HikeOneHikeAll Hawaii: 2013

This past November one of my old hiking partners came back to Hawaii to visit and stayed with my wife and I for a few weeks. We were looking to do a somewhat short hike in (time wise) knowing that my wife had to work around 3pm and and we wanted to be home by around 1pm. We set off from the trailhead at the top of Aiea Heights drive at the Keaiwa Heiau state park around 730 am with the intentions of setting a fast pace (the parks gates don't open until 7am I believe). We parked near the restroom area in the back part of the park and set off on the very popular Aiea loop trail. We knew that the Aiea Ridge trail was around eleven miles round trip but figured that the mileage could be done alot faster than most people we had talked to had said it took them. We began looking for the Aiea Ridge trail which juts off of the Aiea Loop trail. After about 20 or so minutes on the Aiea Loop trail we found the very obvious junction for the Aiea Ridge trail veering left and up, off of the Aiea Loop trail. A very short time after this junction the H-3 came into sight to our right. It was still early and the cloud cover was minimal making for a beautiful but very hot day. We kept a steady pace and the trail was very straight forward from here on out. It was gradual climb after gradual climb with a few steep climbs thrown into the mix every now and again. After an hour or so we reached a small clearing to our right with some sleeping bags there. Odd to me that very good sleeping bags were just left, but, oh well. We grabbed some water, snapped a few picutures and on we went.

Our next stop was about 30 minutes further along the ridge when we arrived at a peak with a huge grassy clearing, which was Puu Kawipo'o. We sat down at this point and basked in the views and relaxed for awhile. From this big grassy knoll we could see the top of the last peak we were aiming for and the power lines and ridge that lead to the true summit of Aiea Ridge. We were stoked because we knew we were in for a treat because there was virtually no clouds in the sky. We continued on at a quick pace but picked it up a tad bit in anticipation of the views that lied ahead. A few more steep climbs up to a couple more false peaks and then we arrived at an enormous clearing with an incredible overlook of the windward side. From Kaneohe Bay to the Kaneohe sandbar and all the way down to chinamans hat, the views were magnificent and incredibly clear. We took a few minutes gawking in awe of the views and then quickly made our way to the right, towards the powerline towers, and towards the true summit of Aiea Ridge. After about 5 minutes we had reached the "true summit" and once on the actual "KST" and on the edge of the mountains, the views were even more beautiful. I wished we'd had the time to crossover to waimano on this day, being that the weather was so clear, but those days will always be available in the future. We spent about ten minutes relaxing and talking about how beautiful the day and the views were. We could see from Kaneohe Bay on our right all the way to Chinamans Hat and Kaneohoalani and Puu Ohulehule on our right with the Valley of the Temples directly in front and beneath us. The views were absolutely breath takeing.

After plenty of pictures and some hydrating we started to make our way back down the ridge. We didn't make the time we had planned on or thought we would but we arrived back at the Keaiwa Heiau parking lot around 1pm, with plenty of time to spare. The hike could take a lot more or less time depending on who's doing it. My buddy and I were incredibly impressed with the trail on this day. The summit views were some of the best I have seen. If the day is clear, this is undeniably one of the better ridges to hit, all though, it seems to be one of the ridges that is socked in with clouds most of the time. All in all it was a great first hike with my buddy who had just arrived back in town. We even managed to make time to stop on the way home to grab a few slurpees before heading back home and handing the car over to my wife to go to work. My final opinion of Aiea Ridge: A very fun and worthwhile hike with stupendous views if you go on the right day. A hike every resident on Oahu must do but under the right conditions to see it at it's best. Another great day on the trails and the following weeks would prove to be even better and more entertaining.

Directions to Aiea Ridge Trail (Keaiwa Heiau State Park): Coming from the airport, take Kamehameha Hwy. heading west. Take the H1-78 E ramp toward Aiea/Honolulu. Keep left to take the ramp toward Aiea. Turn left onto Moanalua Road and then shortly after make a right onto Aiea Heights Drive. Stay on Aiea Heights Drive for a few miles. When it ends you will enter Keaiwa Heiau State Park and take the right fork towards the back of the park. Park in the very back of the park in the stalls near the restroom area. The trail starts to the left of the restrooms.

The entire Koolau Range was clear on this day

The H3 snakeing it's way through the mountains

The 2nd grassy knoll we came to, Puu Kawipo'o, which made for

a great spot to take a short break.

Looking towards the summit. The

entire ridge is incredibly easy to follow.

Looking back towards the start of the trail with

the Waianae Mt. Range in the background.

At the enormous grassy knoll just before the

"true summit". The power line tower and ridge in

front of us is part of the Koolu Summit Trail.

Just about to reach the actual summit of Aiea

Ridge, with the H3 visible on the left side of the

picture and the huge grassy knoll we had just rested

at visible on the far right side of the pic.

Another view of the H3

My buddy makeing his way towards me on the

summit of Aiea Ridge.

At the Aiea Ridge summit terminus. Looking out

towards the valley of the temples and the Kaneohe

Sandbar.

Looking out towards Kaneohe Bay.

Another summit view of the Kaneohe Sandbar

and Chinamans Hat with Kaneohoalani in the far

left of the picture.

Terminus of the Aiea Ridge summit and

connector with the "KST", looking out at the Valley

of the Temples.

Panoramic view from the summit.

Back on the Aiea Loop trail and almost back to

the start of the trail.

Reaching the very beginnging of the hike and the

parking lot where we began.

Well, I haven't blogged in about four or five months but I decided a few days ago to try and get back into it. I'm so far behind and I haven't even uploaded pictures to my computer from about my last twenty hikes. I hope to get to some of my recent hikes very soon but for now i'm just gonna write about some of my adventures from last year.

Around April of last year my wife and I spent a beautiful clear day hiking in Waianae. At the end of the day we decided to make the quick trek to Upper Makua Cave for sunset. The hike starts just past the very well known "Makua Cave" on Farrington Highway. The cave is nestled into the mountain a few hundred yards above and to the left of the more popular "Makua Cave". Instead of parking in the pullout by Makua Cave, we drove about 30 seconds further along the highway and parked off the road immediately after the 15 mph speed limit sign. The trail starts pretty much right there. It was insanely hot out and for some reason we decided not to bring water along since we knew it was gonna be a short trip. Big mistake, because after a few minutes in the Waianae heat I was begging for water. The trail is very obvious pretty much the whole way and the incline is fairly steep for the majority of the short trip. The ground was covered with crumbly rock but the hike up was pretty easy and tame, all though a little tiring. There looked to be a trail going right to the cliffs edge so I followed it but it dead ended. I backtracked and continued going up, where we found another trail going right towards the cliffs edge and towards the ocean. We followed it for about five minutes and upon veering left around a rock face, we arrived at Upper Makua Cave. There's actually two caves, the first being rather small but the second fairly large. The views were outstanding, especially since it was an extraordinarily clear day out. We found a goat skull in the large cave and hung out for some time, awaiting sunset and trying to avoid a few angry wasps. We had to wait a rather long time for sunset due to the fact that the hike up only took about 15 minutes, when we had figured it would take a good amount longer. We didn't mind though and enjoyed the views from the cave while takeing some pictures and just soaking in the serenity of the place.

Finally the sun went down and we decided to head back down to our car. The sunset from the cave wasn't all that great and it wasn't nearly as good of a spot to watch the sunset as I thought it would be. The view was kind of obscured but it was still nice. This a great little hike though, especially for those who like quick treks with gorgeous views. Due to the short distance, it's definetly a place I will always stop by every time I am in the area. After arriving back at our car and not willing to call it sa day just yet, my wife and I stopped by a nearby beach and took a bunch of nighttime photos from the lifeguard stand and other areas and just enjoyed the peaceful quietness on the beach. After a good amount of time we reluctantly headed out and back towards home with the only diversion between us and our bed, being a stop at 7-eleven for some tasty slurpees.