Hahaione -- Kuliouou

Mauna o Ahi ridge

My wife and I hiked today (23 July 2005). Our original plan was to hike out in Hauula, but the weather out that way wasn't cooperative as we discovered when we drove out to Hauula Homestead Road at 9 a.m. 

So, as big drops of rain pelted my white 'yota, we backtracked along Kam Hwy to Kaneohe, where the sky was overcast. Still not looking good for hiking. Hoping that the weather scenario would improve later on, we decided to attend a meeting of a group we are members of and then perhaps catch some better weather thereafter. 

Yup, by 1-ish, the weather shaped up quite nicely, so we motored out to Hawaii Kai to hike in the back of Hahaione Valley. Jacque had never hiked in this area before, so she was excited about exploring new territory and getting a good workout. Ditto the latter for me, especially after having my heart problem (irregular rhythm) fixed via a catheter ablation procedure in mid-June at Queen's Medical Center where Jacque works. Happy to report that I can climb slopes free from the dizziness and nausea that plagued me the previous year. Thank you, God! 

We parked at the end of Hahaione Road just before 1 pm. I carried two liters of Powerade and a liter of water in my pack, plus our lunches. The trailhead is right at the end of the street and the way thru the forest, albeit a bit overgrown at times, is pretty obvious. 

We made good progress as we switchbacked to gain the crest of Mauna O Ahi ridge. Only took about fifteen minutes to do this part. At that point, I explained to Jacque that our hike today would be in the configuration of a tadpole. We had just completed the tail portion, I said, and we would now would be hiking around the body of the tadpole and later would retrace our way along the tail to our car. Jacque, a lover of animals, could relate to my depiction. 

From there, we climbed steadily and occasionally steeply up Mauna O Ahi ridge to gain the Koolau Summit. About a quarter of the way up, someone (HECO tree trimmers?) did a bunch of cutting to clear a section of the ridge. Not sure why the clearing was made, perhaps to serve as a helicopter landing area since powerlines parallel the ridge nearby. 

 We gained the summit about an hour after leaving the car. Just as we arrived at the top, we met three guys who had crossed over from the top of the Kuliouou Trail. Come to find out, they were doing the same tadpole loop as we were, only in the opposite direction. 

A couple of minutes of hiking from the topping out point, we came upon the summiting spot of Hahaione-Windward Ridge, which Scott V. and I climbed from the Waimanalo side. I pointed out this spot to Jacque and explained that somewhere along the route I had lost the engagement ring she had given me before we were married (we celebrated our 1st Wedding Anniversary on 6/5/05, btw). 

 "Do you want me to go down and look for it?" she asked. 

 "No, sweetheart, I don't think so," I replied, knowing the hazards of the steep ridge below. 

I did snap some photos of Jacque at the summit spot. 

We continued Kuliouou-bound along the summit, passing a trio of tall powerline poles. I told Jacque to remember these poles and that I'd point them out to her later in the afternoon as we were driving home thru Waimanalo. 

At times as we hiked, we could see other hikers standing at the summit of the Kuliouou Trail. I remember telling Jacque "Be careful" maybe a hundred times as we crossed along the summit, for there are some pretty hefty drops to windward along the way. I'm not sure if my repeated words made her feel better, but they made me feel better.  

A half hour later when we arrived at the Kuliouou summit, a couple of folks said they watched Jacque and I hiking along. 

We plopped down in the little niche to leeward and ate lunch. A couple and their dog Aka arrived a little while into our lunch. Jacque made good friends with Aka to the point that Aka didn't want to leave the summit with her owners. She begrudgingly did after Jacque playfully shooed her away. 

After about a twenty minute lunch stop, Jacque and I headed down Kuliouou, noting some significant erosion damage of sections of the stairs in the couple hundred meters of trail from the summit. 

We spent about ten minutes resting and snacking at the picnic shelter, then continued down Kuliouou Ridge to the junction with the graded trail/old jeep road that descended into the valley (forget the name) just east of Kuliouou.. Went down said graded trail/jeep road and reached bottom of said valley whose name I forgot. 

Climbed out of said valley to reach the crest of Mauna O Ahi Ridge. We had completed the circumnavigation of the tadpole's body. Now to hike back down the tail. 

No incidents on the way back down.

As we reached the trailhead, I noted a familiar maroon-colored Mustang parked there. "It's Wing's car!" I told Jacque. "I'm going to leave a note for him."

And so I did.

Hope Wing had a good hike.

Jacque and I did. And we look forward to many more.

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