Nualolo Cliff, Kauai (revisited)

by welikehike

If you're gonna do a loop trail for the second time, do it in reverse!  That's what I did at Nualolo Cliff trail in Kauai, one of the best day hikes in Hawaii.  It felt like I was hiking it for the first time and the lighting was so much better with the reverse route.  The sky was clear, no rain and wet terrain to worry about, but it was hot hot hot.  Traversing up the steep hills was truly a test, and luckily, I didn't suffer from cramps this time around.  It's too bad we didn't find anyone to transport us to the trailhead.  We had to walk the extra mile on asphalt pavement.  After the hike, we drove up to Kalalau Lookout and Waimea Canyon Lookout and got me some money shots.

 View along Nualolo Cliff (photo by F. Langit)

View at end of Nualolo Trail (photo by F. Langit)

 Waimea Canyon Lookout (photo by F. Langit)

Kalalau Valley Lookout (photo by F. Langit)

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Oneawa Hills

by welikehike

I thought this trail was going to be an easy 4-mile walk in the park, but with the sun beating hard on us, I found my hydration pack running low on water.  The trail started at the historical Friendship Garden along Kokokahi Place in the windward side of Oahu.  It follows the stone steps built before my time and eventually leads to a switchback section with various plants along the side.  It immediately takes you up to the ridge on several steep sections involving some light rope climbing.  The views at the top were beautiful with scattered clouds in the sky.  But beauty came at a cost for it was hot as hell without the expected overcast.  As we got to the ridge, it became a roller coaster ride from then on, I think there were about three to four dips along the ridge.  Along the way were views of the hidden Kapaa quarry, a sight rarely seen by many residents and tourists.  Even though it was an industrial area, the calm turquoise water looked so inviting.  As we made our climb to the final hilltop, there were some narrow sections which contributed to the enjoyment of this intermediate trail.  From the top, we made our steep descent on the right side of the ridge to check out Kaw'ewa'e heiau nestled at the base of the hill.  The second part of the trail loop was a bit cooler with shade from the tree canopies above.  But as soon as we began scrambling back up the hill, we got tortured by the heat once again.  The last downhill stretch was a cinch and the faster half of the group glided their way through.

Laie

by welikehike

In a previous hike, we went to Laie Falls, but today our target was to finish the trail up to the summit.  The trail portion from the start to the falls was pretty decent, but beyond that was very muddy with no impressive views.  At the end, we were able to see both sides of the island (Central Oahu and Laie); however, the mountain ridges were not as majestic as the ridges in Kaneohe.  Small hills dominated the landscape and I wasn't able to get any money shots today with my camera.  We did explore further beyond the first waterfall and found about four other falls.  The third waterfall was actually higher than the first.  And, we had to climb down a near vertical cliff with the help of a rope to get to the base of the third waterfall.

Likeke

by welikehike

I’ve done this trail up to the waterfall several times before, but the goal this time around was to complete the entire trail up to the closed parking lot along Likelike Highway. The trail name is often mistaken for ‘Likelike’ but it is ‘Likeke’, named after Richard “Dick” Davis, the legendary “mountain goat” who built the trail with the help of others. We labeled it the ‘Tunnel to Tunnel’ hike since it started near the Pali tunnel and ended at the Wilson Tunnel.

This trail can be a bit confusing without the help of an experienced guide or guide book. But even with Ball’s book, there are some junctions that left us guessing. The best advice we got for this hike is to follow the main trail that runs parallel to the base of the Ko’olau mountains. Avoid any side trails that may lead you to the mauka or makai direction. There is a junction that is worth mentioning in this blog and it was not clarified in the book. When we arrived at this point near the end of the trail, we had to make a choice between taking a graded trail to the left or a descending trail to the right. We decided to go right. After 15 minutes of hiking and getting bit by mosquitos, we found ourselves going down towards the direction of Ho’omaluhia Botanical Gardens. Even though there were many ribbons, our instincts told us we were going the wrong way. Luckily, we followed our instincts. We retraced our steps and took the trail on the left. After only a few minutes, we arrived at the closed parking lot near the Wilson Tunnel. Right before we got to the asphalt surface of the abandoned lot, it was disheartening to see the disgusting sight of beer bottles a few feet away. They were all over the place and we couldn’t avoid stepping on them. This was the downside of the trail, to come so far and to see a total mess at the end.

But other than that, the trail offered some scenic views that made our efforts worthwhile. My favorite spot was the lookout where you can sit on a man-made bench constructed of branches from the strawberry guava tree. You can see most of Kaneohe Bay and behind is the beautiful Ko’olau Mountains. Deep in the trail, we were surrounded by native Hawaiian plants and we were fortunate to see some waterfalls flowing down the sheer cliffs. It was an extremely hot and muggy day. There were certain spots that felt like we were walking through a sauna. It was uncomfortable, but some of us took pleasure in the idea of this cleansing process, it felt like we were sweating out all the toxins from our body.