Olomana P1K
Ahiki
Crouching Lion
Turnover BM P1K

Jun 13, 2014
Etymology
Story Photos / Slideshow Maps: 1 2 GPXs: 1 2 3 Profiles: 1 2
Olomana later climbed Dec 28, 2016
Crouching Lion later climbed Dec 24, 2016

Continued...

Having done a good deal of hiking on five of the Hawaiian islands by now (three on this trip so far), I have come to the conclusion that almost all of the best hiking is on Oahu. Part of it is due to geography, the island blessed with two rugged ranges covered in lush tropical flora. Only Kauai seems to be to be more beautiful. The other factor has to do with the much larger population on Oahu which gives rise to a very active and dedicated hiking club that has opened, and kept open with regular grooming a large number of hiking trails. Many of these follow incredibly scenic and highly exposed ridgelines unrivaled on the other islands and for that matter on the mainland. Today's agenda included three relatively short outings, but all three individually offered the finest scrambling I had yet encountered on Oahu, including the first day's visit to Kaala (which I would put at a close 4th).

Olomana

Stuart Ball, in his Hiker's Guide to O'ahu describes Olomana as Oahu's version of the Matterhorn. That's a bit dramatic, but this is a fun hike. A good description can also be found on SummitPost. It has three summits, the highest being the first and easiest to reach. The second is only slightly harder and the third is where you get your money's worth. Ropes have been set up for assistance on all three summits, though they are really only necessary with wet/slippery conditions. Without using the ropes, the first two are no more than class 3, the third class 3-4. I was lucky enough to have dry conditions on my visit - in poor weather the ratings would go right to class 5 and the ropes would be a godsend.

I was not the first to the trailhead though I started at the wee hour just before 6a. I parked on the "less safe" Luana Hills Rd just before the entrance to the golf course. I don't know why he described it as such, but it's the closest parking and seemed perfectly safe to me. One hikes up the golf course entrance road past a first guard station. A sign here indicates "No Biking/No Jogging/No Hunting/No Skateboarding" that almost makes you think you shouldn't be there. But it doesn't say No Hiking or No Trespassing, and in fact there is a public easement to reach the signed start of the trail before a second guard station.

The trail goes past an abandoned concrete home deep in the forest before climbing up to the start of the NW Ridge at a junction. Follow the more used path to the right and climb through a small stand of very tall evergreens before starting more steeply up the ridge. About a third of the way up I came across a couple pausing to catch their breath, a man in his 40s and a woman about ten years younger. She commented, "Oh, I thought WE were the early birds!" upon seeing me come up from behind. The man immediately got up and continued up the trail at a good clip, his companion right behind. Evidently it seemed they wanted to get there first. Clearly he underestimated my ability to follow or his own to lead out in front, because not 200yds later he pulled up suddenly, his breath heaving - he needed another rest. I continued ahead on my own.

I eschewed the ropes/cables because the trail was dry and the scrambling was more enjoyable without them. It took just about an hour to reach the first summit, the final obstacle a near vertical section of perhaps 15ft with excellent holds. This mountain has been climbed by so many thousands that pretty much all the loose rock has been knocked off. After taking a few pictures, I continued on to the second and third summits in succession, taking another 20 minutes to reach the last at the southern end of the ridge. There is a fairly significant drop right off the south side of the second summit to a deep notch before one climbs up to the third summit. Ropes dangled down for most of the downclimb and the steeper sections of the uphill to the third summit were likewise provided. The scramble up to the third has been described as a thrilling, nerve-wracking knife-edge, but I found it no such thing. The ridge seemed plenty wide and there was only one exposed step around that had a handline for security. The ridge climbs in the Koolau Range I thought were much more hair-raising.

From the third summit I continued a short distance south along the ridge, noting it appears to continue down in that direction. Having no idea where it might end up and how to get back around to the car, I chose to do the standard retreat back over the other two summits. I could see the couple on the highpoint as I was leaving the third summit, but they were gone before I reached it for the second time. I caught up with them again on the downclimb, this time his companion needing more time as she seemed uncomfortable with the steep section down through and around tree roots. We spoke a second time, this time more friendly, he was impressed that I had never been up there before. "A lot of people have died doing that traverse," he said, "myself included." I kinda smiled and offered that he looked pretty good, considering. "Well, I mean I almost died, but I turned around where the route goes around a corner with a huge drop off to one side." I knew the part he referred to and would have to agree that is the most exposed. But I didn't use the handline available and still only thought it class 3. The exposure is something though, if you're not used to it.

I met a few other parties on their way up as I continued down - this was as popular a hike as I had been led to believe - just past 8a and already there were 4-5 parties on the route. I returned to the golf course road, exchanged waves with the Hawaiian guard at the entrance booth, and returned to my car. A fine scramble, that one!

Lanihuli

Two days earlier I had attempted Lanihuli in the afternoon, a harrowing ridge climb from the Pali Lookout, about 1.5mi and 1,500ft to the P1K summit north of the lookout. Tired, late in the afternoon and lowering clouds had me turn around. But I had this on my mind ever since and was determined to make a better show of it.

Undoubtedly, it is the most difficult climb I've yet found on the island. Much of it is along a highly sawtoothed ridge, often little more than a foot wide and hugely exposed. A strong wind blows over the ridge from the east, adding to the challenge. My second effort was better, but again I came up short, only about 1/10th mile past my turnaround the first time. I had surmounted the frighteningly steep section with a thin rope for aide and gone on to a second one. But the route seemed to become more unstable, more overgrown, and the aid ropes, even if partly only psychologically helpful, seemed to disappear. I found myself looking up a steep, narrow section with loose conditions, poor holds and no aid. I looked at the GPS which showed I'd gone about 8/10th of a mile and still had almost 6/10th to go. Though it looked easier near the top, the next few hundred yards were downright scary. This time I turned around feeling I had given it my best effort. I could not blame weather, or being tired, or not having enough time - the route was simply beyond my ability. I'd still like to find a way to reach Lanihuli, but this route from the Pali Lookout will not be it.

Manamana

There are a number of steep, isolated ridges along the windward coast between Kaneohe Bay to the south and Kahana Bay to the north. Manamana is the most prominent of these (a P1K) at just over 2,000ft elevation. A difficult, jaw-dropping route is described by Ball in his guidebook, and it was here that I headed for the last of the day's adventures. I followed the loop in the direction he described, going up the NE Ridge by way of the Crouching Lion, down the extra-steep N Ridge, dropping 2,000ft in less than a mile. The route up is simply stunning, with awesome vistas looking along the coast north and south, incredible volcanic cliffs blanketed in green all around. The route starts off steeply and stays that way for a long time. It takes only a few minutes before the views open up to Kahana Bay and the ancient fish pond looking north. I took a 15min diversion to pay a visit to the summit of Crouching Lion overlooking the coast and surrounding neighborhoods. There are some ropes to help with the steep part, but like Olomana, they are really only needed in wet conditions - in dry conditions like I found it is no more than class 3.

The route continues for almost 2mi before reaching the highpoint at Turnover BM. Before reaching it, I came across two parties going the other direction. The first was a pair of 20-something males, one of them shirtless and singing all the while. They were having even more fun than myself. The second was a young couple going much slower and not looking to be enjoying themselves. They asked how much further (halfway) and how much longer (it took me 1hr40m to that point). They were dejected by the first answer, but perked up at the second, especially when I mentioned it was almost all downhill. Only later did I realize why they weren't having so much fun. The most enjoyable part of the route was the ascent up to Turnover BM. The small grassy summit offered a nice place for me to relax for a bit and take in the views. I couldn't find the benchmark, but I did find two reference marks (I dug around in the grass at the intersection of the two arrows, but found nothing).

It was the descent that proved annoying and probably why the second party was not having so much fun. The upper half of the route is terribly overgrown by scratchy ferns (I was at least wearing long pants, unlike the couple) and quite muddy even though it had been two days since it last rained. Having enjoyed dry boots these past few days, I was annoyed to find them getting sucked into the muck. The ferns were grabbing at me and tripping me up with frustrating regularity. I had been having the time of my life only a short time earlier, and now I was swearing under my breath and sometimes out loud as well. As I dropped elevation, the ferns gave way to more forest and the enjoyment of the route improved. The descent follows an amazingly steep and narrow ridge all the way to the bottom, but the exposure is minimum thanks to an endless supply of trees and roots to grab onto and make use of in the descent. Just before the finish, the trail passes through a small graveyard with perhaps a dozen graves, victims of a tsumnami that struck Kahana Bay in in 1946. About 3.5hrs after starting out I had returned to the car. I had in mind another hike nearby, also suggested by Ball's guidebook, but I found myself too tired out to try a fourth outing - I'd come back to do this one the next day...

Continued...


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