Unknown Trail (in Waianae Valley)

We were supposed to do Waianae Kai, a 6-mile trail which starts at the same trailhead as Waianae Kaala, but unfortunately, we took a wrong turn somewhere in the middle and ended up in an unknown trail.  Laarni and I brought our Stuart Ball book but left it in the car due to some misunderstanding.  Our visitor friend agreed to carry the book and play navigator but told me after a mile into the hike that he left it in the car.  I hoped to rely on my faint memories of the Waianae Kaala hike done about 4 years ago but my familiarity of the trail did not cut it.  We actually got lost twice.  Our first deviation from the intended path led us to a trail known as Waianae Ramble.  We were heading downwards and memories of the Kaala trail brought me to a halt for I remembered the trail being at a constant incline.  We lost about 30 minutes as we decided to turn around.  As we arrived at the fork, we took the trail leading to a gradual climb along a ridgeline.  It was well marked and it would soon lead us to an overgrown section of thorny shrubs which was the most irritating part of the trail.  I did not remember this; I thought the trail was just overgrown with new weeds.  It left scratch marks all of over our arms and legs.  As we came closer to the top, I saw a familiar rock face and was reassured that we were on the right path.  But moments later, the trail would come to a dead end.  Luckily, the trail ended at a clearing with nice views of the Waianae Valley; we decided to eat our lunch here.  Some of us were disappointed that we got lost, I don’t blame them.  We want to do this trail again and conquer this bad boy.  Next time, we’ll add Kaala and the unknown peak to seek our vengeance.