Ka'ena Point, North entrance (again)

 Hello all, it was the weekend!

I realize I've already hiked this trail from this side before with my sister in an earlier post, found here.

This time, however, I hiked with my mother since she had yet to do the trail herself. She also wrote about this particular hike in her blog "The Walking Hawaiian."

I'm of the opinion that even something done several times before always holds something new each visit if you look. Aiea Loop Trail, for example, surprises me with a fallen tree strewn over the path every venture along up its heights. Ka'ena had some treasures in store too.

Some things of note this time around,we left much earlier and arrived at 8:30 a.m. The route was already hot to start--maybe not as hot as midday when my sister and I went last (10:30 a.m. or so)--but the sun wasted no time beating on our backs and baking the ground. Thrice over and thrice over I agree this place is aptly named "The Heat."

The start of the trail abruptly begins in dirt road.

Mom and I went a bit more prepared for this hike; ice water, sun tan lotion, snacks, everything required for an afternoon dip, but she forgot her phone. So I lent her mine. All the images you see here today are hers!

There weren't too many folks passing us this early to start, but the numbers grew as time went on. Mom and I stuck to the main trail rather than sweeping left and right, dipping up and over the pockmarked 'beachside' road. Mom snapped plenty of pictures along the way, but I felt the real meat of the hike happened at the point.

Here we are at the point again!

It was a beautiful (if hot) day on the western point and we poked around a bit for any Hawaiian monk seals perusing the area. I kept an eye out for what seems to be these animals' favorite spot at a sheltered outcrop of rock and I didn't see any loungers. I indicated the spot to mom and she went to check it out.

Successfully.

"You're in my spot!"

I turned from my vantage point just in time to see this monk seal bark at mom. She said she thought it was a log until it dipped under the surface and came back up again. I trotted over to get a closer look but tried to stay a respectable distance so I wouldn't upset the seal. Mom got a few pictures and I warned that we were supposed to be 150 feet back, so we didn't stray long. Still, I can't argue with the great pictures she got.

I had quite a bit more energy this time around, possibly because we began early enough that I didn't feel so sun-bleached and I climbed all over. I was severely tempted to jump into the crystal cool water, clothes and all.

Yours truly overlooking ocean force meeting stubborn lava rock.

Look at that deep spot at center, it had to be 20' of plunge-worthy diving.

Scrambling over the rock, I shocked a coconut-sized crab from its chilling spot and it kamikazed into the water ten feet below, which surprised a modest school of electric blue fish. I want to say they were uhu fish. The most beautiful blue I've ever seen.

Still scrambling, mom eventually joined me and I called attention to some naturally drying Hawaiian sea salt. Also a number of shed crab exoskeletons. It's so neat exploring inter-tidal zones.

Hawaiian sea salt au naturel. 

On the way back, we pulled off at a spot more welcoming than most of the rocky 'beaches' and took a dip in the water. A school of fishes didn't waste too much time taking shelter beneath us and nibbling at my toes. "Is this dead? Can I eat it?" A couple of the more aggressive fish gave more than an experimental nibble and I felt bad for how hungry the fish must be. I wouldn't have ventured out into deeper waters if I was their size either.

I yanked a plastic bag out of the water, afraid some turtle might eat it thinking its a jellyfish, and I also found a rusty knife!

Acquired one rusty pirate knife.

I thought it was interesting because half of the handle had rusted off and the sand-blasted salt layer abruptly ended in a neat line which suggests the knife was stuck in the water up to the blade. For goodness knows how long. I carried out knife and bag to toss into a garbage can later. Between landfill and ocean, I would pick the landfill. Even if the waste still runs into the water at some point. Huah.

It was a lovely morning/afternoon and a great trail to re-experience! Thanks for the hike, mom.

Happy Monday.

Aiea Loop Trail

Hello everyone, it's the weekend!

Aiea Loop trailhead sign.

Aiea (eye-ay-uh) Loop trail is one of my personal favorites here on the islands. It's a 4.8-mile loop hike set at the very end of Aiea Heights Drive. True to what the drive suggests, the trailhead is buried high and deep in the Aiea valley. I'm always amazed to climb and climb through residential roads and suddenly burst into jungle straight out of Jurassic Park. It's wonderful to escape the bustle on this trail, even if you hear the roar of vehicles along the H3 for the second half of the hike.

I've hiked this trail several times though I usually only go so far as the H3 overlook before heading back the way I came. The H3 as you can see in the bottom right corner of the picture below is one of three major highways in Oahu. The H3 connects the south to the east and is my family's thoroughfare to get to Kaneohe, Kailua, or Bellows (which was mentioned in a previous post.) Otherwise I have to contend with the mud of the 'lower' section and then push my already muscle-torn legs up the steep road back to the car.

I started recording my return trip from the H3 overlook, so really I hiked 3.16 miles.

There is plenty of skirting mud pits, picking over roots, ducking fallen trees, jumping fallen trees, and hills to fill in the first 'half' of the hike--so my roughly 3-mile stint is satisfying. It also doesn't take an eagle eye to see feral pig signs all along the trail--any spot with churned up mud details a pretty picture of pigs rooting around for, well, roots. And in the right season, the trees will either be in bloom or fruiting. It's not quite as fun catching the after-fruiting season because flora like this strawberry guava drop, rot, attract insects and generally stink.

This trail gets very muddy too. I remember thinking I would hike Aiea a couple days after a storm and it would be fine. Wrong. The trail started out dry enough but the farther you push into the jungle, the larger the mud puddles become. Being stubborn, I threaded my way to the H3 overlook and returned topside with brown shoes, brown legs to the knee, and funny looks.

These puddles will stick around for days and lift your shoes if you're not careful.

But when the trail is dry, it's great! There are some sections that are very narrow and you're rarely far from a drop off. You might have one hand on the wall as you lean away from sheer plunge. Every time I hike this trail there's some new surprise. A new fallen tree blocking the path or having torn out an entire section of trail. I'm not sure who comes in and hacks notches into the more stubborn trees, but it makes the going a bit easier--especially when the other options are belly-crawl under or risk a tumble over. 

Hand and foot notches in one fallen tree along the first half of the trail. 

I do have a couple favorite spots along the trail as well. The sudden wide expanses of eucalyptus trees are a heartsore for me. The dapple of light and whiff of faint but sharp citrus is what really makes me love this hike. There are no falls here. There is a creek hikers cross at what I lovingly refer to as the humid 'lower' section of the trail; literally a hop or skip or jump to ford before you wend your way back up out of the valley.

My favorite spot--a paperbark grove roughly one mile in from the upper parking lot.

I notice most folks seem to pass me in the opposite direction, which means they start the trail in the lower parking lot and enter the nondescript tunnel of floral to begin their trail. I enjoy starting in the upper lot which I believe is the actual trailhead because all the signs and warnings are listed there. Granted, you do have to make that horrible long haul up at the very end when you're already exhausted.

For any interested in hiking Aiea Loop: Bring plenty of water, sunscreen, bug spray (although I usually don't have any bug troubles), an umbrella, and ignore the smaller 'branch' trails. Those are pig trails. There are also a couple other trails that branch off from the Loop but the Loop trail is often the wider course, so stick to that and you shouldn't have any troubles.

Enjoy and happy Saturday!

The H3 overlook as seen from the crest of Aiea Loop. 

Ka'ena Point Hike

Hello everyone, it's the weekend!

Ka'ena Point is the westernmost point on Oahu "ka'ena" in Hawaiian means "the heat." No small wonder that. Both times I've hiked to the point have been in the sun with a hot wind on my shoulder, so to speak. The mountainsides are often parched and shade is sparse, but a number of animals and vegetation call Ka'ena home.

I hiked from the North Shore entrance with my sister back at the end of March. It says about 6 miles, I started the log late. We did a lot of stopping too (so I could take pictures) but it was lovely. And hot!

This is the hike I did today with my friend and her hubby. I only recorded us going one way. It was an earlier start so slightly less hot. But still hot!

The uneven road leads to a Natural Area Reserve for moli (Laysan albatross) and wedge-tailed shearwater, which is actually fenced off from rats and other opportunistic animals prowling nests. There are also a number of native plants inside the reserve under the same protection. Hikers have to pass through a double-door enclosure to get inside and must stay on a marked trail for the remainder of the hike.

Fun fact: Some ancient stories depict Ka'ena as the launching point for souls bound for the after life.

All right, I've actually done this hike in two parts. The first time I went with my sister from the northern entrance (and these are the pictures you will see below) roughly a month ago during the heat of the day. The second time, today, I went with a good friend of mine and her husband from the western entrance. Most of the other Hawaiian isles have a road that goes around the entire island. This is not the case in Oahu. Our roads dead-end at Ka'ena Point.

I participated in geocaching on today's hike rather than taking pictures, which I really enjoyed! Modern treasure hunting, ahoy!

A young Hawaiian Monk seal takes a nap in the sand.

Having done the entire hike from both sides, albeit on different days at different times, I can say that the western entrance is much easier to walk as the northern has potholes galore. However, the northern entrance treated us to many more welcoming little coves to explore and swim and we were treated to many more animal sightings. I'll make a list!

North Shore (northern) 2.5 mi; 5 mi round-trip                

PROS

-Faster to get to (less lights)                                              

-Plenty of native wildlife to see                                        

-Plenty of little private coves to dive into and explore                                                                

                                            

CONS

-It's hot                                                                       

-The terrain is really rough and four-wheel drivers are everywhere       

-No restrooms       

Waianae (western) 2.5 mi; 5 mi round-trip

PROS

 -Mostly even terrain for hiking

 -Less competition for parking

 -Less four-wheelers squeezing you out on the path

CONS

-It's hot

-The road is washed out toward the end, you'll have to do some minor climbing. 

-No restrooms                                                  

I highly recommend anyone who goes on these hikes to bring plenty of water and sun tan lotion and to leave early enough to beat the heat. I hiked the first time right around 11 a.m. and it was a scorcher the entire way. I'm not one to walk around with my shirt off unless I'm swimming, but I did that day. After swimming. Which was perfect after hiking the bulk of the trip.

LOOK--A WHALE!

Both entrances lead to the point and are roughly a 2.5 mi trail, which ends up being a 5-mile hike there and back again. Set aside a good 3 hours for this one. And seriously, the earlier you can trot this beast, the better. Not only will you get better parking, but you'll only overheat for maybe half the hike.

Ka'ena Point, the westernmost point on Oahu. If you look closely, you can spot two monk seals. Can you find them?

Other than the blazing sun, little shade, and bumpy terrain in spots, this makes for a nice hike. And the views are gorgeous!

Looking back toward Oahu, the path splits east and south.

The first time I hiked this trail, my sister and I walked from North Shore, which lies in this direction.

And for the second hike my friends and I came up from Waianae. 

Fun fact: The point was named after one of Madame Pele's, the volcano goddess, brothers.

My sister was game to go swimming in one of the inlets on my first hike and that was awesome and totally refreshing. The second time I got to geocache with my friend Michelle and her hubby. It's a lot of fun hunting around for the containers and seeing what little treasures are in them. It's also neat to see other people 'playing' this worldwide game and the last time the cache was 'looted' so to speak. 

Either way gets you to the point and either way has its pros and cons, but it is a hike I recommend all visitors to Hawaii (and residents for that matter) do, if not to take in the scorched western side, than to see some native flora and fauna and take a dip!

Happy Sunday.