Kului Gulch is located just to the west (ewa side) of the Hawaii Loa Ridge Trail. On a day that started off beautifully but later deteriorated weatherwise, Wing and I hiked partway up HLRT and crossed Kului Gulch to gain the ridge on Kului's ewa side. We then pushed our way up this ridge, which I'll refer to as Kului Ridge, to the Koolau Summit.
We met at 8:30 at the end of Anolani Street in Niu Valley. Plan A was to hike up the trail in the valley then climb up the guava spur club route to the HLRT. But since the only hikers to show up at Anolani were Wing and I (several others were invited), there was a change to Plan B, which was to drive up Hawaii Loa Ridge and start there. So Dr Ng and I jumped into his aging but dependable maroon Mustang, leaving my aging but dependable blue Cherokee at the Anolani Street terminus. After signing a liability waiver--one of the stipulations being that we refrain from ti leaf sliding (yup, really)--and showing proof of Hawaii residence to the guard at the Hawaii Loa estates security post, we proceeded to the HLRT starting point.
Shoving off at just past 9 a.m., Wing and I hiked together up HLRT, talking about this and that. He pointed out places he and the Wedgees (Jay Feldman and the Wednesday gang) had hiked to on Kului Ridge to our left. Kului, according to info gleaned from the web, is "a large shrub or a small tree which grows up to 15 feet in height. The 'kului' is peculiar to the very dry regions of all of the islands where often nothing else grows. Its silvery-gray foliage and drooping flowers make it a conspicuous and attractive little tree. Nototrichium and another Hawaiian member of this family, Charpentiera, are the world's only woody amaranths." For a pic and info, see
www.nhm.org/research/botany/Hawaii_Vanishing_Flora/Dry_Forest_Folder/not_san.html
I'm not sure if we passed any Kului during our hike today. Since I'm not flora akamai/observant like Ken, Charlotte, Brandon, Kay, and others, I could have hiked right past some and not even known it. Two lashes with a clidemia branch for me.
We departed from the HLRT in the uluhe section just mauka of the last big guava pu'u. Wing set off into the uluhe abyss first while I sat down to put on long pants, eat an energy and a protein bar, and drink some water. After pants-ing and fueling up, I followed Wing's swath and caught up in a couple minutes. Instead of following Wing from that point, I slid down an uluhe embankment (fast and fun!) until reaching an open guava slope. From there, the going was open and easier, and I descended to a dry streambed, with Wing following not far behind.
After crossing the streambed, I then began climbing a spur ridge, with the objective being to gain the crest of Kului Ridge on the gulch's far side. Thick with uluhe was the spur, so we had to shift into bulldozer mode as we climbed. I recognized several large Halapepe specimens (patting myself on the back while sending kudos to my plant kumu, Kenji), which were as big as the ones growing along the Halapepe Nui Trail. Otherwise, it was uluhe heaven (or hell, depending on one's mood/point of view). I was hoping to find a swath/trail of some sort on the crest of Kului Ridge but alas there was nothing--nada, zip, zed, zilch. Not even na pua'a roamed on this ridge [insert expletives of your choice here].
At this point, Wing and I kept in contact via walkie talkie since the distance between us increased. Proceeding mauka up Kului Ridge, I (tool-less) occupied the primary battering ram slot, with La Wingo following behind, trusty loppers at the ready. The ridge initially was rolling and fairly broad; then it steepened and narrowed; then it broadened again but remained steep, but never cable-steep. Separated by about 100 meters but in contact via walkie-talkie, Wing and I sat down on the Kului Ridge hogback to eat lunch at just past noon. I found a bit of shade on the upslope side of a kopiko tree, and I was glad for some coolness as I watched steam wafting off my sweat-soaked shirt.
Lunch for me was brief (didn't want to stiffen up). Plus, I was eager to summit. Thirty minutes of tough climbing and pushing through after lunch, the summit of the Koolaus was acquired, elevation 2660, according to my altimeter watch. Today's climb was tough, as is the case when ascending trail-less ridges in Oahu's mountains. However, there have been tougher ones, namely Manoa Middle Ridge aka Waiahilahila Ridge (which I did with Wing and Brandon Stone), Pauao Ridge (which I did with Pat Rorie, Steve Poor, and Laredo Murray), and Kamaohanui (which I did with Steve Poor).
Kului Ridge crests out two nobs to the west of the Hawaii Loa Trail terminus. The trail on Kului Ridge isn't much of trail, so if anyone has plans to hike it, be prepared for a rough go. At least a swath is now in place. And, please, no verbal attacks on Wing or I for doing this. We were not doing it for the HTMC. For that matter, if the club never hikes this ridge, that'd be fine with me but if the Wedgees are looking for something to do :-). And while I can't speak for Wing, any damage done to native flora was minimal. So there.
I exited via HLRT. When I reached the HLRT terminus, I chatted briefly with three burly military guys, who inquired about where I'd come from. I explained what Wing and I had done, summing it up by saying, "We get our kicks doing stuff like that." The three burly guys smiled, one saying, "I can relate, bro."
The descent of HLRT was fairly uneventful, with the main item of note being that it began to rain. It had been so clear and sunny all day that precipitation, save for a mention of its possibility by weather forecasters, was completely unexpected. While I was descending HLRT, I contacted Wing one last time by walkie-talkie. During that conversation, I had a visual fix on him as he was making the final assault on Kului Ridge. I'm confident he topped out and descended HLRT back to his car. I'm sure he'll file a report on OHE as well.
To get back to my vehicle, from the HLRT, I headed down the club's guava spur trail to Pia Valley. Having descended that safely, I followed the valley trail back to Anolani Street. Pau by 3 p.m. dripping wet from the rain.
Tomorrow, it's back to Anolani Street for HTMC TM of the Kulepeamoa Ridge Trail--unless, of course, my aging body says otherwise when I wake up in the a.m.
Hike on, all you enthusiasts.
--dkt
