada on Thurs, 21 Sep 2000. The photo at left is the worst section of Piliwale Ridge.Here is Jason's post: Last Friday afternoon (9/15/00) was so nice that I started thinking I should hike somewhere on Saturday before the HTM Clubhouse Appreciation Night pizza dinner. Briefly considered beating Dayle and Co. (didn't know he had e-mailed his intentions that afternoon) to Lulumahu Ridge and its K1 summit (the taller of the Konahuanui twin peaks and formerly known as K2). He had mentioned exploring this ridge after his upper Nuuanu to Pali Lookout bushwhack the previous week. But that would likely be too long and rugged. And the parking's not too safe. Then mulled over various stream/waterfall hikes. However, with my birthday approaching (it came and went) I wanted to try something more. Piliwale Ridge came to mind. I did it twice before in the mid to late 80's and in the early 90's (should have kept a hike log). A few...