Sunday, September 14, 2008

Lanipo

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by welikehike

Lanipo was suppose to be a warm-up for the upcoming Pu'u Kalena hike. But, the unexpected heavy rains and a late start impeded us from reaching the summit.


A group of 14 hikers turned into 5 when Laarnie, her 60-year old friend, Bryan, Jerome and I met at Valley View Drive. We arrived at the trailhead in Maunalani Hts. at around 1pm. The trail starts at a slight and comfortable incline; then, it drops steeply and goes up again. It repeats itself a second time showing no mercy to our respiratory-challenged friend.

The climb was like any other climb we've done elsewhere, but no one can deny the scorching heat accompanied by the soft winds and humidity. It consumed our water supply as we drank more and more and our sweat began to soak our shirts. Moments later, the day turned dark after heavy clouds creeped over the sky. It was then that I began to show some concerns. We passed the mid-point mark towards the summit when it finally hit us hard. The rain was not going to stop and our sweat-soaked shirts were now soaked with rain. We thought since we were already wet, we can continue on with the hike. But the condition of the trail ahead brought doubts in our minds, so we decided to turn back. It didn't make sense to risk it when were certain of no view at the summit. On our way back, we were stepping on miniature waterfalls that followed the trail. It was much cooler going back. Perhaps, somebody prayed to take the heat away. That prayer was certainly answered. On the way back, we could hear a man from a distance calling out to something. We believe that it was a boar hunter calling out to his lost dog. Although we didn't conquer Lanipo, this hike was worthy of an exciting and adventurous experience.

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