Pu'u Ma'ili'ili
This is a fairly easy peak
close to the coast, separating
the town of Waianae to the north from the 
Mailiili Stream
to the south. I went up the West Ridge and started down
the Northeast Ridge before dropping southeast to Mailiili Rd. I
found the ascent route more fun and a better
scramble than the descent, starting at the Waianae Coast
Health Center on the southeast side. The short 
Honu Trail
inside the health center property had a locked gate
providing access to the natural terrain behind it. I
slipped behind this gate to gain access to the hillside.
I then traversed around to the northwest side of the 
West
Ridge and found fun ways up through the cliffs as I
climbed above the county sewage treatment plant below. I
spent about half an hour to reach the summmit from the
Honu Trail start, a fun little jaunt. Once at 
the summit
I took a few pictures of the 
surrounding countryside
and started down the 
NE Ridge. I vaguely though I might
reach another summit
about a mile to the north, but that would have made me late for
my date with Nandor. So I sort of wandered off the ridge and started
to make my way down 
the south side,
picking my way through short
cliff sections. The grass was particularly tall here and I had to
move carefully to avoid the hidden rocks found underfoot. I
eventually
made my way down to Mailiili Rd where I found a fence keeping me from
stepping on the roadway. I had to struggle a bit to get over the
floppy fence, but once accomplished,
it was an easy walk 
down the road to 
the highway.
I had about 1.4mi to hike back to our AirBnB, finishing
up before 10a. Nandor had sent me a text that he'd arrive to pick me
up at 10:30a, so I had a short time to rehydrate and get ready for
the main event.
Puu Kawiwi - Peak 3,020ft
These two summits are located at the northeast end of the Kamaile'unu Ridge that divides the Makaha and Waianae Valleys on the west side of the island. Nandor had done both of these on several occasions and had suggested it since I had done neither and the combination made for a very fun outing. Nandor turned out to be as personable as one could hope. We got on immediately as it quickly became clear that we share a similar passion for the off-the-regular-trail fun in Hawaii. He was funny, knowledgeable and his hungarian-but-more-like-russian accent was a perfect juxtaposition with his local hawaiian knowledge - he could pronounce the names of the various hawaiian-named peaks and places as good as anyone I had ever encountered, certainly better than I ever could. He picked me up at the AirBnB and together we drove to the
Ka'ala TH at the end of Waianae Valley Rd.
There were a number of vehicles
there when we arrived, a few occupied with locals who were hanging
out there for purposes we suspect weren't entirely innocent. Nandor's
strategy has been to strew old clothes about the interior of his car
to make it look like a homeless person's and to give the impression
there's nothing of value inside. Not sure if it fools anyone, but
his vehicle hasn't been broken into in the four years he's lived on
the island.
We started off on the concrete road that marks the first mile or so
of the Ka'ala Trail, our first peak easily visible
in front of us,
along with the steep ascent ridge that we would use. We left the
road only ten minutes after starting up, forking left where
a wide path has been recently cleared to
a cattle fence. This was a boon to
our outing since it would save us more than half a mile of heavy
brush leading to the base of the peak. We followed the fenceline and
clearing to 
its end
where the barbed-wire fence was attached to the
lava rock at the base of Pu'u Kawiwi's SE Ridge. 
The ridge
climbs
more than 1,600ft in less than half a mile and would take us a solid
hour and a half. 
The brush is moderate and 
the rock
provides much 
class 3 scrambling. There was little breeze
and the air quite warm,
the combination making the climb a tiring affair. It was clear from
the beginning that Nandor was the stronger climber, but we chatted
all the while and he didn't seem to mind a somewhat slower pace.
When we reached the summit of Pu'u Kawiwi at 1p, we took short break
at the grassy summit while taking in the views, marveling at our
good fortune with the weather. Nandor pointed out a number of summits
to 
the northwest
and north that he recognized across the 
Makaha Valley,
none of which I had visited. They looked hard. After our
break we 
turned north to follow 
the ridge
for 0.6mi to No Name Peak,
or Peak 3,020ft. It would take most of an hour to cross this rugged
ridgeline, with many challenges along the craggy terrain. There were
places where a trail was evident, clearly we weren't pioneers on
this effort, and scratches on the rocks (apparently steel microspikes
are often used on this terrain in wet weather) gave hints of where
to go when unsure. We swapped places leading across the terrain and
I was happy to have Nandor's experience for consultation to save
time when I was uncertain.
I must have been concentrating hard all this
while because I never thought to pause for a picture until we had
already started down from Peak 3,020ft. We were continuing northeast
from Peak 3,020ft's summit, intending to follow the ridge until we
met up with the Ka'ala Trail and taking that down. Much of this
ridge portion is lined with a pig fence that we followed, using it
to lower ourselves on difficult steps and other obstacles. At two
places we found 
wooden steps
allowing one to get from one side to
the other where a use trail made for easier going. A good use trail
made this section easier than the last few miles we had covered to
reach the two peaks. We were still
half a mile from the transmission poles marking the junction with
the Ka'ala Trail when
we crossed paths with
a route going across the ridgeline on either side.
This shows up on the old topo maps and my GPSr as an old trail. A
quick study showed it might work nicely as a shortcut to the
Ka'ala Trail. It looked like 
a decent trail
dropping sharply off
the south side, and though we weren't sure if it continued in good
shape, we decided to go down that way anyway. It was marked with
various colored flags, and though we lost it briefly at one point,
it turned out to be a very good way down that would save us a bit
of time, too. It eventually intersected the much better Ka'ala Trail
a few miles from the TH, and from there it was an easy walk back
down to our start. It was 3:30p when we 
finished up
with plenty of daylight remaining.
He drove us back to the AirBnB in Waianae where he dropped
me off and we parted ways. I was plenty tired by this time and not
a little bit dehydrated, but I would recover nicely with a shower
and a cold beer. Ahhhh...
Continued...