Summiting Mt. Ka'ala (Aiea, Maunawili: live, dangerous, club)

[murlough23]

I was just curious - have any O'ahu residents here ever hiked up to the top of Mt. Ka'ala? I know that, in terms of island high points, it can't compare to the snow-capped heights of Mauna Kea or the nearly-impossible-to-reach Mt. Waialeale. But at least you can't drive right up to it like Haleakala! So I was thinking, since I like to go hiking whenever I'm in Hawaii and I visit O'ahu far more often than the other islands, that this might be a worthwhile goal someday.

How hard is it? How long does it take? Any safety issues? Is it really worth the trip just to say you've been to the highest point on O'ahu? (I've read a few hiking guides that briefly describe the route, but I'm looking more for personal experience here.)

[hotzcatz]

I haven't done it myself, but there isn't a lot of true "mountain climbing" on our islands since our mountains are crumbly. Volcanic rock doesn't hold the pitons very well - or so I've heard.

There are a lot of nice hiking trails and Stairway to Heaven might be open again? That's kinda a stairstep version of driving to the top of the mountain, thouigh.

Do you have to have a goal while hiking? I'm more the meander around and see where you end up sort of hiker myself.

The top trail on Tantalus goes to a lovely bamboo forest which is a neat place.

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

I haven't done it myself, but there isn't a lot of true "mountain climbing" on our islands since our mountains are crumbly. Volcanic rock doesn't hold the pitons very well - or so I've heard.

I'm not much of a climber myself, so crumbly steep sections aside, Hawaii is more my speed when it comes to traveling to high points.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

There are a lot of nice hiking trails and Stairway to Heaven might be open again? That's kinda a stairstep version of driving to the top of the mountain, thouigh.

I don't think I'd try to Stairway even if it was open... a bit too steep for my tastes.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Do you have to have a goal while hiking? I'm more the meander around and see where you end up sort of hiker myself.

Not getting lost is a good goal, I think. Normally I pride myself on my sense of direction, but I somehow managed to get myself lost on the Aiea Loop Trail a few years ago, so I make sure to map out where I'm going ahead of time.

Plus there's a sense of satisfaction from picking a destination and actually arriving at it. Without a specific destination in mind, I'm more likely to get discouraged when a hike gets steep or otherwise difficult, and turn back, and then later find out I was 1/4 mile from something really cool.

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

The top trail on Tantalus goes to a lovely bamboo forest which is a neat place.

Where's the trailhead for that? My wife and I tried to go hiking up that way back when we were still dating and she still lived on Oahu... we drove up and down Round Top/Tantalus Drive several times and only found one trailhead that was just a short walk to what looked like some sort of electrical tower at the top of a hill.

Getting to Tantalus itself was an interesting "urban hike" that I did a few years back. The wife (fiancee at the time) wanted the afternoon to shop at Ala Moana, so I just departed north from there with no particular destination in mind, ended up on Round Top Drive, and walked all the way up to the Tantalus lookout and back. Google Maps said it was just over 9 miles. It was exhausting, but rewarding in its own strange way.

[hotzcatz]

The bamboo forest trail is at the top of Roundtop/Tantalus drive. There is a big parking area which they put a chain across at night. Park there, go across the street and there is a trail heading up from there. It doesn't take long to find the bamboo, it is probably within a mile. I used to go up along Roundtop drive to gather avocados. My dog helped although he also ate a lot of them, too.

I suppose you could take a GPS with you up there. They have some sort of tracking system that shows where you went, don't they?

[eureka1]

The big reason hiking/climbing are not more popular in HI is that the constant rain creates MUD which creates very dangerous conditions. When I lived there two or three people a year would break their legs or worse on slippery, muddy trails. Be careful out there!

[murlough23]

Originally Posted by eureka1

The big reason hiking/climbing are not more popular in HI is that the constant rain creates MUD which creates very dangerous conditions. When I lived there two or three people a year would break their legs or worse on slippery, muddy trails. Be careful out there!

Yeah, I learned that one the hard way in February when I did the Maunawili trail. It was very slow going and at a few points, I would lift up my foot and it would come right out of the shoe due to how thick the mud was! But even at the wettest time of year, I've still managed to find good hiking on the drier side of the island.

[Balad1]

I recommend hiking with the Sierra Club. I hike with them on Kauai and they welcome visitors. Thay also have access to many areas closed to individuals.

Here is the Oahu club schedule:

Sierra Club Hawai'i Chapter, Oahu Group

[Alohikea]

Kaleo has a great blog about his hikes, totally recommend it. I have been reading up on them since I want to hike when I am in Oahu in February. My goal is Koko Crater up the railroad ties, Kuli`ou`ou, and maybe Aiea Loop. Also gonna hike down the trail to Kalaupapa when I pop over to Molokai for a day.

[cynmkolohe]

Originally Posted by Alohikea

Also gonna hike down the trail to Kalaupapa when I pop over to Molokai for a day.

I hope to do some hiking there some day - visited the overlook on my one trip to Molokai and have been daydreaming about a trip back ever since! If you go, post pics please!