December 31, 2011 8:30 AM went on a hike with the members of H.O.T.
I had choice of either joining the last hike with the Koko Crater groups but only had 3 rsvps while the H.O.T. group had over 30!
met at Kuliouou since it was closer then the dog park in Hawaii Kai. Met a few early birds while we waited for the rest of the gang to show up. Finally about 9am they came and off we went. And boy what a group! Almost 40 people in all.
sorry for the blurry pictures lol. was trying to shoot over my head and guess i was shaky!
Finally reached near the top and what a great view! I was even leading the group for most of the way. Till we got higher elevation and my legs started giving out from my workout at the gym the day before! Bad idea!!
When we finally reached the top, unfortunately, the view was a total white out! But, Kuliouou sure felt way easier then it used to! Guess all the hikes up Koko Crater paid off!!
Most of the group didnt stick around too long and headed back. But it was still early. 11am and they pau!! I still had a ton of energy left so decided to try out some geocaching!! I wanted to find one that i couldnt last time I came up here. Wish I took picture but I found it! What a tuff hiding spot, they had me almost ripping a stone wall apart to find it.
Saw this neat looking tree! Looks like its kneeling down to take a rest or a dump? hmmm As I was decided where to go, I saw a nice trail heading towards the summit direction. Knowing that I could never pass up a trail, off I went to explore!
Crossed a small stream. There were a few ribbons to follow so looked like a fun hike. As I got further in, the trail became less and less marked. Sometimes you had to just guess where it lead.
It finally started to head up towards the summit. Some parts were getting tuff! Those rocks look nice and firm but when u grab them, they come off in you hand. And those ribbons all but stopped. I was hoping i was heading in the right direction. I just knew I had to go UP!!
Finally got high enough to get a picture of some scenery. I'm pretty close to Koko Crater side now.
Here's shot of Kuliouou Ridge. That one sure seemed 100x easier to do then this trail! The ferns were over grown blocking the trail. You had to just push you way thru and hope there is some firm footing under them. Some of them grew almost higher then me! Glad no spiders lol!
After while you start to hate those darn, itchy, scratchy, thick ferns!! Wish I had a weed whacker with me! Or a machete!
And finally at the top!! The sky finally cleared and I was rewarded with an awesome view of Waimanalo!
Headed back to Kuliouou Ridge and was surpised how short a trip it was. Just few moments and I was back where I started!! yeah, a reverse loop up Kuliouou! By now I was too tired to even eat my lunch that I carried with me whole time!! Even my can of coke was not used!
And heres look at the ridge I went up. If it wasnt so overgrown, it would be an awesome hike to add to your Kuliouou hikes! Now its almost 2pm so overall, 2 hours to do regular Kuliouou ridge trail and 3 hours to do the other half.
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