Today was a travel day. The family was heading back to the mainland while I was heading to Kauai where I was to spend a week with Tom and Iris. My flight was in the afternoon while our AirBnB checkout was around 11a. I got up early to get a hike in because I didn't know if there would be time once I got to Kauai. Plus, an early hike has a way of calming me down for the unavoidable run through the TSA gauntlet that makes me loathe air travel. Surviving that, with only the loss of two Yoplait yogurts, I met up with Tom and Iris with enough time for a short hike before sunset.
Pu'u Heleakala
I'd pretty much cleaned out all the easy peaks on the west side of the island, so I paid a return visit to Pu'u Heleakala, a summit I had visited three years earlier. It lies atop the dividing ridgeline between Nanakuli Valley to the south and the much larger Lualualei Valley to the north. Previously, I had used the NW Ridge to reach the summit, this time I took the much better trail up the SW Ridge. I parked on
Helelua St
apartment complex that
abuts the hillside. I walked between two of the buildings towards
the back where 
a fenceline
coming in from the north ends abruptly,
allowing easy access. I aimed for 
a pillbox on
the hillside where
I picked up a use trail that would lead to 
the ridge
and 
on to the summit,
a distance of a bit under 1.5mi from the starting point. The
ridge offers views the entire way. The Oahu 
landfill
takes up a good
deal of space on the north side, while the interesting
Nanaluki High School
with its odd, circular buildings can be seen to the south. I
was hustling along at a good clip to give me time to get back and
pack up. I made it to the summit in under an hour, noting the fine
weather today, hardly a cloud obscuring the views to the Waianae
Range to the east. Ka'ala could be seen to
the northeast with its
distinctive flat summit plateau. Palikea beckoned to
the east - I had
been within 500ft of its summit the previous day, unable to get to
the top. The ridge I stood upon this morning offers a way to reach
it,
starting with a 670-foot drop to a saddle, followed by a long climb
to reach the 3,000-foot summit, about 2.5mi from Pu'u Heleakala. The
use trail continues for some distance, but then fades and becomes a
pretty grueling bushwhack, not for the faint of heart, and not for
today. I returned back 
the same way
I'd come in about 40min, also at a pretty good clip. This
would give me plenty of time to shower, pack up, and have some
breakfast, too. Time to say goodbye to Oahu...
Kalepa
After landing on Kauai, Tom came to pick Iris and I up at the airport. He'd arrived a few hours earlier and had already climbed Sleeping Giant. Iris needed something to climb so we set out for nearby Kalepa. This is a very easy summit just north of the town of Lihue where we were staying for the week, less than two miles of driving for about a mile and change of hiking. There are small telecom installations at the summit with a paved road going nearly to the top. Despite some big rains earlier in the week, the hike had very little mud. We reached the top at sunset with surprisingly good views overlooking Lihue and the eastern side of the island. As usual, Waialeale & Kawaikini were smothered in a blanket of clouds, though Haupa showed off nicely to the south. On the way down we took a motorcycle track, part of a small network of such trails in the area. The whole outing is easily done in about 40min.Continued...