Today, Scott "Saxman" Villiger, Wing Ng, and I gave this spur ridge a go. Starting at around 8:30 a.m. at the Manoa Falls trailhead, Scott and I succeeded in reaching the summit in three hours. Wing was somewhere downridge from us. Not sure if he topped out. Am sure that he'll post a report.
Anyway, to get to our spur, we crossed Waihi Stream right where the Manoa Falls trail starts then ambled around in a jumbled area of large ferns. We then picked up the trail leading to Luaalaea Falls and followed it for 10-15 minutes. At a spot that looked as good as any for heading up, we did. Put a double ribbon there for Wing, who had dropped back behind Scott and I somewhere.
Scott and I then began climbing, mostly thru scattered guava. Dry weather in the valley in the past week or two was beneficial, for the ground underfoot was dry. Could see that the slopes would be muddy in wet weather, so I was glad for the parched state of things. After 15 minutes of climbing, we hit occasional patches of uluhe. We lucked out by finding pig trails that skirted or bulldozed right thru the uluhe. Those pigs are good for something. Mahalo na pua'a.
As we continued to climb, we came upon a ten by ten foot clearing on the ridgeline. Planted in the clearing were two to three dozen pakalolo plants, most no more than a foot tall. My altimeter watch indicated the elevation was ~1100 feet. Scott and I were amused but did nothing with the plants. We left plenty of bootprints in the patch, to let the plants' owner know someone had been there. Heh.
More and more, uluhe became a bothersome and energy-zapping barrier as we climbed beyond the pakalolo clearing. We also encountered some steep, narrow dikes, but there were plenty of small trees to grab to help us ascend. One of the tougher segments of the day was a steep area of overhead uluhe at around the 1600-foot level. Our progress was painfully slow there. I even had thoughts of abandoning the summit try due to exhaustion. A well-timed rest break, hydration, and a protein bar helped to nix negative thoughts and reestablish optimism.
The morning and early afternoon, by the way, were perfect for heading to beach. However, the clear skies, piercing sun, and light breezes weren't ideal for climbing a trail-less ridge in the Koolaus. In short, we persevered.
Caught a break when the ridge started to level off and broaden and the vegetation barrier lessened. Uluhe was always there but instead of overhead stuff, it was knee-level or less and not overly thick. In a word, relief.
Scott and I reached the summit at just past 11:30 at an elevation of 2480 feet, sayeth the topo map. We topped out at a grassy bowl along the crest where on past hikes from Konahuanui to Olympus some of us have stopped to eat lunch. Today, we had super clear views to windward and leeward, and we enjoyed the visual reverie as we sat down for a 15-minute lunch stop.
On another day, we probably would have stayed longer at the summit, but Scott had to be back at his car at 1:30-ish because he had go home to shower and change to attend a late afternoon gig at Aloha Stadium. So after our short lunch at the bowl, we packed up and headed south along the summit, my legs feeling wobbly due to the rugged climb up Luaalaea Ridge. The plan was to descend the trail down the ridge we've named Manoa Middle and we reached the junction with this trail after a 15-minute hike along the summit.
The descent of Manoa Middle was tougher and slower than I anticipated because the route is badly overgrown. In some spots the trail has just about been reclaimed by the vegetation. We came upon some places that looked trampled down by hikers but I'd guess that human traffic along this ridge is next to nil.
After a bunch of stumbles and trips due to overgrown conditions coupled with fatigue, we reached the rope trail down to Waiakeakua Stream. Even that trail is overgrown and only a few ribbons saved us from completely losing our way on the steep descent.
Once we reached the trail along Waiakeakua Stream, we were able to pick up the pace. We stopped for a couple minutes so I could take a dreamed-about plunge in the clear, cool pool just below the the Gladstone Wright memorial stone. Feeling re-energized, I hiked out the rest of the way to cars with Scott, arriving there at 1:40.
Scott zipped off in his car for home. In the meantime, I took a couple minutes to jot a note on a piece of paper to let Wing know what we'd done and that we were out and gone. Stuck the note under his driver's side wiper, then drove off, stopping at a nearby convenience store to purchase a 2-liter bottle of Diet Pepsi and some choco-chip cookies. Consumed all this, plus a later purchased apple fritter from 7-11, before arriving at the Kaneohe homestead. Hit the spot.
A good day of hiking. Great workout. Nice views. Good to hike with Scott. Wing, too.
Hope others on OHE had a chance to get out and be outdoors today.
--dkt
