Olomana 3rd with Kalani

Amazing!! Today (Saturday Aug 13th) I got to do Olomana with a hiking partner! Kalani wanted to try do all three so off we went. Perfect day for it too, overcast with some nice tradewinds! Don't get any better then that! Started at 9am and took the path by the security booth (shh, its a secret).

Made it up to the first part where there is a nice view. Wasnt that hot and today I was trying out my camelpak (mine was made by Jansport) and that thing worked great! Kept my water cold the entire hike. Don't know if was from being overcast or because of the insulation. No complaints from me except I ran out of water on the way out lol.

At about half way up peak 1, its starts to get steeper with more tuff climbs to hit.

Great thing about it is there are always plenty of handholds to grab onto. I did the first and second peaks with no ropes. Almost down the second and up the third I used it a bit.. not much but just a bit lol. One day I'll have to do it all ropeless!!

Finally after about an hour we hit the top of the first peak!! I swear the first peak kicks my butt every time! Its just up up and up!!  If you look closely at the gps, 1647 feet in elevation!!

Few shots of the view from the first peak! Lotsa people just stop here and enjoy the view before turning around and going back down. Smart people!! Just looking at the scenery, its 100% worth the effort.

After a brief rest on top of the first peak, its off to second!! The trip from one to two is pretty easy so anyone who hikes Olomana deserves to at least do 2 peaks!! Just looks hard but its pretty tame.

When we reached the second peak, you could see a group heading up third! They were blazing up that trail! Forgot name of the group but they started at 8am, wish I knew before hand so could have joined them. But, they were going down backside of three so.. I'll pass lol.

Looking back at first peak. Funny, for a Saturday there were not many people doing Olomana. Only saw about about hmm 15 people? Usually I see groups of 5s heading up or down so guess the cloudy weather scared em away.

And, after a brief stop at the top of second peak (I was waiting for a group of 2 to come up from third peak), off we went!! I give Kalani tons of credit for hitting third with me. He's a bit new at hiking so to attack third like he did, awesome!!

I swear the drop from second to third is like straight down!! Only wish they had better ropes! Hate trusting poly ropes.

And before u knew it, we were like half way up the third in no time. Going up third isnt that hard as long as you pay attention to what you're doing! Heres shot of Kalani by the big puka!! I told him if he like try get shot standing in the hole and smart guy declined!! haha I was kidding of course.

Almost there, few more feet to go!! That hat looks awesome! It would work great on hot hikes like Koko Crater.

And after a really quick climb, we at top of three!! Awesome job Kalani!! Perfect hiking partner, not a single complaint haha. I think I wore his ears off with my non stop yakking!

Saw plant growing on a tree. looked kind of kewl so had to grab a shot. We took a bit of a long break at top because had to eat and  another group of two was coming up behind us!!. We wanted to wait till they peaked before heading back down. Couple of nice guys, one from Kailua and the other from California. Fun part is one of them was wearing slippers!! Hows that? Going up all three in slippers!! And just our luck another group of three was coming up too so we had to wait for them too. Three younger hikers doing Olomana for first time. Time to head back..

Going down third starts off with a bang, down the steepest part via ropes!!

The other guys left same time as us so it was race down the mountain!! j/k

Didnt take long getting down it and the hardest part of the entire hike is going up the second!! By this time you are usually pooped. But since we rested so long on top of the third, I smoked it up! Took shot of the another group of three going up the third peak and again, one of them in slippers... well not slippers but sandles. Is that the new fad? hmmm no thanks!

Ah, Kalani finally makes it up to the second peak!! Good job!

And great shot of Kalani coming back down the second peak. Looks way steeper then it is.

And finally coming back down the first peak!! You finally realize how steep the first peak is when you are heading down it!! Didnt take too long getting back to the car. Overall think it took us four hours to do em all!! And, hiking with someone is way more fun then solo so, once again mahalo Kalani for joining me on this fun hike!! Hope to torture errr go hiking with you again soon!!