All I can say about this hike is that its purely an endurance hike.The hike is about 6mi long and takes
about 5hrs or so to complete, a definate leg burner. I did this hike with a friend, Kaleo, about two years ago. It was my first hiked and it confined me to my house for about a week. Haha. My legs never felt so
destroyed. Scott, his girlfriend, Mato and I met up around 0645am. Everyone ready to go. We set out for Aina Haina. We got to the trail head about 8am-ish. We got ready and started at exactly 0822am. Not
long after I led everyone astray. Oops. A minor detour. Maybe about 10min max. We got back on the
main trail and headed mauka for less than 5min and found the main junction. We took a few switch
backs, then proceeded up. All cardio the rest of the way. A few flat rest spots along the way, but it's
better to just push on. Along the way, we passed numerous native hawaiian plants. Hopefully in later
blogs I can be more informative about them. Anyways. We rested at a little mossy patch before we madeour ascent to the summit. We made our way up a steep hill, aided by ropes for the last 100ft or so. After summiting we all took a nice long breather before making our way across the ridge to Wiliwili Nui.
Note: watch your footing along the ridge. Its super slippery especially after rain... Mato slipped about 10 times along the way. Along the ridge you get a nice view from Waimanalo to Chinaman's Hat. All I can say is its an AWSOME view. Along the ridge there is one rope section. Not anything serious. It took all of 30min to cross the ridge. Pictures included. When we got to Wiliwili Nui there were a few people
there. They asked us "where the hell we came from" and " we didn't know that was possible". Funny.
We took a short rest and headed back toward the car. Stairs and ropes. Thats all I can say for the way down till the jeep road. Once at the jeep road, we made our way down till we hit the junction to the valley. Make sure you take the right junction, because the first time I did this. We went down the wrong way,
nothing but cliff. Anyhoo, it's pretty much just guava on the way down. About an hour and a half then
we made it back down to the main trail. Long slow moving hike... but worth every minute.... chee.
Some pictures taken by Mato. Please don't take pictures without permission. Mahalo
Directions: The trail head is at the end of Hao Street. To get to Hao Street drive along Kalanianaole Highway to Aina Haina. Turn Mauka on either West Hind Drive then or East Hind Drive. At the intersection with Hind Iuka Drive turn Mauka and continue till you come to the Elementary School on your left. Turn left there onto Ani Street for one block. Turn Mauka onto Hao Street and continue to the end of the road. Park along the curb.
Tired just looking at it.
First rope section
Last rest before the final push.
A look back at Aina Haina.
Good view of Koko Head.
View of Olomana and Kailua.
Waimanalo.
A look down the Ko'olau Range toward Kaneohe.
Photo:Mato
The view from Wiliwili Nui.
Diamond Head and Honolulu in the background.
Yay, the gate.
