Kalihi Ice Ponds

This should be a nice quick post about a nice quick hike.  The Kalihi Ice Ponds have been a favorite watering hole for locals for many years.  This is one of those out-of-the-way places that many people don't know about.  Often, you might only see a few other people, which is rare here on Oahu.  In fact, I didn't see a single other person for the few hours I was on this trail and at the ponds.

Here's my disclaimer up front: climbing wet rocks and jumping into shallow pools are bad ideas.  Please only attempt this if you believe in Darwinism and have not yet contributed to the gene pool.  The only way I even know about this hike is because of a news story where rescuers had to pull someone from here several months ago.  Also, if the rocks don't get you leptospirosis might.  So if you decide to partake in this hike and you end up dead and/or diseased, don't hold it against the creators of Haole Hiking.

A sign line this is where all good Hawaii hikes begin.

So with that ugly mess out of the way, let's talk about the hike.  According to Yelp, this is supposed to be an easy hike and a nice place to go swimming.  None of the reviews gave very detailed hiking instructions, though.  They all said "go around the gate and you'll eventually see the path heading down."

A good reminder to respect da land, bruddah

So of course I peeked my head into everything that even remotely looked like a path, to no avail.  I actually turned around at one point because I was sure I had passed it.



Here are more accurate directions for anyone who may be attempting to find it:  go around the big barbed wire fence with the "no trespassing" signs, go over a small cracked bridge, pass by a large water tank with "inspiring" phrases painted by local "artists," go past an abandoned building with colorful designs (also by local "artists"), continue past the abandoned/burned car/go cart, slink around the large tree limb literally suspended by a live power line, then turn right when you can see the Likelike highway on your left.  Easy enough, right?

wanna go for a ride?

Most of this hike is actually on an access road used to maintain the water tank.  The first 25% or so is actually well-paved and maintained.  After that, all bets are off.  There are parts where there used to be asphalt but now are potholes and drainage ditches (mother nature always takes over).  The hike is more serene than this description makes it out to be.  You are walking through the jungle with the sounds of rushing water all around you.  It is a pleasant and secluded nature walk.

"Why can't today be the best day of your life?"  Thanks, local graffiti artist. This message literally just changed my life!

The turnoff to get down to the falls is pretty close to what looks like the end of the path.  Someone used a large tree branch to block the path so you know where to turn.  That was helpful.

This is the actual place you turn to go down.  Obvious, right?

To get down to the falls, I had to channel my inner spider monkey.  You are presented with what looks like a giant water slide, but with mud instead of water.  How fun!  Fortunately someone put up ropes so you don't fall on your okole.  Trust in the ropes, and they will set you free.

Finally, the waterfall!  I was pleased and surprised to have this place all to myself.  Had I come on the weekend I bet there would have been a handful of other people there, but not the throngs of tourists like you would find at Manoa or Waimea Falls.  It is allegedly a 3-tier waterfall with the other two tiers above the larger one.  There is another rope up the side of the big waterfall for easy access to the other falls, a good cliff diving spot, and a great place to get a concussion.  Needless to say I didn't venture up the wet rocks to see what was up there.

You know you have been in Hawaii too long when you start to get picky about your waterfalls.  I found this one to be "pleasant," but not as spectacular as the reviews suggest.  The large downed trees make it difficult to get around (not to mention how difficult it is to get a good composition for the photos). Perhaps it's the swimming that makes this place great, but as I already said I didn't come here to get in the water.

Something doesn't quite fit here.  It looks like someone wasn't "malama-ing" the "aina"

Overall, this was a very easy and serene hike.  It was worth the trip once but I don't think I'll be finding my way back here anytime soon.

King Kamehameha III Summer Palace and Waterfall

Aloha and Mahalo Nui Loa for once again navigating the interwebs and stumbling on this humble blog post.  I recently visited a historic site here in Hawaii- the summer palace for King Kamehameha III. This post will carry a different tone than my normal posts.  I will attempt to tone down the snark out of respect for the Hawaiians, who truly treasure this site I am about to mention.

The Hawaiian people have a very long and rich history.  They are a very spiritual people.  They greatly revere their ancestors and treasure their history.  Modern Hawaiians strive to preserve the ancient culture by protecting historical sites and by teaching language, arts, dance, and other cultural aspects practiced by their ancestors.

Kapu.  This is the Hawaiian word meaning "sacred" or "forbidden."  There are many kapu sites in the islands- heiaus (temples), birthing sites, graveyards, etc.  The site that is the focus of this entry is one of these kapu sites.  It is a sacred place to the Hawaiians and its preservation is very important to them.  Out of respect to the native Hawaiians, I will not post directions to this place.  There are many jackass hikers/tourists that don't respect the land.  They leave their trash lying around, they move the rocks, they take flowers and other offerings laid at this site, and they generally don't care about protecting the land.  Some people even come here to conduct modeling photo shoots.  If you are intent on visiting this place, there are plenty of places to get directions on the interwebs.  Just please understand this is a sacred site and treat it as such.  Think of it as a cemetery- would you do a fashion shoot or throw your trash on the ground in a cemetery?

I call this a "hike," but it really is a leisurely stroll through the forest.  It is conveniently located close to a major road, but its entrance is so cleverly masked that you need to know where it is or else you would never stumble across it.  The path itself is somewhat interesting in that you are wandering through a bamboo forest and have to climb over, under, around, and through fallen trees and other objects.

What we have here are the remnants of the summer palace of King Kamehameha III.  It is in a mountainous area of Oahu, and therefore is much cooler than Honolulu.  It is easy to see why the king would live up here during the hot summer months in a time before air conditioning.  I have a fantastic 360 degree photo of the place from the center of the structure, but I can't get the file small enough for Blogger to accept it.  Sorry, folks.

This might not look big enough to be a royal palace by western standards.  It looks like little more than a cabin in the woods.  However, consider that Hawaiians didn't (and still don't) really live indoors like most Americans do.  They used the house for sleeping, and that's about it.  They spent most of their time outdoors.  Cooking, hunting, gardening, and socializing all were outdoor activities to the Hawaiians.  Even today, if you stroll through the neighborhoods of Hawaii you will find people on their lawns eating food, playing with kids, or just sitting and enjoying the weather.  They don't have to deal with cold or inclement weather out here, so there's nothing keeping them indoors.

As you walk around the site, you can feel the mana, or spirit, flowing through the site.  It feels as though this continues to be a gathering place for the ancient Hawaiian spirits.  I wish I knew more about this site.  Just walking around I was trying to reconstruct the place in my head.  I guessed where the gathering places were, where the imu (cooking pit) was, and how the king had his sleeping quarters.  I would love to see an actual artist rendering of this place.

The photo below shows some interesting objects I found hanging in one of the tree.  I have no clue what they are or what they are for.  I assume they are some sort of wind chime or offering to the ancestors or something to that effect.  They are man made and hung by fishing line, so I know someone put them there.  If you know what they are, please leave me a comment.

A bit further down the path there is a nice little waterfall.  This was a great place for me to set up and try some long exposure photography.  I wish I had used a polarizer to take some of the glare off the water, but I didn't think I needed it since it was so cloudy and covered by the trees.  In any event, this was a peaceful place to stop for a bit.  I actually got confused and crossed the stream because I saw a trail marker.  I thought the trail continued.  If it did, it was not very well marked or worn.  I decided it was time to turn back.

This was a very short hike that was more of a nature walk than anything.  It was fascinating to experience a bit of Hawaiian culture like this.  Part of me wishes someone would take control of this, restore it, and allow visitors, but that would cheapen the land and make it more of a tourist attraction than a sacred site.  In any event, this was a very good trip for me.

Koko Head (AKA, the ultimate stairmaster)

This post is about one of the most deceptively difficult hikes here on Oahu.  Koko Head Crater hike seems like it should be pretty straightforward and easy.

"A hike on an old rail bed? No problem!"

"1.5 miles round trip?  No sweat!"

"I climb 2 flights of stairs to my desk every day, so this will basically be the same."

"I did Diamond Head yesterday. Koko Head is basically the same, right?"

Wrong.  This hike will destroy your legs and make your heart pump out of your chest while vertigo threatens to rip you right off the side of the mountain.

OK, so it's not that bad.  However, most people underestimate this hike for one reason or another, and you find them on the side of the trail halfway up sucking wind as though they were climbing Everest. 

This hike has 1,048 old railroad ties that act as stairs.  To put this in perspective, the Statue of Liberty has 358 stairs, and the Tower formerly known as Sears in Chicago has 2,109 stairs.  Hiking Koko Head is like climbing the Statue of Liberty thrice, or ascending halfway up the Willis Tower.

Standing at the bottom of the hike looking up at the feat that lies ahead, one can quickly regret the decision to come out here at all.  However, you see so many other people of all ages and levels of fitness, so you tell yourself it's not going to be that bad.  Up you go.

The trail starts off relatively flat and gains elevation gradually.  You tell yourself you are doing awesomely well.  You start climbing a little faster, maybe even taking two stairs at a time.  Then the hard parts really kick in.  Before you are 25% of the way up you will swear to yourself the air is thinner up there.  It's really not.

Before long you will be telling your hiking partner that you need to stop to, um, admire the view.  That is a good excuse because you will quickly get some nice views of Hanauma Bay and East Oahu.  Your friend will only buy that excuse so many times, so you will have to think of a better one before your lungs fail you again.

At this point, you probably wish you had decided to go snorkeling instead.

So you press on.  About two thirds of the way up you come to an interesting decision point.  Here you find a small rail bridge.  Well, it looks small, but there is quite a drop.  So your choices are thus: try to cross this bridge that will make you feel like you are in an Indiana Jones movie, or take the easy path that only kids and dogs use.

Safety standards?  We don't need no stinkin' safety standards!

After you take the side path and meet up with the rail again, the hike only gets tougher.  The climb gets more vertical, and the steps seem farther apart. The first time I did this hike, I had to stop about every 10 steps or so to catch my breath.  You will want to rest frequently.  Please resist the urge to shove those health nuts that have already sprinted past you about 5 times while doing laps up and down.  (Is this fun to them?)

I feel your pain, #23

One more hump to go and you can see the goal.  You probably have never been happier to see a dilapidated, graffiti-ed old building as you approach the summit.  Once you reach step #1048, you are so proud of yourself for accomplishing this and so elated by the stunning views that you almost forget you have to do the whole thing again, but going down.  You then wish there was a zipline here to take you all the way back down.  (How cool would that be?!?!)  I swear Honolulu County is missing out on a great money making opportunity here.

At the top of the railway, you have some side paths that lead to stunning views of East Oahu and beyond.  Even though you just hauled up all those stairs, it's worth the little bit more for a very scenic place to suck down water.

Last time I was there, I noticed this Prayer Box.  I can only assume it is so you can pray to make it down without tumbling and hitting all 1,048 rail ties on the way down.

On the way back down, you might be pretty proud of yourself for making it all the way up the mountain.  You might also be thinking "remember that bridge I was scared of?  I think I'll try to cross it this time."  This is one of those times you need to tell your inner monologue to take a back seat.  If you think this bridge is scary going up, it is that much more so going down because of a thing called gravity.  Just take the side road again, but feel free to tell your beer buddies that you conquered that bridge like a boss.

 This truly is a fantastic hike.  It is a fairly short hike despite all the stopping.  It offers fantastic views of the island, and you will feel like a champion for making it all the way up and down again.  Way to go you.  Now head over to Kona Brewing Company for some beer and lunch.  You earned it.

Lanikai Pillbox Hike (Ka'iwa Ridge Trail)

This hike is one of my absolute favorite hikes on the island.  It is short, kid-friendly, close to my house, and offers a relatively high reward for the little amount of effort it takes to get here.  It offers fantastic sweeping views of the windward side of Oahu from Kaneohe all the way to Waimanalo, Bellows, and beyond.  It prominently features the two mascots of Kailua and Lanikai- the Mokulua Islands.

Na Mokulua, the official name for the islands, means "the two islands" in Hawaiian. (I believe "Na" itself is short for "Na Really").  The one on the left is Moku Nui.  The one on the right is Moku Iki.  Most people just call them "the Mokes."

Both are bird sanctuaries and visits are regulated by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.  Many people kayak there from Kailua Beach, but you must buy a permit for landing on the beach of Moku Nui.  Moku Iki doesn't have a beach at all, so it's not really possible to land a kayak there.

Hey man, you're wrecking my aloha

The one bad thing about this hike is parking is extremely limited.  There are a few spots on the side of the road near the trail head, but once those are taken you must use street parking in front of someone's house.  As you can imagine, the locals have had many problems with hikers blocking driveways, leaving trash in their yards, using their hoses without permission, being loud and disruptive, and other such lapses in common courtesy.  If you hike here (or anywhere, really), be respectful of the residents and act like you are a guest on their land.

This hike is a fairly short climb through a wooded area followed by a bit of ridge walking.  My wife gets scared every time we let the kids wander around by themselves because she is afraid they will go tumbling down the mountain.  I am proud to say we have yet to lose a kid on this hike.

The trail leads to two World War II-era defensive positions (hence the "Pillbox").  The large guns and other fun stuff have long since been removed, but you are instead treated to a gallery of artwork from local youths.

I am told the trail continues to a third pillbox, but most people turn around at the second pillbox.  I have never ventured much past #2, despite the many times I have done this hike.

One of the things I like best about this hike is the opportunity to see just how clear the water is over here.  The light blue colors are the sand, the brownish colors are the coral.  Look how easy it is to see to the bottom even from this height.  (This also makes for great snorkeling)

Many people venture here to watch the sun rise.  I am normally not that masochistic.  However, I did make it up here one morning that I woke up early intending to do the Haiku Stairs again, but was turned away by some local fuzz. I think it worked out well for me.

I had the pillboxes to myself for a few hours and I took the opportunity to attempt some star trails.

Overall, this is a fantastic hike with a great payoff for a little amount of effort.  I would recommend this to anyone.