Oahu Hike Tales

I had hiked part-way up the trail to Mount Olympus early in 1995 but had turned back because I was alone and hadn't intended to head for the summit anyway. I did get my opportunity to stand atop this distinct peak when I joined 30 people on a Sierra Club- sponsored hike on April 28, 1996. The trail to Olympus begins in the Wa'ahila Ridge State Recreation Area above St. Louis Heights. At 8:40 a.m., led by hike leaders Bill Aoki and Bill Gorst, we shoved off for the 3.5 mile hike to summit. The first half of the trek followed along the Wa'ahila Ridge trail, a well-maintained path that rose and fell over several humps in the spine separating Manoa Valley to the northwest and Palolo Valley to the southeast. The group was an amiable one, with the more outgoing of us chatting about past hikes and pointing out the different types of vegetation along the route. The two Bills also did their jobs well, making sure we stopped every 20 to 30 minutes to catch our breaths and to swi...

Hiking in Oahu's mountains has given me a chance to see many things--razor-edged ridges, rare Hawaiian plants, pristine valleys, cascading waterfalls, and much more. I thought I had seen it all. Well, not quite. In mid-February '97, my fireman friend, Bill Melemai, and his 11- year-old son, Willie, and I planned an overnight campout on Waahila Ridge, the Koko-Head-side shoulder of Manoa Valley. Our plan was to hike an hour up the ridge, camp at a pleasant tree- covered clearing, and descend via the Kolowalu trail that bottoms out in the Woodlawn area of Manoa Valley. We left my car near the intersection of Alani Drive and Woodlawn Avenue and motored up St. Louis Heights to the Waahila Ridge State Park in Bill's van. We arrived at the park at around 5 p.m. (we actually left Bill's van just outside the park's entrance gate because any vehicle remaining in the park grounds after 6:45 would be dutifully towed away). So after lacing our boots and checking our pac...

  For me, hiking the Koolau summit has been both an exhilarating and tortuous experience. The exhilaration comes in the form of views of rarely seen vistas, of being closer to nature than most, of the comradery of close friends, and of post-hike memories of the experience. The torture manifests itself in--among other things--lung busting ascents of handholdless slopes with a heavy pack, cramped muscles brought on by exertion the body cannot tolerate, relentless assaults of the scorching sun, and mental anguish from the realization a misstep could mean injury or death. Since I keep returning to hike the summit again and again, either I'm a masochist (I'm not) or I'm addicted to the exhilaration like a chain-smoker is to cigarettes. My most recent experience with the above-described phenomena was on Sunday, 1/25/98, when I joined a group of 12 others to make our way across the crest between Mount Olympus and Konahuanui, the highest point in the Koolau range. What follows i...

After yesterday's long hike up Halawa Ridge and back, I didn't have loads of energy for another marathon trek, so I thought a circumnavigation of Diamond Head crater (about 2.5 miles) would fit the bill. Pat Rorie, who also did Halawa, agreed to join me. We met at the pulloff area on the left just before the entrance tunnel and after usual preps started off at 9:40 under clear skies. In addition to the heavily used traditional route inside the crater, there are many exterior trails available to climb to the rim of Diamond Head and the one we chose starts at the turnoff area beneath a sign that states, "No camping. No blah, blah, blah." Laughing to ourselves, we hiked by the sign. Many tourists had congregated at the turnoff area for picture taking and undoubtedly some probably wondered where we were off to. The semi-steep climb to the rim, initially through haole koa and then over a rocky, crumbly path, took about 10 minutes. Once at the top we enjoyed views of ...

One of Hawaii's most famous landmarks is Diamond Head, whose slopes have graced thousands of postcards, magazine ads, and TV backdrops. This much ballyhooed Oahu point of interest is also home to a heavily travelled trail, which I have only hiked once despite living in Hawaii all my life. If you're looking for a more strenuous workout, begin your hike from parking lot fronting the Waikiki Shell. Every Saturday, the Hawaii Clean Air team organizes a hike with the Shell as a starting point. If, on the other hand, you are pressed for time or don't want to overwork yourself, you can drive into the crater via an access tunnel and begin your hike from there. That option will save you about 45 minutes to an hour of road walking. As I mentioned earlier, the trail up Diamond Head is used extensively. Consequently, if you're looking for solitude and being one with nature, look elsewhere. The hike to the top will take about 30 minutes or so. Be prepared for ...

Of the craters on the island of Oahu, the most familiar to residents and visitors are Diamond Head and Koko Head. Fewer know about Ka'au, a small crater tucked against the spine of the Koolaus. Early on this late-October morning, I had the good fortune to join 42 energetic nature trekkers on a Sierra Club-sponsored hike to this beautiful geological landmark in the upper reaches of Palolo Valley. According to Hawaiian legend, Ka'au was formed as a result of an unsuccessful island-unification effort by the demigod Maui. While attempting to consolidate Oahu and Kauai into a single land mass, Maui saw his efforts end when the magic fishing line he had been using suddenly snapped. The huge hook affixed to his line sailed skyward, landing in upper Palolo and forming Ka'au Crater. Geologists tell a different story. In the scientific version of the genesis of Ka'au, the crater was formed from an explosive upswelling of volcanic material from deep within the earth's c...