NEED TO HIKE

Ugh, I am super frustrated that with working, no hiking schedule is being set, i work most weekends and am so tired after I don't feel like moving, this needs to change, I miss hiking, and have SO many hikes i want to do, so here are a few that I have planned so far!!

Crouching lion, it looks to be totally gorgeous!
Ma'akua Gulch, I don't know why i like to do closed hikes, maybe its just the thrill of doing it! but it looks gorgeous
Mount Olympus, which me and Matt may try to do Tuesday
Stairway to heaven, which we plan to do when his brother comes in January
Maunawili Falls, because I love waterfall :)
Wai'oma'o Falls and the hiking around it, there are three waterfalls around there that I would love to see! 




I need to get this figured out, hell maybe even quit my job :) HAHA

Wa'ahila Ridge Trail to Kolowalu Trail - December 4th, 2010

Matthew and I on the Kolowalu side of the trail

So, I just started my new job at Starbucks this past Friday, and Matt mentioned to me a hike he wanted to do on Saturday for work to do some land navigation, to see if it was doable for 50+ people. So, as we know I can't turn down a hike, so I agreed to go with him and one of the guys he works with named Cole, who also happened to bring his 5 month old puppy!!! So cute!!

These roots in the beginning of the Wa'ahila trail are slippery!

We started the trail at about 9:45 a.m., with Matt already doing the Wa'ahila Ridge Trail twice and me doing it once, we got through the 1.2 miles in about 45 minutes, which I don't know seemed to be pretty quick, with the rocky climbs up and down, and not to mention the insane winds that were going on AGAIN today, did I mention we had a dog with us too? He was such a cutie, he trucked along pretty well, way better than Matthew and I thought he would, we only had to stop a few times to give the little guy water, he did beg a few times to be carried, which since he was only 5 months old wasn't to big of a deal for Cole. The Wa'ahila Ridge Trail is fairly simple I'd rate it as being easy to moderate, and the only reason I would say moderate is because of the rock climbs which aren't crazy but they do make for difficulties especially if you have short legs, also the slippery roots, since it's so densely crowded with trees sunlight rarely gets to some parts, and rain most definitely gets to all parts! Which means those roots are SLIPPERY! I bit the dust once, my feet just totally flew out but I managed to catch myself, Matthew bit the dust 2 times, but also both times managed to catch himself, Cole I'm pretty sure fell once also.

Pretty rainbow from the first time we did the hike!

So, as I said after 45 minutes we made it to the junction of the Kolowalu Trail,, when we went on this hike back in October we started down this trail for a few minutes and stopped at a open grassy area, and then turned back to head towards the car, but this time we hiked it all the way down to the trail head, with an elevation climb up and down of 1100 feet each way, it made certain parts rather tricky, especially when trees are down, and rocks are slippery! That's why they rate this trail as intermediate to strenuous, and this was no joke, it was steep going down and steep going up, taking us 51 minutes to go down, and 53 minutes to go up, I was impressed with our time, since I most definitely had to stop more than once to catch my breath and make my heart stop feeling like it was going to explode!!

These awesome roots made things better and harder at times!

Onto the trail, I have found that I love hiking Na Ala Hele hikes, they maintain and mark their trails very well, it was nice not having to worry about getting lost or literally starting the trail at the wrong spot. This side of the trail was tricky, plenty of slippery rocks and clay looking mud, along with a very root filled walk, some of my pictures don't show how crazy the roots actually are, helpful most times in catching your footing and hellish when it comes to watching your step when you really don't need them. I literally thought the trail going back up was NEVER going to end, I was more than relieved when we finally made it back up.

It's true, I love these trees!

After it was all said and done, I was happy I made it the whole way, the total hike was only 3.5 miles (which definitely seemed a lot longer than that), but it took us just over 3 hours to complete. Definitely it a good day for a hike, with the nice breezes and the tree coverings!

Elevation: -Wa'ahila Ridge Trail- 500 fee -Kolowalu Trail- 1100 feet

Distance: -Wa'ahila Ridge Trail- 2.4 in and out -Kolowalu Trail- 1 mile in and out  

That'd be me and Rocky (the cutie) in the backround!

Difficulty: -Wa'ahila Ridge Trail- Easy to Moderate -Kolowalu Trail- Intermediate

Directions from when you get into Honolulu!!                                                                                                                                                  

Makapu'u Lighthouse - December 1st, 2010

Jenna and I

So, I'm not really sure if this is referred to as a hike, but since we made it a little more interesting than just the paved trail to the top of the lighthouse, I will consider it a hike! My BFF and hiking partner Jenna invited me to come along on the hike with her and her mom. I started my day at 5:30 A.M. with once again getting Matthew off to work, and then lounging around until about 8:30 which is when I set off for the Makapu'u Lighthouse, traffic this particular day was TERRIBLE! Two traffic jams, which I expected once I hit the downtown Honolulu area! It seems when it rains in Hawaii, people forget how to drive!  After 1 1/2 hours of driving I finally arrived at the trail.

Turtle and Rabbit Island

At 10:30 A.M. we started our little 1 mile hike to the top, stopping to take pictures at all the lookouts along the way, the views were gorgeous!! The wind on the other hand was something to be desired, I would say there had to be 25+ MPH winds! The paved trail to the top was nice to say the least, it made it a really easy hike, almost to easy.

Makapu'u Lighthouse

The views of the lighthouse were also gorgeous, there were a few different areas to get some really awesome pictures of the lighthouse from all directions, also views of Rabbit and Turtle island, the Sea Life Park, and KoKo Head, so once we made it to the top, we decided why not go up the mountain on the side, where the winds showed their ugly face again! To the point where if you didn't take a stance and lower your center of gravity you might just get taken off the mountain! It was worth it though,  we had a great time, and unfortunately we didn't wear any sunscreen and got pretty fried, not to sure what we were thinking!

All in all it's an easy family friendly hike, that has awesome views, and at 2.0 miles from the top to the bottom it's provides a little workout! We burned about 600 calories!

Difficulty: Easy
Distance: 2.0 Miles
Elevation: 550 Ft.

Map and Directions